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A good question, but I really don't think they're in any rush whatsoever to get him in Tampa. I think he could see a cup of coffee at the end of the year if he keeps up his good play and Tampa is out of it. I'm almost certain of that.

For Tokarski to get to the NHL otherwise, one of Smith or Nitty would have to be injured or traded. Smith has a contract attached to him and his play of late isn't helping his trade value. The rumors about Smith and Philly were likely just Lawton gauging how bad Philly was in need. I'm not convinced TB even wants to trade Smith. They certainly can't put all their eggs in his basket, however. Nitty, on the other hand, is unrestricted at year's end, and if TB is out of it at the deadline by a fair margin, he could be moved rather than lose him for nothing in July. It's obvious they trust him more than Smith right now though.

Future plans also play into it - don't forget Karri Ramo coming back from Russia next year. He'll likely be prominently in the GT picture next season, and that could leave Tokarski back in Norfolk for another year or half a year. And that wouldn't be the worst thing for him, either.

A wildcard in all this is Vasily Koshechkin. If they can ever get him to come over, it'd have to be - at minimum - for a chance at an NHL spot (he's not coming over to play in Norfolk). There's a lot of competition out there, but with Ramo's situation, Smith's bad play, and Nitty's free agency on the horizon, there is a window for the Tik to crawl through.

If... HUGE if ... there is an injury to Smith or Nitty, and Tokarski is called up over Helenius (expected at this point) and excels... it could be one of those situations where the kid grabs the job and runs with it because he had the opportunity. However, that's a bit of a storybook longshot for him.

The secondary point of this story is Helenius. Here's a former first rounder who should be the NF No.1 right now, and if he doesn't pull it together again, could be fighting with Janus when Erie's season is over just to keep his No.2 spot in NF. Then next year, he's in a three or four way battle for the Ads spot. His window is closing potentially.

Certainly an interesting question, and he's a guy that we're excited about. I'm not sure at all how much the team wants to push him, and we (thankfully) aren't having the goalie injuries on the big club that we had last year so no call-ups yet. My guess is he'll get a shot next year at the absolute earliest.

I sure miss Tokarski here in Spokane! You've got yourself a wonderful prospect. Good luck to Dustin and the rest of the team.

I'd like to see Wessbecker get invited to the prospects camp in mid-July and then maybe get an invitation to Traverse City and go from there. If he plays well, maybe he can earn a two-way ECHL/AHL deal in the fall.

The comments he makes make it seem as though Tampa is basically giving the Leafs the 2nd pick pretty much for free just to get Malone's contract off the books. Well, Malone and possibly another player too for the 7th overall pick. Seriously, what are they doing over there at Lightning camp? To give up that high a pick and such a quality player for a salary dump is another slap in the face to the fans of this team. The only player worth trading for in Toronto is Schenn and I'm seriously doubting he'd be part of this deal. This is going to be another aweful deal to dump salary pulled off by this team. I seriously try to stay positive and support the team but it get's harder and harder with each bonehead deal this club makes. They are driving this team into the ground while yelling "yee ha" the whole way.

The difference between 18 and 19 year old players is immense. Why do you think there are so few 17 and 18 year old players on the WJC roster of Canada, for instance?

Hedman not making the World Championships roster for Sweden isn't indicative of anything other than the fact that he's still very young.

I hope you're not going to be the same type who will crucify the kid if he doesn't come out of the womb a pre-packaged 20 minute a night, 40 point type guy right out of the gate as a rookie.

I don't care how good a prospect he is. It's downright abnormal for an 18 year old to make one of the major country's WC roster.

Exceptional commentary Pete.

Damian Christodoro wrote optimistically about The Bolts pursuing Matt Gilroy of Boston University. After watching the NCAA Regionals last week, I came away impressed with Gilroy's play. Everything I read about him glows with admiration. If we can sign him does that lessen the need to draft a defenseman in the first round? Perhaps it allows us to trade the first round pick for more assets? Is Gilroy the real deal and will Kent Hughes (Vinnie Lecavalier's agent and Gilroy's family "advisor") say enough good things about The Bolts to sway him toward us?

It'd be nice to have that silver lining with Lashoff AND a still-developing Steve Eminger on the blueline entering next year. Add a free agent and that's a very good (not great) defense. Don't add a free agent, and it's still passable.

I'm sure Lawton thought Welch would be able to fill in Eminger's designated slot as a 4/5. Nope.

That's still a head shaker.

... if you saw that would you think "20 game suspension"?

Granted, it looks as though it was unintentional, but he still showed his anger management issues with his 'uncontrolled' swiping of the puck at center ice during the faceoff. This guy can have a future, but he's got to control himself better than that!