How much of drafting is just luck? It definitely plays a large role. I'm not saying we're unlucky, because we have certainly made some bad picks, but in the end, how you evaluate a draft could depend on whether or not you just got lucky on a 6th round pick.
I'm a little late to this party but what the hell:
I find the first round of the draft to be a complete farce. And not just in hockey, but any sport....but mostly hockey for these two reasons:
1) Outside of the lottery Top 5 picks it is basically a complete crapshoot on who you get. And even then nothing is promised in respects to what that player will turn into.
2) Plenty of teams have found diamonds in the rough. Hell Detroit basically didn't have a real 1st round pick for well over a decade and STILL won championships.
The issue is people put such a huge value in their 1st round picks because yes, they are the first person picked in that years draft. The Wild have been absolutely horrible at it for whatever reason it has been. Think about what could have happened with those picks if they just traded them and got players who fit roles that were desperately needed. Especially from around 09-12 seasons.
But not withstanding, the issue with hockey drafts is how young you are drafting them. Even Nanne has said this. These are 18-20 year olds who haven't played anything but either High School/Juniors and you're expecting them to come into the league and actually produce. For every Connor McDavid you get 100 A. J. Thelen's. So is it luck? I don't believe in it when it comes to this. Unless you believe luck means "right time, right place." Our scouts simply are not in the places they should be to find players who may actually prosper. We haven't had a legit forward that was drafted by this team entirely that has been fantastic up front since Koivu IMO.
