Scouts and executives are split on him. Definitely the biggest project. Sounds like some don’t even have him top 10:
“I think he’s overrated. There’s some attractive parts about him, but neither the offense or defending are high-end.”
“He’s going to disappoint people if he goes in the top five. He’s a good player but doesn’t have the hockey sense to be a true top play driver in the NHL.”
“I think he has the lowest ceiling among the big four defensemen (Power, Brandt Clarke, Luke Hughes and Edvinsson) but also the highest floor. I’m not sure you’re getting a lot of offense but I think he’s top-four for sure.”
Or you can cherry-pick the positive quotes from scouts in the same article:
“His U18 tournament wasn’t amazing, and people like to tear this guy down, but a lot of what we do is about projecting the future, not the present. With his size, skating, skill, offensive instincts in five to 10 years he’s going to be at the top of an NHL lineup.”
“He’s a stud. He’s going to be a star, he has everything you want in an NHL defenseman.”
“He’s like a gazelle on the ice. You don’t see a lot of guys who look like him with his frame, mobility and ability to maneuver in traffic. He needs a lot of time to develop and grow into his frame but he can pop.”
Or you can look at publications like Hockey Prospect's Blackbook, that is loaded with comments from NHL Scouts.
Hockey Prospects Rating:
* Hockey Sense: 7
* Compete: 7
* Skill: 7
* Skating: 8
* Misc: 7
Their introductory sentences to Edvinsson's 5-page writeup:
"Edvinsson is a raw, unpolished, at times -- high-octane -- two-way defenseman with arguably the highest ceiling out of any defensive prospect featured in this class. There are very few players in any draft we would consider to have an elite skating base, but Simon is one of them." ~ Hockey Prospects intro to his writeup.
Selected comments from NHL Scouts at the end of their analysis:
“Tough to pick between Power and him. Both high end players. I think Edvinsson is more raw now but probably has bigger upside between the two players. Can’t go wrong either way.”
“When I look at him he’s a can’t miss as far as playing goes and I’ll be shocked if he’s not high end because he’s 6’5” and can skate…he defends…he can transition pucks and I think there is some offence there.”
“Great player. Huge upside and I think he’ll reach it. Handles physicality really well and he has that long stick….he’s tough one on one. Some hiccups here and there but overall he has a chance to be a huge minute eater.”
“More upside offensively than people think. He has skill and he gets pucks through. He’s top 5 for sure and is good enough to go number one.”
“I see some offensive potential on top of everything else. I specially saw it in league play. I think he did great things beating guys one and one and getting to scoring areas…he can shoot a bit too.”
There's another half dozen or so glowing comments from NHL scouts. Buy the Black Book if you want to read more. They loved him and had him ranked #3, like McKenzie. It'll get you excited about this selection.