“If he was down there and was playing poorly and wasn’t one of the better players every single night, we wouldn’t be pulling him up here,” Knioblauch said. “The reports that we’ve had for quite a while is that he’s been playing well and getting better every time, and that’s in many areas of the game. We’re very looking forward to seeing him play.

“I think it was important that he did spend that time in Bakersfield, and as the season’s gone on, he’s progressed and played really well. And we want to look and see how he fits into our lineup, whether there’s a fit with somebody or maybe he’s just not quite ready or whatever it is, but I think he’s earned it. I think he’s been playing very well in Bakersfield and we’ll just see if he plays well, and then we’ll make a decision after that.”

“Things have been going really well,” he said. “You know, a little bit of a slow start adjusting to pro hockey, but I’ve been playing really well the last couple weeks or even a month, so I’m feeling really confident and feeling really good about my game.

“I think just trying to make that big jump to the pro level and kind of kind of pick out the differences in junior and try and really work on those areas. But I think it’s been a pretty seamless transition and just looking to continue to get better every day.”