LaLaLaprise said:
Im not so sure its a lock.
Agreed. It will all depend on individual preferences of the teams, of course. I don't know who thought Setoguchi would go top-10 either. But trying to evaluate Little objectively, he seems to have a good mix of attributes that might make him a candidate to drop in the draft order relative to his rankings. Start with size, of course. Continue with a lack of visibly impressive physical skills... he isn't fast, his shot is deceptively good but still not especially heavy, he competes but you couldn't really say he brings a physical game... that sort of thing. Then put in his later birth date. I could EASILY see him falling out of the top-10. And further, depending on how the preferences of the teams stack up. Past top-20 would still be a major stretch though, so it's not like he's going to be an option for that NAS pick.
(Mind you, as much as I'd argue that Little is a good candidate to fall out of the top-10, I also think any NHL GMs who let that happen are nuts. He'd be solidly in my own top-10, no problem).