Z is a dumb dumb. People just don’t want to admit it.
Barron doesn’t have elite sense, but he’s not dumb either. He has high end physical tools and a raw skill set that has top pairing potential. Like Byram, you look as his size/reach/skating and there is excellent potential to be very good defensively. He has to grow the mental side of the game. Offensively there are tools there, but he’s not a 40+ guy. 25-35 is probably his ceiling in that area. This is a kid that basically has a throw away year last year in arguably the most important year in his development. That alone makes him a risk, but could make him a steal too. Scouting is very much what have you done for me lately and Barron just didn’t have anything. There is a solid chance he develops a lot this year compared to where he was thought to me. That doesn’t mean he becomes a sure thing top pairing guy, but he has good potential. Physically, he’s got the full skill set to be a 2 and a high end minute eater (great skating for 25 minutes). He can be a 2, I just wouldn’t pencil him in there. He’s also really unlikely to be a PP guy here so there are limits. I think he can be a very solid 3 who can pair up with Girard in 3 seasons. That is good upside at this point in the draft.
With who was around I would have taken Niemela , Brisson, or Gunler personally. Going defense, very likely Niemela. Niemela is an even better skater and has more offensive upside... but lacks the size and physical component that Barron does. Not that Barron is a big hitter, but Niemela will never have that while Barron will have some.
On SEPH’s point, you can take my the BPA myth and throw it out the window here. Hepple clearly went for organizational need and projection. They needed a long term Girard partner and they got a very reasonable projection with this pick.