Habs76
Registered User
I see #1D potential in Byram, and I think it's more likely he becomes a 1D than most of the top centers become a 1C. And frankly, a defenseman is so much more valuable than a winger, it's not close- and wingers can be found throughout the draft too.Even ignoring the Canadiens' needs, when there's as many top end C's and dynamic wingers (Kakko, Podkolzin) available as there are, you don't take a D unless they have franchise potential. And I really haven't seen anything from Byram that would lead me to believe that.
You can find quality D throughout the draft; whereas a significant portion of top Cs or Ws are found in the top 10.
Take 2014 for example:
We saw Kasperi Kapanen, David Pastrnak, Nikita Scherbak, Josh Ho-Sang, Christian Dvorak, Ryan Donato, Vladislav Kamenev, Brayden Point, Viktor Arvidsson, Danton Heinen, Ivan Barbashev, Kevin Labanc, Dylan Sikura and Ondrej Kase all get drafted outside the top 20. Most are wingers, with a few exceptions. All are now in the NHL, or on the cusp.
On the flip side, Brandon Montour, Nikita Tryamkin, Louie Belpedio, Gustav Forsling and Anton Lindholm were the top defensemen picked after 20.