Vitali KravtsovNone, I’ve been right every time
I don't know if that's a huge surprise seeing he was drafted 5th overall, I would say more Brock Faber or Jaccob Slavin have far exceeded their expectations than Sanderson.I didn't expect Jake Sanderson to be this good. I thought he would be a capable 3D/4D with good defensive play, but he really grew at UND and has been very good for the most part in Ottawa.
Not on the Wings but I never thought anything of Brad Marchand in Junior and thought he’d be an NHL player, but absolutely no more than a 4th line grinder/pest like a Hathaway.A couple weeks ago, there was a thread talking about prospects we saw a lot in that didn't pan out. Here, we talk about the opposite.
They don't necessarily have to be late-round guys, but my specific example is: 2016 was the first draft I really payed a ton of attention to, and I didn't personally see a whole hell of a lot in Jesper Bratt. His numbers in his draft year were meh, and reports of being sub-par defensively and reluctance to be physical turned me off (even for a guy who was only 5'10"). I was very, very wrong.
Adam Fox.
When the Rangers traded for and signed him I was hoping for a third pair PP specialist.
He quickly became one of the best defensemen in the NHL. The way he has success is so unusual, and isn't easy to replicate or predict. His college numbers were great and he had some big fans, but the consensus wasn't that he'd become this good.
Without a doubt it’s Kucherov.
This one resonates with me a bit, I saw him a decent amount as an amateur and he always stood out as a very smart player on the ice, and was notable IMO but didn’t get much hype at all. Glad to see I wasn’t just seeing things with him. Of course I have seen 3-4 other guys with similar stand out traits at that level who went on to do nothing and most never even got a whiff of a chance.Never thought Jake Guentzel would be as productive as he is at this level. Thought he was too small.