Yes. I think Ladd is a good comparison. Statistically, very very very similar. Ladd only had about a PPG in his draft year (IIRC) and he went 5th overall. Now he's an elite 5v5 scorer in the NHL
If you want to be optimistic on Crouse, I think there's a legit argument that he's this year's Landeskog. If you look at Landeskog's draft-1 year (since Landeskog is a late birthday) and compare it to Crouse's draft year, it puts Crouse in a very favorable light. And besides that, Landeskog only scored 66 points in 53 games in his draft year. Jason Akeson scored 108 points and Ryan Murphy scored 79, so it's not like Landeskog didn't have help. Crouse only had 51 points in 56 games, but he also lead his team; Kingston was a wasteland offensively without Bennett (and Watson missed time). I can't remember exactly what it is, but I know Crouse's scoring rate increased dramatically after Bennett came back.
I still think there are better picks, but Crouse is nothing to sniff at. He has every desirable physical trait, very good defensive presence, a helluva mean streak, and a great shot. He's not particularly creative offensively, that's my only real issue.
Ran it too. Sharks won twice in 50 goes, but so did Toronto laugh and LA didn't win at all.