I would say he is even further along than a lot of people expected him to be. His defensive game needs tweaking and he is still honing his offensive game but for his age and experience, he has more than proven himself as an NHL player.
For whatever reason he attracts a lot of negative criticism from fans and i'm not sure why, he's a young kid who's learning the game. He fights, he scores, he hits and seems like a good teammate. Can't really think of much to dislike about the guy. I guess if you're someone who really loved Cody Hodgson, then it might be a bit harder to warm up to him.
Glad Kassian is on our side though, he will be one hell of a force in a few years.