Cole is awesome, and should be a regular by next season's end. He may start in Peoria and be given #1 minutes and responsibilities...but it's only a matter of time before he's in STL full-time. He'll likely be a good #3/2nd-pairing guy. He's built like a brick-wall and has excellent mobility and overall instincts. He'll probably excel more in the defensive end than the offensive end, but that's not to say he's doesn't have offensive upside. I could see him putting up 5-10 goals & 30-40 points on an annual basis...once he gets acclimated to the league and established.
He's got a hard, accurate shot, an excellent outlet pass and has been given time to properly develop, rather than being thrown right into the fire. He's a 2007 draft-pick that played 3 seasons at Notre Dame, and he just finished his first season as a pro...primarily in Peoria with some time in STL where he did not look out of place. Coming out of training camp last season, most people thought he had out-performed Alex Pietrangelo and earned the roster spot with the big club...but the club obviously knew what it was doing by putting Cole in the AHL and keeping Petro with the big club. The only draw-back with Cole is that he's had several concussions since being drafted...and who knows how much of an impact that's going to have on him moving forward. If he can remain relatively healthy, he'll be a stud...but it wouldn't surprise me to see him out of hockey all together in 5 years if he keeps getting his brain scrambled.