You think how well he has been playing....and then think that Gretzky did the same thing to his competition in the NHL...scary!
As a Mooseheads fan, it sure is fun right now. Yet in a selfish way, wish both would be back next year. Imagine the domination as 18 year olds!!
They'd be lucky to even get one. If RNH can play in the NHL at 18, Drouin can as well.
I think any NHL coach (especially those on teams with a top-3 pick) would find it extremely difficult to cut him. Going into Team Canada camp, he was a long-shot to make the team. He played his way onto the team; and it's likely he would most non-playoff NHL teams. Once you watch him play, he makes it impossible to cut him.
He's elusive and dynamic every time he touches the puck. Slightly undersized (room to grow as a 17) but is extremely strong on his skates; and one of the shiftiest players I've seen play in recent memory (I can see the Kane comparison for sure).
MacKinnon has the stronger overall skating stride - unbelievable how strong his first couple strides are, amazing acceleration. Both use their speed and are very responsible defensively - I'd credit that to borderline elite hockey sense (elite's a tricky word) and attention to detail instilled by Dom Ducharme.
Drouin's high shooting percentage is a interesting number. As talented as he is, I'd consider him more of a playmaker than a natural scorer, but he's so unpredictable with the puck he makes it difficult for QMJHL level goalies and D to anticipate his decision making. A lot of his goals are plays where 1/2 the rink is anticipating a touch pass to his finisher's (Frk/Nate both know how to find twine) and he's able to freeze the goalie and finish with his stickhandling ability. I'd say that his shot is effective but not necessary the strongest aspect to his game.
He's got a touch of Datsyukian in him but will never play center - where the Kane comparison comes from. Definitely doesn't have the two-way play or the elite dangles but has a soft touch.
That being said, I can see the upside of Seth Jones. I've only seen him once live and admittedly don't watch a ton of WHL games (saw one on Sportsnet) but I liked his play and ability to play minutes on a gold-medal winning WJC squad.
I couild eventually see it going Dru - Jones - Nate or Nate - Jones - Dru but it's a close race. I've seen much more of the Moose duo than any in the draft, and am far from a professional scout. The other high-end prospect that intrigues me this year is Elias Lindholm, but I unfortunately haven't seen much of him.