Regarding an actual depth chart, it isn’t really worth while. We have three centres that could be used interchangeably in my mind (Tolnai, Laforme, Gaidamak). By all accounts, it looks like our Import pick this year, Rohrer, looks like a centre based on most recent reports. So, he may be in the mix too.
We don’t have one single bonafide first line winger you can point to and say “he’s the man.”
Our defence seems to be more clearly defined than the forwards but that may very well change.
I guess Cranley is the starter, pretty much guaranteed. That may be the one spot that is basically penned in place.
This team will need the full first half of the season to seriously start to evaluate what we have and that may simply not be enough time. This is why my plan would be to simply play the team, fiddle with lines and playing partners etc and give everyone as much ice as you can give them until the top players emerge from the pack.
I wouldn’t bother adding an OA to this roster unless they were added in an effort to increase the level of play of the players around them and help their confidence which would develop them a little better. No sense struggling and chasing pucks. You don’t learn anything that way. So, if it were to come to that, then I would say get some OA’s. Otherwise, why bother?
This team could finish anywhere from 4th to 10th in the Conference. I think the defence will be too good to finish 10th but who knows? If I had to put $100 on the table and make a crystal ball prediction, I would say 6th…assuming they make no significant additions.