As disappointing as it might seem for ballard, if you want to be really realistic, here are the players he was up against for a spot. I for one would rather see blakely in more regularly anyways, and with bennell hopefully on his way, that will likely push one more of mzungu, c pearce, suban onto the list for peel.
Mzungu
Blakely
Langdon
Weller
C Pearce
Suban
Morabito
Deluca gets another crack on the rookie list, meaning there is 1 more spot on there currently, unless they intend on upgrading tanner smith back to the main team
Given that we have had McPharlin, Crowley, Duffield, Silvia retire, we should see the teams average age drop considerably for the next season, especially if the only ones we trade in are bennell and mccarthy who are under 23