Lias has a mediocre skill set; he is an average skater with average quickness. He is going to make it in this league as a grinder, if at all. Time to forget his #7 pick status and accept that he is not going to move the needle. Hopefully he can have a decent NHL career; almost certainly as a bottom 6 forward. At this point Howden looks to have a bit more potential and he still projects as a 3C.
Almost every borderline NHL player was a superstar at lower levels. There is literally nothing about what Lias has shown on the Rangers or Hartford that indicates he can be elite at the NHL level. The only reason some continue to tout him is that he was picked # 7, and the hype that went along with that; and plenty of #7 picks don't make it. And the 2017 draft had a big fall off after the first 6 picks. Sadly I recall the Rangers were hoping that Pettersson or Makar were going to fall to 7, but they went 4 & 5.
The good news is we now (especially after the upcoming draft) have a good group of high end forward prospects. Andersson is not one of them though.