The rundown on defenseman Jordan Hill:
2010-11 stats [career]: 3 goals, 9 points, 26 penalty minutes, minus-10 rating in 28 games.
Pros: It was easy to forget (like I did for a moment) that Hill was in Ontario on an ECHL contract, since the rookie defenseman spent more than half the season in the AHL. At this level, his size (6-2, 195 pounds), skating and pugnacity are all assets. Hill showed he can occasionally chip in on offense, too.
Cons: He’ll probably never be a truly gifted offensive defenseman, and you wonder where the minus-10 rating came from. Still, Hill looks like a player on the way up and an AHL contract seems like his most likely deterrent to re-signing. It’s hard to imagine Karl Taylor won’t try.
