I thought I was clear. No, I do not believe with his type of skillset that its worth picking him in the top 10. The upside to what he can bring is not high enough, and there's still a real downside because he's an undersized kid who isn't an elite skater. Maybe I'd reconsider if we are talking about him scoring 1PPG in the SHL for a full season.
And I do agree that the 2021 draft is wide open. I personally think some people are overreacting too much to a good season by Eklund. He's going to likely be a first rounder, but we don't need to start jumping him into the top ten (or higher) without considering the full skillset just because he's having a successful season. I know it's exciting to start making wild swings in a ranking, but I think there should be a little more reason to some of these decisions.
If you look at some recent drafts, Caufield was talked about as high as 3, and dropped to 15. Perfetti was talked about as high as 3, and dropped to 10. Rossi was talked about as high as 3, and dropped to 9. What do all these guys have in common? Undersized players, and then some combination of a lack of elite offensive and/or elite skating. If you look to someone like Raymond, he might not have been an elite skater (although I think he skates better than those three and Eklund), but he's also a kid that Detroit likely calculated can be a Panarin or Marner in five years.
It's a hard combination to find enough value in picking a player that high when there are concerns in major parts of the game, and you are likely talking about a player who plays the less valuable forward position. A player like Eklund will be more scrutinized for a top ten selection than a well-rounded center or defenseman. Add to this that Eklund would be rising into the top ten as opposed to initially pegged there for a year or two before the draft, and I find it hard to believe that we are talking about a top ten pick.
