It stopped being a meritocracy when Luchanko was returned to Guelph at 18 but 4 people on this hell site wanted to have that conversation and Russ was not one of them.
Russ wants to run to the middle with fun, young names on the roster, nothing more. Same as most of you.
Team fandom is dead.
Kid played hard. Only a matter of time before Knuble and Bonk are sent down. This isn’t a meritocracy. It’s not a true rebuild. It’s a team desperately trying to race to the middle. A race to hockey purgatory. A race to the same place the team has been for over a decade. It’s a joke.