Frederic would have been No. 1 for me, before the other two, if he were healthy and didnt get hurt. In my opinion, I’d still call up JFK over Cave, regardless of how well Cave has been playing in Providence. For me it’s not about who is playing better for Providence, but rather which player can potentially offer more in the NHL. Cave is solid and I think he will be a good fourth-line grinder in the NHL, but I think his upside is limited beyond that. JFK has the tools and upside to be a very solid third-line center.
I’m not so sure the lack of urgency will ever improve for JFK, but I still think he will be a solid third-line center. As Kirk said in his Redline Report, he isn’t lazy, he just stays at the same pace each game, which is what it is. I actually found him to be playing quite well on the third-line, before he was bumped upwards in the lineup and proved to be unready at this point in time.
JFK needs to work on his faceoffs as he’s very good at the dot in the AHL. If he can go ahead and increase his pace and urgency, thats even better. I don’t think the urgency thing is an issue for the third-line though, if I’m being honest. I think he showed that he can play well in that position, especially in the first couple of games with Heinen and Bjork.