Quote:
Originally Posted by mattihp
I had no doubt that he'd be ON the team even with Radulov there.
What I meant was more like, does it open up the chances well for him to get more special teams icetime, and perhaps even an outside shot at the top six?
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Trotz is a little stingy with ice time for youngsters. You can't apply logic (as it applies to you or I or most fans) to playing time. He will get top 6 and special teams ice time when Trotz believes he has fully bought into what Trotz preaches in practice. The main key is for him to be defensively responsible at all times.
The best hope for Antti and any rookie is to get on a good line in practice and preseason games and score some timely goals and develop chemistry with a veteran. Otherwise, he'll likely be at 4th line/healthy scratch level to start, 4th line when injuries happen, the 3rd line when the second wave of injuries happen, then he will need some luck to get some timely goals to force Trotz to give him the ice time when everyone gets back.
By all accounts, Antti is the type of guy that is going to come in, work hard, and make an impression, so I think he could become a Trotz kind of guy.
