I guess I'm one of those not worried about Mete. Unless you expected greatness from him he seems to be handling the defensive side on 1st pair like a pro at a young age. He's an offense d-man who doesn't even play PP. I suspect as he breaks out and gets more PP he'll end up a 30 ish point two-way PMD in his prime. A solid top 4 guy for the state of the NHL today. No shame in that.
If the mission is to compare him to another D who was a top 10 pick, can't handle defensive responsibilities and has stats padded from being on a powerhouse team then yeah, he'll come up short. Even without that bias he'd come up short because well, he was never supposed to be that player in the first place.
I think the whole no goal thing for Mete isn't even an issue. He'll be fine. I would like to see an increase in assists though. A 15-20 point season would be big on helping his confidence offensively and convincing the coaching staff to give him more PP time.
If the mission is to compare him to another D who was a top 10 pick, can't handle defensive responsibilities and has stats padded from being on a powerhouse team then yeah, he'll come up short. Even without that bias he'd come up short because well, he was never supposed to be that player in the first place.
I think the whole no goal thing for Mete isn't even an issue. He'll be fine. I would like to see an increase in assists though. A 15-20 point season would be big on helping his confidence offensively and convincing the coaching staff to give him more PP time.
