It's just so odd to me that some posters wanted to be super cautious with the kid, yet now that he's here they suddenly want to put the world on his shoulders as if that's a good thing.
The bottom lines is he's in a great place. He's getting consistent minutes without a ton of pressure on him to produce or shutdown opponents. He's playing with talented enough guys, and he's getting PP time. Some people just want to complain about anything... it's as if they are setting up their excuses for Kotka already...
No it isn't and hahhahh.
All eyes are on Kotka, people expect him to produce, if he doesn't produce he will be questioned, where he should play will be questioned, AHL or NHL, is he even that good will be questioned.
Don't even try to suggest there's no pressure around Kotka in Montreal, he's the most valuable asset on that team.
Your lineup has been screaming for a #1C for years and years and you give him the worst offensive wingers you can to work with and say do something, how many times has Agostino killed the play when he has tried to carry the puck? How many set ups have his linemates missed?
How often do his linemates set up Kotka for quality chances?
Confidence is everything with young players and prospects, getting results, a'la points feeds confidence, confidence feeds development.
+ Playing him with better offensive players doesn't mean he should become a defensive shutdown C.
Lowry vs Laine again.
Playing him with Agostino is straight up garbage.
