I still consider Mittelstadt the biggest “bust” of that draft so far. He was the one being talked about everywhere and seemingly by every pundit and anylist. It was the same last year in Buffalo and he has thus far looked terrible.
I feel like Lias was not nearly as big a deal and still isn’t. He’s been completely overshadowed by Chytil at this point, but that kind of started to happen right away, the summer following the draft.
Outside of NY, I’m really not sure what expectations for Lias were. But he still can blossom, now with much less pressure even. Getting demoted could still be great for him in that sense. While CM still has all eyes on him, and playing on that team, when even Nick Petan starts to outshine, it can’t be great for his confidence. For me, Casey M is up their with Codey Hodgson and others as some of the biggest disappointments in modern drafting.
Lias, if he fails, which I hope he won’t, still won’t be that big of a shock I think.
But yea, both Casey and Lias still have plenty of time. It could be as simple as a change of scenery. Look how long it took Elias Lindholm. Year after year, I was shocked to see him disappoint in Car. Then he goes to Calgary and bust no more. Jared McCaan even. There is a guy I gave up on finally after 3 seasons. Now how many seasons later and he’s looking like a real player. If only Curtis Lazar could find the right fit now.....lol I’m kidding. I honestly don’t think there is any hope for him. For a while, I thought Dylan Strome was on that bust path. That’s changed in Chicago for now at least.
All that said, Chytil had such a high ceiling even then, I’m surprised the Rangers got him where he did. I’d rather draft a high ceiling than a safe player, especially in the early 1st. But they struck gold and if Lias never develops, it probably will go mostly unnoticed because of how good Chytil will be.
