One thing I believe that runs counter to most: NHL teams are often the problem when it comes to prospect development. These teams either don’t know what to do with the player (Linus Omark a famous example) or have others in the queue who are better or can do more things. The funny thing is, the stalling out often comes right at the point these men are plug-and-play. Why? I wrote the following about Omark in the summer of 2011:

By eye and by math he appears to be a real hockey player. A guy like Robert Nilsson looked all world with the puck one minute and then disappeared for the rest of the game. Omark flies sorties every shift. They don’t work out all of the time, but there’s a tremendous amount of try. He’s hard on the puck and works like a bugger. He can stickhandle in a phone booth and can beat people wide and inside. On a team with crazy skill, Omark is his own unique individual. He’s his own man, very confident and skilled.

The words on Omark are specific to that player, but the disconnect at the point where prospects reach the NHL is universal.

I think Noah Philp is such a player. He is a useful player with great utility, he has size, can PK, scores enough to project as a bottom-six NHL regular, and owns a cap hit of $775,000. He is also waiver eligible this fall. Philp is a RH center, that has high value. He does have some learning to do, as the faceoff performance in the NHL (39 percent) isn’t inspiring. Philp is a durable player, he can win battles and play a rugged game.

Last fall, Philp was solid in preseason (1-1-2 at five-on-five in six games, 57 percent faceoffs) and should be in the mix for the Derek Ryan role this fall. Not every player on a roster owns a complete skill set. I think Philp brings enough to the game to be considered for the NHL roster in Edmonton this fall.

On the Lowdown today, Jason Gregor will be the feature guest and we’ll talk Elks, Riverhawks, Stingers, Oilers of course (Rumors will have a juicy one at 12:20) and more. 12-2pm, Sports 1440. Hope you can tune in.