I had heard that his past was tough, but man I had no idea:
http://espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3782270
I teared up a bit. What a brave freaking kid. He must have an iron will .
When people face adversity like that at a young age, they go in one of two directions - they either curl up into a ball, or they develop a tough shell and fight back. He obviously went in the latter direction. Brian Burke interviewed him for that draft in Anaheim and developed an instant affinity for him. Say what you like about Burke, but his eye for talent and character is usually pretty solid.
As for Silfverberg, he's going to be a very solid, productive second line player, but he's not going to become "THAT guy". He is 22 going on 23, which people sometimes forget - they thought he was 19 or 20 last year, but the reality is that he spent his growth years in the SEL. He still has some development left in him, but not a lot - by the time a guy reaches his early 20s, what you see offensively is largely what you are going to get. Guys will round out their games defensively in their late 20s, (Steve Yzerman, Jason Spezza to a degree) but their God given ability to generate offense is either there, or it isn't. Bobby Ryan is a pure goal scorer, something this club badly lacked. Two weeks later, and I like this trade more than ever...