Pitre is still a wrecking ball, but his game remains too simple for the AHL. He has spent most of this season in the ECHL, which is never a good sign for a prospect who already has a full AHL season under his belt. There needs to be more growth in his offensive game for there to be a path to the NHL. His energy and hitting stand out, but teams still need a certain level of puck skill even from their extra forwards in that 13F role. Only stash Pitre if you are in a banger league, and even then, it would need to be a deep one.

Coulson Pitre has completed his first professional season with the San Diego Gulls. It’s been a learning curve, but he’s shown steady progress in the areas most important to his NHL projection. Production was limited, he tallied just three goals and 13 assists, but his underlying process remained solid. Pitre’s game has never hinged on scoring, it’s built on his relentless motor, defensive responsibility, and physicality. In those areas, he’s held up well and occasionally flashed a bit of offensive upside with good hands and vision. Returning to the Gulls next season, he’ll continue refining the elements that could eventually earn him a role as a defensively reliable, bottom-six NHL forward. For most fantasy managers, Pitre won’t be very relevant. In deeper leagues that reward hits, he could be worth keeping an eye on.

Pitre was selected 65th overall by the Ducks.

This was Pitre’s second full season in the OHL, and did so on the Flint Firebirds alongside two of the OHL’s highest scorers, Red Wings’ draftee Amadeus Lombardi (102 points) and Gavin Hayes (81 points) of the Blackhawks. More than just holding his own, Pitre was often able to stand out on Flint’s top line, finishing fourth on the team in scoring with 25 goals and 60 points in 59 games. Pitre is solid, if unspectacular in most aspects of the game. His stride, footspeed and agility are all assets, but not superlative strengths. His puckhandling, play along the boards, and small area game are also strong. He’s a decent enough playmaker and a solid finisher, though neither will shine at higher levels. He has good habits for getting to high-quality scoring areas, and though he is not a stand-out defensive player right now, he plays with enough edge and intensity to warrant feeling like this area of his game could be an asset at higher levels. It is not difficult to envision Pitre carving out a bottom-six role in the NHL in the future.