Steve Kournianos
@thedraftanalyst
NHL Draft 2018: For polarizing talent Brady Tkachuk, rewards outweigh risks
Let me preface by saying both sides of the argument can make valid points. While I think Tkachuk's puck skills are underrated by the stats watchers, his pre-draft production was rather pedestrian when you factor in how elite the upper tier of wingers are.
On the other hand, Keller, Boeser and Connor were already drafted when they were NCAA freshman. This is where the human factor comes into play. It's probably way, way easier to perform as an NCAA frosh with an ELC under your belt than it is to be fighting for one.
Personally, I don't take Tkachuk ahead of Zadina, Veleno or Farabee. Wahlstrom is the flavor-du-jour but I think a lot of that is Jack Hughes' doing.
You can't dismiss the once pervasive belief that size and NHL bloodlines mean a lot more to decision makers than pure skill. It's still there, which is why I see Tkachuk going higher than the uber-skilled types.
In all honesty, I see Tkachuk at his best becoming a mix of Jordan Staal, Brandon Dubinsky and Scott Hartnell. Very tough to pass that up, even if you're picking 3rd or 4th overall.
Let me preface by saying both sides of the argument can make valid points. While I think Tkachuk's puck skills are underrated by the stats watchers, his pre-draft production was rather pedestrian when you factor in how elite the upper tier of wingers are.
On the other hand, Keller, Boeser and Connor were already drafted when they were NCAA freshman. This is where the human factor comes into play. It's probably way, way easier to perform as an NCAA frosh with an ELC under your belt than it is to be fighting for one.
Personally, I don't take Tkachuk ahead of Zadina, Veleno or Farabee. Wahlstrom is the flavor-du-jour but I think a lot of that is Jack Hughes' doing.
You can't dismiss the once pervasive belief that size and NHL bloodlines mean a lot more to decision makers than pure skill. It's still there, which is why I see Tkachuk going higher than the uber-skilled types.
In all honesty, I see Tkachuk at his best becoming a mix of Jordan Staal, Brandon Dubinsky and Scott Hartnell. Very tough to pass that up, even if you're picking 3rd or 4th overall.