The real issue with our prospect pool is how terrible the 2014 draft was, especially with the number of picks that we had. It has created a major hole in the prospect pool. It was readily apparent immediately after that draft how poor the potential was. The past 2 or 3 drafts have been a lot better and we've been taking players that have higher levels of projectable skills.
To review them:
2016 draft:
Riley Tufte--An okay pick. He started off really slowly in college, but looks to be trending to be a bottom 6 winger with skill.
Fredrick Karlstrom--Wasn't great last year and is a pretty poor skater. Not a great outlook for him as an NHLer. Was an okay pick at the time because he has decent skills outside his skating.
Rhett Gardner--Waste of a pick. Looked bad at the time and still looks bad.
Colton Point-- Looking like an excellent pick. Obviously we need to wait to see how he transitions to pro play from college, but he was outstanding in college.
Nick Caamano--Progressing well for a 5th round pick. Like Point, still needs to transition to pro next year, but definitely looks like he can make it as a bottom 6 NHLer if things go right.
Jakob Stenqvist--No idea, to be honest. Okay stats for a 6th rounder in tier-2 in Sweden. Okay pick.
2017 draft:
Miro Heiskanen--No-brainer of a pick. Nothing to commend or condemn with this pick.
Jake Oettinger--I didn't particularly like trading up for a goalie, let alone taking one in the first round. However, he's still a borderline top-10 goalie prospect in the league, so it was not a bad pick by any means.
Jason Robertson-- One of my favourite Stars picks of the Nill era. Extremely talented and could project to be a top-line scoring winger. He drives whatever line he is on, hard.
Liam Hawel--He wasn't good in his draft year and didn't progress much this year. Probably a waste of a pick.
Jacob Peterson--Had pretty decent overall stats this year and looks like decent value for a 5th round pick.
Brett Davis--Showed the type of progression I hoped for out of Hawel. This upcoming year will be a good test to see if he has NHL potential.
Dylan Ferguson--Traded for Methot. Neat.
2018 draft:
Ty Dellandrea--I know this isn't a popular pick, but there was a clear drop off in talent after the two players the Isles took. I remember always thinking Dellandrea was a 20 year old playing for Flint this year because he plays such a mature, poised game beyond what is expected of a 17 year old. The hand-wringing over some people calling him a 'middle-6 centre' is puzzling. That label is affixed by those looking at his stat line. He has the talent to be much more.
Alban Eriksson--We'll see how he develops, but he's been billed as a goal-scoring power winger. Was drafted essentially around his consensus ranking. I don't mind it at all.
Oskar Back--A safe pick, based off the scouting reports. A two-way centre that was drafted around his consensus. Works for me.
Adam Mascherin--The heist of the draft. Great offensive talent who exceeded his draft expectations from his first draft and slid to the 4th round only because he was a redraft. He will be a top-6 winger in Dallas very soon.
Curtis Douglas--Yes, He's tall. And that plays into the "can't teach big" Joe Macdonnel philosophy that led to great picks like Chris Martenet and Aaron Haydon, but he actual has a skillset outside of height unlike them. He still probably is a longshot to ever make it, but there is some large potential in him.
Riley Damiani--A small skilled, two-way forward. The type of player that we've shied away from in the past based on his size (maybe signs of a philosophy change?). Lots of potential for growth here.
Dawson Barteaux--Two-way puck moving defenseman, and clearly not a pick predicated on size. Decent stats for a draft eligible player in the WHL.
Jermaine Loewen--The only pick in the draft I wasn't super enthused with. He was the leading scorer on his team this year, so it's not like he didn't meet the expectations of an NHL pick in the CHL.
Overall, we've picked a number of viable NHL prospects over the past 3 years and it is a definite improvement from the 2014/2015 drafts.
