All I know is if we draft 8-12 every year I don't think we will ever actually re-build this team.
I think you can rebuild it with 5-10 years of 8-12 picks.
And by rebuild, I simply mean, return to a pretty good team.
But it's harder to become a real cup contender/favorite without top 3 picks.
And it's harder to have a quick turnaround without them.
Guys drafted 8-12 have a good chance of being NHLers. But they don't often join the NHL early. They're more likely to join the league at 20. And they're not going to light it up right away, normally.
So you're looking at 3-4-5 years for your forwards to hit their stride.
5-6-7 years for a defenseman.
Ultimately, you're not necessarily getting anything better than Tatar or Nyquist, maybe with better speed, or Green or Kronwall.
And look, this year's team has Green, Zetterberg, Larkin, Mantha, Tatar, and Nyquist.
A lot of teams have decent personnel and still never really contend.