Well I think a lot of that positive development is due to Vincent being quite good at it on the Moose. Roslovic was on track under him as well. It just seems prolonged playing time in our bottom 6 under Maurice tends to neuter offensive instincts and talent in favor of more safer play and more defensive ability. Appelton imo doesn't have much offensive upside at the NHL level and that is shown in his 4th line scoring rates to date. But he has the defensive smarts and positioning as well as that high energy motor Maurice loves so I expect him to carve out a nice niche for himself on the fourth line in a PK role. I don't have an issue with his development as he is in a role that is very appropriate for his skillset.
Having said that I am concerned about Harkins, Roslovic and in the future Ves in our bottom 6. As you mentioned yourself Roslovic hasn't developed as well as he should have and imo a lot of that is due to him not getting enough offensive reps. He has predominantly played in roles that have called for him to play a safe not give up much of anything role on the fourth line or a defensive shut down role on the third line. Neither of those roles have really allowed him the reps he would need as a young player to really hone his offensive skill at the NHL level. Imo he hasn't looked great in his few forays offensive roles in the last few years due in part because those skills, reads etc have been largely unpracticed at the NHL level. What is the saying if you don't use it you lose it. With regards to Harkins there was a noticeable shift in his game from when he was centering the top line on the Moose to how he played on the Jets. He was playing it safe, chipping out and chipping in even when he had room to skate it in. He still showed some creativity and some flashes of offense, but if you think back so did Jack in his half rookie year as well. I just worry that prolonged play in our bottom 6 will also see his offense and creativity largely coached out of him.
Heck I would even point to a player like Copp feeling he is being a bit held back being forced to play in a pure defensive checking role. We saw that in his last contract negotiation where he felt he was worth more and we have seen that in what he wants as a role going forward. I think the org might have trouble holding onto him long term if we keep him in a defensive role where he can't produce more points and maximize his earnings.
I think what
@Mortimer Snerd and I are getting at is that the environment isn't there to foster offensive development in our bottom 6. Our bottom 6 has a very specific job and Maurice wants players who will do that job. If you are a skilled player then you need to greatly alter your game to be trusted in that role. As mentioned I would like to see a more Tampa Bay approach were players are allowed to play their games within the confines of the overall system no matter if they are on line 1 or 4. I find Maurice to be focused too much on the roles and how to fit people into the roles he wants filled, whereas I think a better approach is to focus on personnel and how to get the most out of each player he has.
Making a two/way line around Copp, Ves and Roslovic imo would not only help our team produce more but it would also help with individual player development and likely foster more good will with a number of middle of the roster caliber of players much like how Tampa is able to keep getting middle 6 talent signing extensions with them. Imo there have been far too many whispers of players not being happy with their usage in the bottom 6 and imo the risk adverse nature of Maurice is not helping matters here. I believe fairly strongly that if we iced a two-way third line most of these whispers would disappear as there would be a spot for players who aren't quite talented to bust into our top 6 to feel they have been put into a fair spot to maximize their point totals and therefore their contract values.
I found the below chart that a poster on here did with regards to scoring rates by line for each of the Canadian teams:
Simply put we lag behind most everyone here in terms of bottom 6 scoring. It seems quite clear to me that our setup is for our top 6 to score and our bottom 6 to defend. The teams we should be trying to emulate are Edmonton and Toronto where there is still scoring throughout there lineups.