You're right on that last part but that's also why he's likely to get more time in the AHL imo- they have designs for him beyond being a blue line body on a bad team. With Vlasic and Phillips, more AHL time won't do much for development and it's time to let those guys prove they can play. Kaiser can play all situations in Rockford for at least half the season and be the go-to guy on the blue line, and be ready for a call-up if someone gets hurt; I think that probably sets him up better to be a top 4 D than starting in the NHL on a shitty team, unless he's so outstanding in camp that they simply can't justify sending him down. But I would want the bar to be set quite high for that