The thing that bothers me about prospect evaluation (and just about everything else) these days is there's no middle ground.
It's no longer okay to take a wait-and-see approach in our hot-take world.
You've got to stake out your position and defend it with absolute rigidity, and anyone who disagrees with you is a fool.
I guess I've seen enough prospect development over the years to know that a prospect isn't a writeoff this early into his career.
As a guy like Ryan Kesler showed, it can take years before you know a guy's true floor and ceiling. Ryan's 2003-04 AHL debut saw him score three goals and 11 points in 33 games with the Manitoba Moose (after a year of university hockey). There were times early in his NHL career where he was written off as a fast checking forward with a shot that couldn't break glass.
It is concerning that Kole hasn't hit the ground running, but there's plenty of time for him to figure things out.
Many scouts and coaches will tell you that the Christmas break can be a game changer for a young kid, as they get the chance to mentally and physically reset. So the first thing I want to see is how he looks coming out of whatever break the Comets get.
I'll adjust my opinion slightly based on that information and continue to adjust my opinion up or down based on reports out of Utica, good and bad.
Most importantly, I'll be interested to see how he looks next September entering his second pro season. If he goes away for the summer and puts work into fixing his deficiencies, and comes back as a much improved player, then the equation is changed.
If he still struggles to not just play but be an impact player at the AHL level at that point, then he will be skating on thin ice in my eyes.
edit: I will say that statistically, the Lind doubters are very much correct. Just bouncing around the stats sites trying to find someone in the NHL who struggled badly in the AHL, and haven't found any yet.
Other than maybe a guy on our own roster, Jake Virtanen.
Jake Virtanen hockey statistics and profile at hockeydb.com
Nine goals and 19 points in 65 games in 2016-17 and now a capable third liner at the big-league level. Obviously he has some physical traits that Lind does not, so that comparison might not be viable.