He hasn't been the same since his concussion problems, but he is getting back there now I feel.
I disagree that he doesn't have a lot going for him. He is one of the fastest prospects I have ever seen. He is a workout warrior and loves to play a physical game. He also has a decent pair of hands. He isn't Crosby, but he isn't Dupuis either.
It all depends on how you look at him. If you look at Mac as a top end prospect who can play in your top six, you may be disappointed. If you look at him as a guy who can be a forechecking beast and a top end third liner, you have your eye in the right place.
If Mac is coached up, he can create absolute havoc on the forecheck and be a valuable player. I don't think he will ever be a big points guy though.
I agree with this. I can see him as a guy who ends up being really annoying to play against. His speed alone will frustrate teams.
I agree with this for the most part, except that I think he'll need to show some more offensive ability at the higher levels (i.e. the AHL) to really show if he projects to be a great 3rd liner, as to what appears more likely now: an excellent 4th liner on this team, or 3rd/4th line tweener. Archibald is ahead of him right now, and they bring very similar things to the table in terms of speed, forechecking ability, some grit, 2-way play, etc. Marcantuouni does it with a touch more size, but Archibald does it with more skill and innate offensive ability.
I'm not sure if Archibald projects to really be a top-6 forward at this point, so at least for now, I project Archie as a really high-end 3rd line RWer, or perhaps middle-6 forward. I don't think he's the guy who is going to flank Crosby long-term. I'd like the long term picture to include a guy more along the lines of a Marian Hossa (to use an old example) or a Jacob Silvferberg (to use a more recently talked about example, even though I think he's playing too well for Anaheim to trade him) as the calibre of winger to play with Sid.
I think Dupers and Kunitz will maintain their play for another 2-3 years after this one, but by the time they're on the decline, Sid will still be in the prime of his career and I think everyone in the fanbase and organization would love to see him playing with an elite, all-star calibre winger. And that's an asset we should be able to attain with some combination of our depth at defense, free agency, and/or draft picks. Sorry if this is hijacking the Macaroni thread, and I do have high hopes for the guy, but I do think there's a realistic trickle-up effect of, say "Marcantuoni--Archibald--Neal--???" when we project the future line-up of this team 2/3/4/ years from now when these prospects like Archibald & Macaroni will be roster players.