Starting with Brett Howden who is having a surprisingly successful year for a retooling NYR squad, he has played in all situations and scored enough points to be part of the rookie of the year discussion. The Ronin have him penciled in as a checking line center, either 3rd or 4th line. He should fit nicely in a rotation that includes Kuznetsov & Zibanejad.
Quality hockey clubs are built down the middle so the Ronin squeezed Morgan Frost as the major return in the Radulov deal. Frost is having an outstanding season in the OHL so far in 2018. With the NHL Flyers patient rebuilding program, Morgan will most likely see at least 1 season in the AHL before making the jump to the NHL. Fortunately for Victoria, they are in no rush for him to play major minutes for at least a couple of seasons.
Another interesting prospect is Kevin Stenlund now playing as a rookie in the AHL in 2018. Good size and a quality skater the team is viewing this kid as gravy should he make the Blue Jackets at some point in the next season or two. With the aforementioned Kuznetsov, Zibanejad, Victor Rask, Howden & Frost, Kevin Stenlund will have his work cut out for him to be more than a role player for the Ronin.
Team management is also high on Calgary Flames prospect Milos Roman who is currently playing in Nanaimo right across the strait from Vancouver. With good size and skating, he needs more work on his defensive game but was viewed as a top 100 pick in last years NHL draft. The Ronin considered themselves fortunate to be able to draft him considering their poor draft position. Drafted as a center by Calgary his ceiling projects to as high as a 2nd line center, thus adding more powder to the Ronin arsenal.
The last name on this list is Dylan Sikura but he most likely projects as a winger in the NHL so he will be covered in the 2nd part of this series about the Ronin prospects.
Thanks for reading!
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