One of the areas that fans have been positive on this year was the club’s depth, both at the blue line and in terms of promising forward prospects.
It looks like that theory is about to be tested. With the news that Nikita Nikitin and Adrian Aucoin are “banged up” following last night’s tilt (no surprise on Niki6, given the absolute pounding he’s taken over the past three games), the injury to Cam Atkinson, and the loss of Matt Calvert, the club is looking thin on both sides of the puck..
While one of the spots is likely to be filled by David Savard, who has been riding the popcorn express the for the past week, Aaron Portzline speculated in his game recap that the club will go to Springfield for some bodies before tomorrow’s game. Falcons superfan Katharine McCarthy (better known as KatyLovesHockey on Twitter) expects that Tim Erixon and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault will be on their way to Columbus, though she gives props to Dalton Prout and Sean Collins as worth the consideration as well.
While I respect her opinion that Prout and Collins have the work ethic the team needs, I think Erixon and JAM both contribute a good bit of speed and offensive spark, two areas that the main club is badly lacking at the moment. Both players just finished up at the AHL’s All Star Game. It’s time to give them the opportunity to make an impact at the next level, and to see if the promise will pay off.