I know someone mentioned this a few weeks back, but I'm really starting to see the vision for this team. Kuzmenko, Beauvillier, Kravtsov, Mikheyev, Aman, Raty, and even Lekkerimaki are lighter forwards who emphasize skill with their games. Hronek and Bear are hard-nosed, no-nonsense kinds of guys who are known for their effort and compete above all else, who also have a little skill they can use (albeit Bear is more defensive natured). The key is this is a fast and skilled forward group around Petey and Hughes, but this isn't a soft team. Tocchet wants the guys playing basic, but stark defensive hockey that can turn into rush chances for us. He also has them working their tails off along the boards. Boeser has been fantastic lately in this aspect, which has been a weakness since his back injury. The thing with skinnier skill guys and boardwork is they have their sticks in just the right spot, so even if they lose the strength battle they can still come up with the puck. Even with smaller guys, this group is being insulated now and in the future by guys who know how to fill a checking/hitting role to protect these guys: Joshua looks like a Barclay Goodrow lite under Tocchet, Bloom looks like a low-ceiling guy who has an above average shot, and while Lazar and Stillman didn't work here, the idea was the same. Mix in Myers (once every 30 games or so), Podkolzin, and Miller, you get a fast defensive team that'll beat you on the boards, and doesn't need to dominate possession to be dangerous. This is the identity the team is looking for, and now we need to find guys who buy into that mentality. Funny enough, Toronto probably wins the cup if they had that mentality. They're far too possession oriented and their goalies aren't good enough to stop constant rush and breakaway chances against.
This is the style of play the Islanders played in back to back conference finals runs, except we have more offensive firepower (don't worry, I know they were WAY better than we are now. Just a stylistic comparison).
Another key point is that Colliton has the boys in Abby playing the same style of play, which means there aren't any growing pains for callups trying to learn the NHL way. This, imo, has been a massive reason why we've been a development graveyard over the years going back to the days of Cassels and Shinkaruk. We've gotten low-event games from multiple guys who aren't NHL regulars, which isn't something we've had in the past.
Going forward, I think it really matters what players we bring in. It doesn't matter if they make mistakes but they need to be able to avoid taking the second, third or fourth mistake afterwards ala Myers pre-Tocchet. I see Graves in that mold a bit, but it wouldn't surprise me if they go that route given his size. I like Mayfield and Severson, but they may price themselves out of our range.
In terms of who we may pick up in free agency, I like:
Connor Clifton LD/RD - Bos (27)
Carson Soucy LD - Sea (28)