Breaking into the NHL is hard. No matter a player’s pedigree from first pick overall to undrafted free agent, he’s never played in as fast, as physical, as skilled or as demanding a league before he gets to “The Show.” Bumps in the road are expected along the development path for all but the generational talents (and even for them as well, at times), and progress itself is rarely a straight line.
No, this isn’t a “so temper your expectations on Cole Hutson just a little bit” post (but definitely do that too).
Rather it’s a check-in on another kid on the roster, Ryan Leonard, who now has a year under his belt as a full-time NHLer.