I'm much more comfortable with the scouting crew today purely based on talent, hype and success at the junior level. Only 2-3 players have stuck around so far and that's Kotkaniemi, Mete and Juulsen. We'll see which ones actually end up becoming careers/impact players like Pac, Carey Price and PK/McDonagh, Gallagher etc. but I'm a little more optimistic on our chances today than I was in 2015/2016. Having so many picks and different quality prospects is much more exciting than having less and it also increases the chances in TT's selections of making NHL players. So he may redeem himself for the huge dry period of like 2010-2015 and the whole Galchenyuk fiasco (we could of had Reilly, rumours MB wanted him but hindsight is always 20/20).
What really makes me somewhat optimistic in this turnaround/team and TT was the emergence of KK. When everything seemed doomed for a basement finish based on our roster and I actually thought Ottawa would destroy us in the season, KK came out of nowhere and did something we hadn't experienced in a long freaking time, that was a breath of fresh air and actually gave me hope to turn this thing around. After the KK breakout, we saw the Chucky and Pacioretty deals turn out to be great trades that really allowed us the chance to make the playoffs. That one pick by TT in 2018 3rd overall, where KK wasn't even supposed to be in the Top 5, he made his place as a top 5 pick by getting better during the season of 2017-2018, we made that pick and that really boosted our team for one year. We just gotta build on that to become a serious team.
Think about the KK pick, it was almost the same thing as Chucky in 2018. Chucky had missed the whole junior season due to knee injury, was somewhat a wild card and we picked him. For TT to go out and make another wild card pick at 3rd overall 5 years later in 2018, where KK wasn't a consensus top 5 throughout the whole season, but moved up by the end of the season, it was a bold move that paid off.
So for me my renewed optimism in this team started with the KK selection from TT. Everything else has progressively been trending upwards in hopes and optimism, that started with TT. He has my vote of approval, for now... see you all in 2024