My Hayton thoughts are so conflicted. He's just been one of those guys I watch and re-watch trying to get a read, and I'm never sure. He's one of the players I'm least sure of my opinion about. I just would rather dreamily think about a Kravtsov or Berggren type player. I think they are better; I think they fill a bigger need. But it's not like I didn't write this back in August:
Hayton too, who isn't ranked by anyone yet as a 1st rounder, but that's probably going to change. He scored a lot of points, yeah, but he was used in every situation for Canada, all strengths, and he looked awesome besides the scoring. Competed like a bas***d in the dirty areas, super smart, excellent skill as a passer/shooter, quick feet. First reaction was him being a bigger Anderson-Dolan. It's going to be fun seeing him and Frost center the top two lines for SSM. Sure I'll be watching a lot of him to get a better gauge. They both seemed like "Flyers type" picks fwiw. Maybe they'll be in the vicinity of their pick.
That sure sounds like something a super fan would say today. Not everything I think in small sample 9 months ago looks great now (as page 1 shows), though rarely is something
entirely wrong either, but I wanted to believe in him so badly entering the season. I was often disappointed for the majority of it. Yet, his late season and playoff viewings were very strong and he looked a lot more like this player again to me. But the minor gripes I talk about aren't entirely fiction to me either, even if they're not "negatives" so much as "not entirely positives." So, I guess reality ends up something in between. I just like others more at #14. This isn't a player I close to dislike and would at least be comfortable with him, unlike a handful of other players.
Maybe it's a bit of an overreaction to being called the next Bergeron too. If he was ranked more in the mid-late teens, I'd be less critical. Again, Robert Thomas was ranked low-mid 20s by most. Button had him close to 50 and Hayton 7. Now, he could go top 10.
This draft lacks centers so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Hayton gets pushed up boards.
Bingo. And he probably won't even make it to #14.