neither guy has impressed in the ahl luckily we got saad and shaw that year.
I've never understood the angst against
McNeill on the Hawks forum?
In his second year as a pro he led the regular season in scoring on a decent playoff team. In practically every other organization they would be lauded for their patience in bringing along a power forward, first round pick... but not the Hawks.
Granted, I was surprised not to see him get at least a cup of coffee or get called up as a part of the Black Aces during the playoffs. So, maybe you & Stan know something I don't???
As for
Danault - definitely disappointing to see him get this surgery so late in the summer. Hopefully he makes a fast and full recovery.
All signs indicate to him being brought along as a Kruger-clone, so I don't think he has been unimpressive in his time as a pro. He has shown an offensive side in junior but has clearly been working on his defensive game (+20) which will almost certainly make him an NHL regular in the future.
He is the prototypical Hawks player - can skate, defensively responsible but also has an underrated offensive side to his game.
It's hard to compare these guys to Saad from the same draft year (who was previously passed over in his first draft). Saad was a man-child that every other NHL team missed and let slide until the Hawks stole him. Similar story for Shaw.