Quoting: OldNYIfan
He had a real good career at Penn State, a successful program, and I saw him about 10 times on the Big Ten network. I liked his skating and passing ability, and I didn't notice him on the ice for any silly goals. (In contrast, whenever I see a silly goal scored against our rivals down the freeway, it seems that one of Fowler, Lindholm or Manson is on the ice. despite their vaunted defensive prowess. This always makes me wonder about commitment.)
I have seen a lot of Penn St games as I have been following the penguins Nikita there.
I think this is pretty generous description.
Penn St was an absolutely loaded team. Which is represented in the in flux of signings off that team this year, and there will be more to come. The exudes is happening there as I think no one wants to be the last man standing there.
Having said that, the bulk of the talent and production on Penn St is in the forward lines. They really carried the team. If the forwards didn't play well, the team fell apart.
Guys like Phillips and Hults did what they had to do, but I think most people watching that team knew where the talent was coming from.
This isn't to rip the kid, but really lower expectations. This kid is not a 1st pairing guy. He's a 2nd pairing tops. Most likely a 3rd pairing if he gets to the NHL.
But that's a really big jump. There are a few defense men in the NCAA this year who really stood out. Like Mackey. They were noticeable on the ice. Penn st didn't really have any "noticable" defense men. That can be considered good and bad. Good in the sense you don't really notice the blame of the screw up when the other team scores. But also bad in the sense that the reason for that was the work of the forward lines. A lot of the players coming off of Penn St this year are considered either "2 way" or "defensive" forwards. Which explains a lot about not seeing silly goals.