“Jim, (Benning) and ownership felt it was important to give our young guys an opportunity to play and develop in an environment that we controlled as opposed to loaning guys out. You know, we’ve got a great partnership here in Utica with Rob Esche. We had a very short window to pull this off together, but we’ve been organized and we’ve been diligent.

There have been a lot of moving parts with the logistics involved, but we’ve worked our butts off and we’ve got a great partnership with St. Louis now as well.”

“Versatility never hurts… you ask any coach when you’ve got a player that comes up who can play the wing and play the middle, it’s just a feather in their cap and a way to give them more minutes.

You talked about it, I think unexpectedly, last year he got a look there and we weren’t expecting it, or thinking that we would rely on him there, but he took a lot of draws on the power play on the right side and he found a home there, he found some success. Which again, any time you can add another facet to your game like that it gives you more minutes and more tools in your toolbox.

We had it planned for him during parts of last season and I know he was used there in camp in Vancouver a little bit out of necessity. I don’t know if we are trying to peg him in that role permanently, but we want to give him an opportunity to have the play run through him and have the puck on his stick as much as possible. Kole was a very good complimentary player last year. This year we are chellenging him to be ‘the guy.’

I think Kole having success in the middle helps him understand the defensive side of the game. When you have to play down low and you have to play a 200-foot game it forces you to move your feet more. With Kole, the constant priority for his development is to have the puck on his stick. When he has the puck on his stick, good things happen. We don’t want him to rely on others getting the puck to him, we want him to work to get the puck himself because we want the puck on his stick as much as possible. This gives him an opportunity to create while being responsible.”

“When Kole is at his best, he’s got a little bit of swagger, he’s playing physical and playing that rat type of game. He’s got a little bit of chirp. We had to get him strong enough and comfortable enough in his own shoes to play that style of game here. You could see his confidence grow last year. It’s not just his production, it’s the way he carries himself.

I’ll tell you, just this week at camp… I was sitting there today and I’m like, oh my gosh, what a difference. What an amazing two years it’s been to see. Where he is today and where he was two years ago is night and day.”