While i hope your optimism is well placed, i find it hard to believe a player who couldn't stick in the AHL last year is going to be a force in the NHL this year!
Meanwhile last year Nash had an extended stint here centering a line with some positive results! Why have you ignored his efforts/ accomplishments in order to HYPE Rask and Lindholm? Even Welsh has a higher probability to earn a position going into camp! 
- randycane
I would be curious to hear thoughts from anyone who knows details of Rask's AHL stint last year.
There are a couple things that don't line up but my hunch is that it is something like:
--Rask played under the limit at AHL to NOT trigger his 3-year entry-level contract. There is mixed info here. CapGeek who is usually pretty good does show his contract rolling with 3 years left on it. But he played 10 games and was scratched for a couple which would seem to put him over. ???
--When he was sent down, he was not playing lights out but was decent. He managed 5 points in 10 games and was 2nd on the team (per team web site) at plus 7. It hardly sounds like he was playing so poorly that he was sent down for this reason.
--With the NHL lockout, Charlotte probably just had too many players. Dalpe, Boychuk, Bowman, Nash, etc. all needed somewhere to play. They obviously could not go to juniors. Rask could.
So my hunch is that Rask was sent down to save a year on his contract and also to make sure he got a bunch of ice time versus having to take scraps with the overstocked AHL team.
My reasoning is based on logic/circumstantial evidence alone. Anyone know a good Checkers source who would know for sure?
