I've said previously that if you think Svech or Zadina or Wahlstrom or whoever is truly elite, then you grab them. But if you think Zadina is only a little better than Boqvist, you're making a mistake in not accounting for positional value and need. My mind is on a different draft today, so apologies for mixing sports, but this comes up all the time when people talk about the NFL draft. If you keep ignoring QB because a WR (or whatever) grades out 1% higher on your scale, you're not going to win many games in January. If the Wings "keep" (given last year's position, I realize this would be the first year this really occurred) passing on defenders because there are slightly better wingers on the board, they'll never win a game in April.
I also don't think it can be overstated that this team is unlikely to ever find a 1D if it doesn't spend premium picks on the position. Just saying "it's possible" isn't particularly useful, especially when the only evidence we have shows an ability to find lots and lots of capable wingers all over the draft board.
I'd finally add that one position takes time to develop (typically), and the other doesn't. If Svech is basically Laine, that's certainly an asset you want. You just have to realize that he's going to be on a huge 2nd contract before you have a defenseman capable of making a breakout pass if you take him.
That's a false equivalency though. QB in NFL is like goalie in NHL but WAY WAY more important. Positional scarcity affects the draft way more than anything. If all goalies weren't kind of the same guy +/- 25 goals and so reliant on a defense, you'd see a lot more teams rushing after them too. Ignoring a QB is kind of like ignoring a bonafide #1C or passing on Dahlin. They touch the ball/puck the most. They affect the game the most.
And you do account for positional need. But when guys are seemingly in the same grouping in what scouts are saying (i.e. they seem to lump Dobson, Hughes, and Boqvist together to where they almost seem interchangeable) while putting the pairing of Svech and Zadina above them in competition for the 2nd and 3rd spots, it is kind of hard for me to be upset about taking a winger over the D. If it were like last year and Heiskanen is basically "this guy is #3 behind Hischier and Patrick"? That's different.
I just don't think you focus on "need" with a top 5 pick, particularly when you are a team like the Red Wings and have plenty of needs. They need D and they need scoring and they need consistent goaltending. When you're rebuilding, you go best talent. Adam Boqvist scores no more points for me in terms of wanting to draft him by being a defenseman. He scores points with me because he's a very skilled player who will be an asset. If guys are equal in my mind, positional need is a tiebreaker, at least this high in the draft. I mean, really, to be competitive again, they'll need at minimum 2 or 3 top 6 forwards to hit and pretty much a whole new top 4 D. So landing Boqvist doesn't stop their need for a D. Landing Svech or Zadina doesn't stop their need for scorers.
But as it lands, what I'd like to see is the following by what pick they have.
1st - Dahlin
2nd - Svech
3rd - Zadina
5th - Boqvist (unless 4th)
6th - Hughes
7th - Dobson
8th - Wahlstrom/Tkachuk
At this point in the rebuild, they need talent. They don't need to be locked into "it needs to be a D or a C or whatever". They need elite talent. They have one guy who really has that potential and about two to three who have All-Star potential.
