as far as Kopi dropping in 2004 I think Holden would know the back story but I think it was the strike year (lock out) and the Kings had more scouting assets in play (many clubs had down sized tonsave money) and their European scout fell in love with Kopi. they mentioned without the strike they might not had time to scout as thoroughly. Now I might have completely butchered that story so perhaps Holden can assist.
As far as this past draft I had Trouba in the 4-5 spot. I can tell you had Jacob been taken before us and Forsburg had fallen to us and we had taken any one of the defensman not named Murray I would not have been happy at that time. also I don't get too hung up on our current needs because by the time our prospect becomes an impact player our needs will probably be different. longer term (4 to 5 years out) I thought we needed another elite shut down defender.
Honestly, I don't know the whole story on the Kopitar thing (in 05 btw), it was pre me getting into the draft (pre finding these boards as well
. What I do know is that Kopitar was viewed as a huge risky pick. Many people questioned his drive, ability to take the more physical NHL and of course many eyebrows were raised about his birthplace which scared people quite a bit.
Another factor is that the Kings GM at the time was Dave Taylor. Now I am big supporter of Taylor and I think he did a fine job as the GM of the Kings, with the many restraints and issues he dealt with (not that I disagree with his firing). But that's a whole another story, my point is that Taylor had one particular strategy in the draft...find who slips and gobble them up. Kopitar was projected top 5, slipped to 11, so he took them. Sure looks great there...yet he did the same thing with Lauri Tukonen (projected top 5, slipped to 11) which appeased the fans well enough and Tukonen was considered the ultimate "safe" pick, his downside was Jere Lehtinen, upside of Adam Deadmarsh, that's what we were told. Yet we see how that worked out. He also had a thing for size (C Brian Boyle, RW Jen Karlsson, C Anze Kopitar, RW Dustin Brown, RW Lauri Tukonen all big boys in the first round, a mixed bag there).
So all in all, I am not sure what the Kings did for scouting last lockout TBH, nor the story on the Kings head scout. But I do know the Kings during the Taylor era loved slipping players and size (so they were considered safe players), but it was a mixed bag.
Would I have taken Forsberg or Grigorenko over Trouba. Probably.But I don't think even at the draft, Trouba was much behind and I am not sitting in a room with the players, nor have access to the many things teams are. I've learned that players that slide, slide for a reason. It may be a bogus one (Kopitar's birthplace), but it may be real (Tukonen's lack of hockey sense, Esposito's lack of drive, etc). Waiting on sliders is risky business. It fan appeasing, but not a particularly sound strategy. I'm not against it as a rule, but very often there are legitimate reasons for slides.
Now, if we are talking "safe" picks versus risky picks my opinion is to try to stay away from "safe" picks. Honestly, more of them end up busting than panning out in any capacity. I didn't view Trouba as a "safe" pick. He was defensive minded, but that far from makes him a "safe" pick. His skills were raw, unpolished. But it was his high hockey IQ that attracted me. If anything, Forsberg is the "safe" pick. His scouting report reads EERILY similiar to Tukonen's though, and that scares me.
My #1 characteristic for drafting is hockey sense. Players with hockey sense develop the other skills they need, players with high end skill and no hockey sense don't. What you see is what you get. Trouba had a very hockey IQ. You can't teach that. Physical defensive defensemen are not safe bets, look at some recent ones drafted like Colten Teubert. But Trouba's incredibly high hockey IQ is allowing him to continue to develop and work on his offensive skills well maintaining and continuing to develop his defensive game as well. It's that high hockey IQ why I did not like him projected as a defensive defenseman either. Honestly I had him pegged for a Willie Mitchell type offense at the draft, nothing unreal, but a good shot and smart passes allow him to hold his own in the offensive zone. Now he clearly is showing more. He always had a big shot and good first pass. High IQ players don't always dominate their current competition, but often make the step better than skilled guys who use those tools to dominate (ie Collberg).
Lastly, I completely agree with ps241 that current needs play next to 0 in the draft process. You want the best player. Better to deal with abundance of quality players at one position down the road, than a balanced mediocre roster. Pick the best player.
). Just like Truck I tend to agree more with the number pieces (ironically since Ben isn't writing anymore these are mostly Truck and I write these 
