You're basing that on what? He was suspended almost the entire season and it didn't get any attention from the national media. Bruce Garrioch gave an update once every few months and that was it. If he were truly one of the best prospects not playing in the NHL he'd have been a) traded or b) would have at least garnered some decent mainstream media attention a la Johnny Drouin. There's a reason this guy was drafted in the 7th round--he's a project player who needs a lot of work. Can you show me a list of the best prospects not playing in the NHL that has his name on it from a reputable source?
You seem to haqve missed the part where I said without the drama from this summer. But that's ok I guess. As for why he isn't drawing the same attention as Drouin, well, aside from the fact that Drouin was a top 3 pick with potential top player talent, there's also the fact that Drouin was holding out to play in the NHL as opposed to holding out to
not play in the NHL. If you can't see how that might cool perspective trade offers, I really don't know what to tell you. It's also quite possible that Ottawa never showed interest in trading him.
His draft status is irrelevant, Panarin wasn't even drafted. Both guys developed quite a bit since then. They are not 18, 19 yr olds.
As for Reputable sources,
Pronman (it's behind a paywall, you can see some of the content
herethough) had him ahead of Chabot in our Org rankings after the 2015 draft (partially because he wasn't as high on Chabot, but still had Wikstrand as our 2nd best prospect behind White, ahead of Paul, Puempel, Prince, Lindberg). He was highly regarded whether or not you want to beleive it.
And my point about "free wallet" is that he would have received UFA attention akin to the Panarin, Justin Shultz, and Mike Reilly type of buzz if he became a free agent (he actually still has a year under contract, I though it was up after this season, so it's kinda a moot point).
And no, I'm not just using hindsight. As I said, Tarasenko and Schwartz were both first round picks and highly-touted prospects out of their respective junior leagues. I don't think there are too many people out there who are shocked that they became quality NHLers (although Tarasenko obviously exceeded most people's expectations).
And Panarin? I never suggested that Wikstrand was at their level, I just mentioned that it isn't uncommon. I went on to list more guys, which you've ignored, focusing instead on two guys. But yes, you are using hindsight. Even Schwartz exceeded rational expectations.
My point wasn't that you can't make the jump from Euro pro men's leagues to the NHL; It was that it's not his choice to make. The Sens have invested plenty of money into this guy and obviously wanted their farm team coach (who has like 1,400 games of NHL experience) to monitor and help improve his play on a nightly basis for a year. I don't care that he thought he needed another year in Europe. He was drafted in 2012 ffs. It was time for him to follow his bosses' orders and make the leap.
Ok, if that's you're point it's an odd way of going about making it. I responded to someone asking how often do guys skip the AHL, you responded by saying the guys I mentioned off the top of my head were much better prospects. I gave more examples, with guys that weren't as good, you continued talking about how great a player those first examples were, and went on to downplay Wikstrand as a prospect. You never once said or implied that the issue was with him trying to decide what route is better for his development, hence why I replied the way a have. As for why he wanted to stay in Europe this year, he's made public his rationale; whether you accept it as acceptable, or beleive the veracity of it or not is up to you, I guess.
*Also, one thing I've thought a lot about while following this story is that the Sens seem to have had trouble with Swedish players coming over when they want them to in the past. Silfverberg comes to mind. I remember three or four years back when the Sens wanted to bring him over to play in the AHL and he was adamant about wanting to play another year in Sweden. In the end, the Sens caved and allowed him to play in the SHL where he ended up winning the MVP and the championship (I think). So, obviously it worked out ok for him but the guys in the Sens management were probably thinking "geez, our AHL team is struggling and meanwhile we have one of the best guys not playing in the NHL under contract and he's playing in Sweden? I'm sure that drove Randy Lee (GM of Bingo) nuts."
Sure, I guess. There are advantages and disadvantages to Eur and NA in terms of developing prospects. I know they weren't happy with how Zibanejad was handled over there as well. That's a different issue altogether though.
