Obviously he didn’t turn into anything but he was one of the more sought after fa’s and he chose us.
I ageee with you though in regards to the potential of these players. I’ve never been too big on college free agents. Very very few have ever become much of anything
Yeah, that didn't come out the way that I wanted it to....my point is that we should make sure we do our due diligence on these guys just like we would any others. We've been almost certainly sending scouts to Harvard, Northeastern, Boston College, Wisconsin, and Yale games to get a read on our own prospects. We likely went to a few others as well.
On a related note we have 7 NCAA prospects, 4 of which have a decision to make (and by corollary so do the Canes).
Adam Fox
David Cotton
Luke Stevens
Luke Martin
Jack Drury has 3 years of NCAA eligibility remaining. Matt Filipe and Max Zimmer both have 1 year remaining.
Fox and Cotton seem like no brainers to try and sign. My guess is those conversations are going on right now (although Harvard may have a shot at the post-season and I'm not sure when the ECAC tournament is/ends). I think Boston College is done and I know that Michgan just played their last games. I'm not sure it matters about Yale and Stevens.
Luke Martin seems like a puzzle. In all the rookie camps I've seen, he's been outstanding against his peers. In his first couple of years he was considered a very capable shut down defender at Michigan (granted they haven't had the best of teams these last few years). This year, however, he ended the season a periodic healthy scratch. I'll be interested to hear what the Canes do with him (RHD in the Pesce mold).
In the end, I think we'll see a changing of the guard in Charlotte (and/or Florida) with one or more of Poturalski, Brown, Wesley, and Carrick riding off into the sunset (read: not offered a contract). If Cotton can play center (he played a lot of wing in college, but has also played center) he may slot in there, but I think he ends up as a power forward. I think we'll see some combination of Roy, Geekie, Bishop, and Luostarinen down the middle. Of the two Finns in Charlotte, I actually think Saarela's skills translate more to the NHL than Kuokkanen's (although I'm still hopeful for Janne). One of them will have to force his way into the NHL conversation or perhaps one gets moved. Other new faces likely include Stelio Mattheos, Jesper Sellgren, and despite my personal misgivings, perhaps Brendan DeJong.
Julien Gauthier and Steve Lorentz almost certainly both have bigger roles next year, Goat as one of the "go to" scorers, and Lorentz as a bottom sixer. This year's great team is likely rebuilt, still pretty good, but probably chock full of new faces.