I like Kolesar and Tuch over Hague at least right now for probability of a pro career.
Hague is a big project, and I foresee him taking at least 3 years to show he was worth a 2nd rounder, especially as an oversized defender. You have to admit, the tools are impressive though. Like Ive mentioned in previous threads, he's a pretty safe bet to be a bottom pair guy, but a Methot type player in the 2nd round is a killer pick.
I think Tuch vs Kolesar, Tuch has to be the better prospect as of now. He's already proven he can score at about a .75 ppg in the pro's in his rookie year. We will just have to wait and see how his game translates to the pro's next year.
My personal list for probability of a good NHL career:
Glass
Brannstrom (puck moving d-men I take over middle 6 wingers 9 out of 10 times)
Suzuki (see him as a wing at the pro level)
Tuch
Kolesar
Hague
And even with Kolesar / Hague last, that is no slight against them. The top end of the prospect list is better already than most teams in the league imo. There's just no depth due to obvious reasons.
Purely potential top end ranking:
Glass - 70 point all situations 1C
Brannstrom - weak man's Karlsson (40-50 point power play specialist I.e. Gardner / Shattenkirk)
Suzuki - weak man's Gaudreau (I'd say 50-60 point dynamic winger)
Hague - defensive leaning #3 (I'd say 20-25 points is fair)
Tuch - middle 6 power forward (20/20 player)
Kolesar - not nearly as tough, but a better skating Lucic i.e. (20/20 player who bangs more than Tuch)
And I think those top end projections of mine are fairly realistic. I think at least a couple hit that peak. I try and keep the prospect hype in the middle and not be a fanboy.
I don't disagree with any of that. But I will observe that the ceiling of a prospect and how soon they might be able to break in with the big club are two different things. And for me right now all I'm wondering about is which of these guys, if any, might find things aligning for them to get a shot at a roster spot.
Guys like Tuch and Kolesar can play on lower lines fairly early on, since they're big and do the dirty work, provided they skate well enough. Neither are minus skaters, so I have to think they'll have a good opportunity this year in camp to make the team (Tuch moreso than Kolesar).
Of all the draft picks there's only one who I don't worry about in size/weight and that's Hague. And he also has really good movement and hands for big guy as young as he is. I was listening to the scouting report on the draft today on Sirius and it didn't surprise me the guy had him at 20 overall on his board. This guy is a legit round one talent that slid to us.
Unfortunately Hague is a blueliner, which is really tough for dev time. But in his case I don't think he'll take as long as some of the big guys have. Also, what is interesting about guys like him is you can actually throw them into a lower pairing a bit earlier than the guys who need to put on weight. Problem of course is the lower pairing means less ice time, so they need to reach a certain point before the team will consider that.
Just spitballin here. Not making a prediction, as I don't want to set myself up to have expectations I feel these guys must meet. Going to enjoy watching them progress and hope that one or two of them are quick studies, basically. And from there, well, let's hope a couple of them truly excel.