But that cuts both ways. It’s the consensus of amalgamated scouting resources vs the individual needs of 31 GMs that I’m referring to.
Could they all be wrong and any individual GM be right? Sure, we did definitely see that with 88, Bergeron and lots of others. DS knew better than the scouts and other GMs there on 88 and for that he deserves credit and I do credit him for that. It was a great call.
But, on the other hand there are armies of scouts and analysts out there who, ostensibly, are paid as a profession (such that it is) to evaluate these kids. I assume they’re employed so as to utilize their expertise. So, sure, you can go off the board and make your own picks. I’m just saying that if one elects to, one has to accept the responsibility of getting pilloried if things go south.
Donny has consistently put himself in that position. Big risk, big reward. When it works, he’s a genius. When not, he has to wear it.
All I’m saying is that I vehemently disagree with his philosophy. Easy for me, I’m JAG who can lob grenades; I’m not at the draft table. I will say this though, if I were Don, I would look at the my draft record using the approach I’ve employed and ask myself: “Has it worked, by and large, or has it not really worked?”
My view is that it hasn’t really worked more often than it has.
I’m a bit nonplussed that so many here reflexively defend the man and the philosophy without much sober analysis and take any criticism of DS as though it’s a personal vendetta. It’s not. It’s strictly business.