power forward
Joined: Aug. 2020
Posts: 1,890
Likes: 593
I would like to see Gawanke get an opportunity, but I don't know whether he will mesh under Bowness's system. Also Lucius should at least get nine games in the NHL, I loved watching him in the Young Stars tournament. Dillon and Stanley should get traded after training camp to make room for our younger players, there's a logjam at LD that Chevy refuses to fix.
While I love the idea of PLD and Schief getting full minutes to keep them happy, you can't break Connor-PLD-Perfetti. That line looked very dangerous, especially against good teams like Florida and Washington. Plus Schief doesn't play defensive hockey, so I don't think he will put Connor and Schief on the same line.
I agree with your point about the 3rd line being a complete bust without Copp, but I think swapping Wheels and Appleton would be a better idea. Or maybe Barron with Wheels.
Overall there should be 11F and 7D to make room for our younger defenseman, as I would scratch Harkins. This is how Gawanke could get an opportunity. Also Gus should absolutely play, especially on the penalty kill. I really love his two-way game and I think Bowness will like it too.
For defensive pairings, I wouldn't break up JoMo and DeMelo. They played very well while together. Instead these would be the d lines:
JoMo-DeMelo
Heinola-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
Gawanke
As for goaltending, I think Berdin should get an opportunity to become the backup. I didnt like how Rittich played the past two seasons. The goalie tandem in the AHL will probably be Salminen and Holm.
As for captain choices, its either gonna be Connor, Schief, or JoMo.