Boy both the forward and defence depth charts look sooooo bleak for next season. Lots of opportunity for the young guys to come in and get significant minutes right away.
I agree that a guy like Brennan is probably fighting for his spot in camp, maybe there's a bit of hope that he seizes a top six spot but the competition there will be at least be fierce.
On defence it's crazy how left handed the group is, and that really should be fixed. It's bad enough that Sedley was our only real offensive dman this past season, but losing his right hand shot is an even bigger blow.
I wouldn't consider Prud'homme or Kwajah on the radar at this point. Prud'homme has a commitment to Quinnipac down the road and Kwajah is USHL tendered. Or at least Wildcard is likely an understatement of the odds of them showing.
I'm more concerned with the forward group. It's light on Top end guys and thin on depth. It's going to be a tough year if the young guys don't take the steps needed to fill in the gaps. Lots of opportunity for the young guys that hasn't been there the past two seasons. Hopefully it's short term pain for long term gain. Goaltending will need to limit goals against to give the offense a chance most nights I would expect.
I think Brennan is in a similar position as Chafe last year. If he's on par with the rookies in camp then there's really no reason to keep him over the development and playing time opportunities of the younger players. He showed flashes at 17 but didn't really do anything for me in his 18 year old season.
I think the D group may end up being better than it looks on paper. I don't love the extreme left handedness of the group but I think it can be manageable if guys like Petrovski and Ethier can handled their off sides. Both are good skaters with puck skill that I think would best suited to play the right side. Gabe Smith and Ethier didn't play much last year but I think both offer reasons for optimism in their own respective skill sets. Petrovski seems to be the biggest benefactor in ice time and role based on the player grads going into next season provide he makes playing on the right side work.
I listed Prud'homme and Kwajah as wild cards as both have commitments elsewhere, maybe could have worded it stronger or more clearly lol. I think the Prud'homme ship has likely sailed, no dispute there. I think Kwajah could be tempted to come still. Objectively, looking at the Attack's right side depth chart on the blueline, it's pretty easy to envision a meaningful role and playing time up for grabs at 16 for someone like Kwajah. That might be enough to tempt him. I imagine any decision either way will involve waiting to see how the Attack round out the coaching staff.