Derek Neumeier

This is nothing but baseless speculation on my part... but I wonder if any of the other names in these trade talks are players who were also picked near the top of the 2022 draft

Simon Nemec, Shane Wright, Kevin Korchinski... all struggling and/or underperforming expectations right now

Ben Kindel had yet another huge game for the Calgary Hitmen last night, scoring 1 goal and 2 assists. He logged a lot of ice time and was dangerous from start to finish

He's now up to 31 points in 22 games on the season

Keep an eye on him. He could play his way into the 1st round in 2025

Andrew Cristall, a forward with the Kelowna Rockets and a Washington Capitals draft pick, is now up to 31 points in 12 games this year

That also brings him up to 311 total points in his WHL tenure so far, in just 203 games

Those are 1980s, pray-for-the-goalie, everyone-else-smokes kind of numbers

Mason Marchment is currently playing the best hockey of his NHL career, at the ripe young age of 29. Even more impressive, he looks like he's still going to get even better from here

What a wild development path he's undergone so far, and story that he continues to write