I actually watched the NTDP alot this year subscribing to hockeytv and it took me only a few games to figure out how flawed his game was and how dumb he could be on the ice, you see flashes of high skills at times but the brain is just not there most of the times... I was claiming that Kandre Miller was the best of the 3 (the one who stood out the most for the good reasons) and was laughed at... Not sure you can laugh at me anymore after that draft...
I wouldn't say anyone would laugh at you for putting Miller ahead of any of the USNDP dmen...I see more concerns and flaws in Miller's game that Wilde's, but Wilde has been a known prospect for a longer time than Miller and seems to have soured on some scouts included.
For my money, M. Samuelsson was the best of the bunch of the USNDP defenders, and it wasn't even close. How a team drafts or why they take a player ahead of another proves nothing but they had someone higher on their board. Jake Wise went 69th overall, I would say in 2 years, about 20 plus teams are going to massively regret passing on him twice. Scouts and GMs are stupid too.
Wilde has concerns, I have listed them and stated them myself many times on here. He makes bad passes at times, pinches incorrectly at others, but on pure talent and potential, there isn't many in the draft that have a higher ceiling than him. I do not call him dumb at all, just needs to think the game better. You can tell Wilde is a player who has relied on his God given ability for years as he was far more physically advanced than his peers...now it is a different world, and effort, dedication (his conditioning was questioned), and understanding the x's and o's is where he is at right now...Miller has many of the same issues as well but gets the excuse that he played defense for only 2-3 years prior to this season...
Miller and Wilde both can flop, both can make it as stars, or only one can...nothing has been decided yet, and let's hope Wilde takes this next year far more serious than he did this season as his ceiling is unbelievable if he puts it all together. The draft was a wakeup call for Wilde, and him not being included at the summer eval camp is wake up call 2 - ball or puck if you like is in his court.