I’m confused. You say the NA media liked guys who play in their jr leagues but then you jump to Pettersson being drafted 5th as if the two things connect. Do you believe the media does the drafting for NHL teams?
As for Pettersson, sure he’d go higher in a re-draft but that’s based on what he’s done AFTER the draft, not at the time. Plus he went 5th. Last I checked, that’s pretty high yes? And didn’t Heiskanen (Liiga) go 3rd in that same draft? Plus Button says Kotkaniemi (Liiga) will be moving up his next draft rankings towards the top 5.
Sorry but I’m not seeing a clear trend in your data points. Button critiquing Boqvist is based on Boqvist, not your silly persecution complex.
Excuse my tangent...
Pettersson is so scrawny even now it’d be tough to get 10 NHL seasons out of him before age 28. His scoring rate is still below Bud Holloway(who was a fringe NHLer in his prime) so he will need at least another season to get towards optimal playing weight. Over the time of cost certainty before age 28, the players at 1&2 will provide more value than Pettersson will, even if his peak is better.
I’ve written chapter and verse prior on Boqvist and if you are actually watching prospects rather than picking others brains, you will have gaps in coverage. Cross checkers have to rely pretty hard on people they trust or have to aggregate all the opinions here.
You watch a guy like Boqvist, note the good things, bad things and keep an eye on the stats to see if impressions match production. Then at the big tourneys you re-evaluate. Did Boqvist get better on his O? That was sorta static. Did he clean up his weaknesses? Not really. What’s changed from Hlinka? A couple of concussions, a couple incidents with his knee(even if he didn’t miss more than 30 minutes.) So some medical flags, some more important than others.
But at the end of the day, for as good as the offensive skill set he has, the defensive flaws coupled with his body mass issues make me put ayelow flag on him, even before the concussions.
The concussions can hinder his gym time, which hinders the progress in building his muscle mass.
That hinders his timeline into making the NHL, which decreases the potential value. Then you get into what his production can be before he goes UFA. That number at 3 might be an insane risk, while at 16 it’s a calculated risk while at 25 it’s playing with house money.
It’s all about your organizational and personal risk tolerance.