Yes, that I am actually agreeing with. Schneider at 19 is a good pick. Trading up from 22 to 19 using a 3rd rounder is a good move. But put the two together and I am not exactly on board.
But my biggest worry is the picks in rounds 2 and 3. Cuylle and Tärnström make no sense to me with what was left on the board. My biggest fear is the sudden change in direction in the middle of a rebuild with the arrival of JD. I hope I am wrong, but I just have a bad feeling about this. JD comes across as a guy with a very conservative view on the game. I know this fanbase loves him because of his time in net and in the booth but did we really need a president whois this hands on, when we have a GM in full control of a rebuild, who has proven he can make the right moves with his tenure in Boston?
I would surmise that most NHL teams function more like a think tank than a traditional corporate hierarchy. Every team is different, and I also think that there is innovation in the game. Carolina with their business ops is pushing the envelope, Dunden is a very impressive guy. SJ has a very interesting analytic strategy. TOR is run by some super sharp guys.
Let's take TOR for example since they are much further along in their rebuild. I don't know their internal machinations, but if you do the math with their strategy, totally makes sense. All of their issues are related to the post pandemic cap. They projected a rise in the cap (as did many), and that's their "folly". Lots of fan engagement around that, great. They are getting a bunch of league minimums. Disaster scenario solved? It will be interesting to see.
If you look to see when Shanahan won, it was with DET. They might be trying to build another DET. Two top tier centers. Your number 1 D. Elite wings. That's 40-48 minutes a night of match-up concerns, and betting that they can get 12-20 a night from the other guys. That team gets better at counter transitions, they'll take a step and be fun to watch. That's why they go get a guy like Brodie. CAR is a similar team.
If you look at how Dubas analytic strategy works, it's way more advanced than any media outlet can consider and this would be just applying advanced assumptions on public data. The core goals? It's about giving his team the best odd of winning. It's a good way to compare two markets, and how two organizations are building different teams with different ways of team building. The biggest difference between the two teams is 3-4 years of development time after getting top picks. So is TOR more advanced than New York?Sure, let's call it that but are they different? Absolutely. But sometimes, the more things change, the more it stays the same. There's more than one way to build a team.