When they don't take guys who seem right in their wheelhouse, and take players who are already trending towards being busts instead, it's pretty hard to swallow. Hextall obviously wanted a RHD since he took St Ivany in the 4th and Wylie in the 5th.
Imaging having Farabee, K'Andre Miller and Regula or Thomas from their first 3 picks of the 2018 draft.
Elite Prospects - NHL Entry Draft 2018
I still cling to the idea JOB can be a good middle 6 type. He’s got talent. I’d prefer them gambling like that than a weak consensus player fall to them at a position they want, and they go, “Eh. Sure.” Which was what Ginning seemed. He seems so much the opposite of a bang the table type.
Much as I like Miller — and would’ve taken him next for defenders after Sandin, with Lundkvist ranked right with them — he’s still very raw and has high variance. And I’m not losing much sleep over Akil Thomas; I think his skill-set is a little flat still projecting. I really liked Regula at the time, and if they wanted a “type,” he just seemed the best fit at that spot, with upside to boot. But I actually believe Danila Zhuravlyov was my top ranked defender at 50 though (30s ranked? I watched him a lot). He went 5th round, and I thought I was maybe too bold. Maybe not. But I’d rather see a team go bold on someone they want to bet on than just go next down the consensus list (and I’m guilty of this too sometimes when I make my fake lists).