Who will be the biggest bust of the 2016 Draft?

Who will be the biggest bust of the 2016 Draft?


  • Total voters
    411

JaegerDice

The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA
Dec 26, 2014
25,099
9,305
Puljujarvi, but Im not particularly convinced its his fault.
 
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Frankie Blueberries

Allergic to draft picks
Jan 27, 2016
9,142
10,614
Yeah, pretty easy to pick Puljujarvi at this juncture. He was basically a consensus top 3 pick. Most analysts and draft rankings believed Matthews-Laine were in the top tier, with Puljujarvi in a close 3rd, and then the rest were a bit more jumbled.
 

KevinRedkey

12/18/23 and beyond!
Jan 22, 2010
9,821
4,745
I called Logan Brown a future bust the second he was drafted, so I'll stick with that.
Dude was only ranked that high because of his height. If he was 5ft11, he'd have been a 3rd rounder.
 
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koyvoo

Registered User
Nov 8, 2014
17,254
17,030
That's why I said who will not who is
In that case considering how young and early in development these guys are, it’s more guessing than anything. Not that there’s anything wrong with forecasting the future, but nothing definitive can be stated on this draft class for a few years yet.
 

Sergei Shirokov

Registered User
Jul 27, 2012
15,406
5,830
British Columbia
I think Juolevi & Jost will still have decent careers. Nylander, Brown & Puljujarvi I'm less sure about.

I imagine Puljujarvi will be in the NHL for awhile due to size & skating even if he doesn't figure the skill side out. Nylander pretty much has to be a skill player to make it, and I'm not sure really what Brown has been up too. Doesn't seem like he's made much noise lately.

Puljujarvi relative to draft position, but I think he still has a better chance of playing longer than the other two.

I always figured Nylander was boom/bust. I didn't think he was a real elite prospect, definitely not as good as his bro.

So..? I guess I'd say Brown. In hindsight there was surprisingly some real hype about his upside. And I figure with his size+skill he should atleast be able to play 4th line/bottom 6. Unless he's alot slower than I thought..?
 

koyvoo

Registered User
Nov 8, 2014
17,254
17,030
I can't figure out what his hockey IQ is, but McLellan and now Hitchcock are definitely setting him up to fail.

I feel like I'm watching Magnus Paajarvi's development all over again.
Did both coaches not give him some time here and there with McDavid. I’d think if he succeeded in those opportunities, he’d have been given more. Granted, my argument would be that he may not be ready for that role just yet, but the notion that his coaches are setting him up to fail seems a stretch to me.
 

OilCanada92

Registered User
May 1, 2009
2,437
1,179
Edmonton, Alberta
Did both coaches not give him some time here and there with McDavid. I’d think if he succeeded in those opportunities, he’d have been given more. Granted, my argument would be that he may not be ready for that role just yet, but the notion that his coaches are setting him up to fail seems a stretch to me.
He had a stretch with McDavid last season and actually looked really good. It had me thinking we had something with him. Then he took a bad penalty and lost his spot. I'm exaggerating but only a little. There are some guys who have really long leashes and others who have none. For some reason, Puljujarvi has always been a guy who isn't allowed to make a mistake without being benched.

He's playing under 10 minutes a game right now. Get him in the top 6 with some powerplay time or put him in the minors.
 

wetcoast

Registered User
Nov 20, 2018
22,457
10,261
He had a stretch with McDavid last season and actually looked really good. It had me thinking we had something with him. Then he took a bad penalty and lost his spot. I'm exaggerating but only a little. There are some guys who have really long leashes and others who have none. For some reason, Puljujarvi has always been a guy who isn't allowed to make a mistake without being benched.

He's playing under 10 minutes a game right now. Get him in the top 6 with some powerplay time or put him in the minors.

I think he still has a chance to be a good player but he needs playing time.

Hitch is too busy trying to make the playoffs and is making zero effort into turning him into a player.

He needs to go to Bakersfield like last month already.
 

780il

edm
May 29, 2018
12,622
14,463
Edmonton AB
They're all only 20. Lots of time to turn it around.

But this has to be Puljuarvi. Not sure if the IQ is there.

(He'll still end up a better player than the rest but relative to draft expectations he's the choice in this poll.)
 

Rowlet

Registered User
Sponsor
Oct 13, 2018
3,483
3,607
I called Logan Brown a future bust the second he was drafted, so I'll stick with that.
Dude was only ranked that high because of his height. If he was 5ft11, he'd have been a 3rd rounder.

being bad at hockey doesn't make you a bust, it makes you a bad pick, players who are good at the junior level but fail to put it together at the NHL level are busts
 

Volica

Papa Shango
May 15, 2012
21,430
11,105
Jesse Puljujarvi is the biggest job-threatening 3rd OA pick any GM could have made. 30 teams wanted that kid, and some were looking to trade up to pick him up; he could have made a GM look horrible for using assets to acquire a guy who might not be a long term NHLer at this stage.

There's going to be a tonne of misses at the 2016 draft TBH.
 

nickdawg95

scoutdawg
Jan 7, 2016
3,285
1,769
maybe if he actually spent time in the Ahl the first 2 seasons he would be doing better right now, Edm Rushed him just like they did Every 1st round pick.

Still think he can turn it around
 

Gil Gunderson

Registered User
May 2, 2007
30,577
15,955
Ottawa, ON
I called Logan Brown a future bust the second he was drafted, so I'll stick with that.
Dude was only ranked that high because of his height. If he was 5ft11, he'd have been a 3rd rounder.
Height isn’t even his biggest asset. It’s always been his IQ.

I was starting to doubt that he’d put it all together with his underwhelming post-draft junior career and injury troubles, but he’s been tearing it up in belleville lately.
 

Paper

Registered User
Nov 4, 2009
4,566
2,110
Pre-face this by stating we are talking about 20 year olds, a lot could change in a year or two but....

Puljujarvi. It's just one of those things where he had the by-far biggest expectations. With that 10th or 11th pick, of course you're hoping for the next Iginla or Selanne, but there's more likelihood you end up with Beach or McIlrath. When it comes to 4th overalls, there's suppose to be a lot better chance of getting an impact player. In fact the most recent decade stretch before Puljujarvi had one actual bust in Reinhart, two players who became serviceable players in Hickey and Bennett and then the rest of various 'impact' quality (Marner, Jones, Larsson, Johansen, Kane, Pietrangelo, Backstrom).

Then Puljujarvi himself was considered one of the Big Three with Matthews and Laine leading up to the draft to the point that it's been reported a bunch of trades fell through when Columbus went "off-the-board" with Dubois. Finally, you have the next forward taken being Tkachuk - no less to their biggest rival. Just a recipe of huge expectations, the next forward outclassing him, and even being on a team that needed a quality player with that fourth overall leading to him being the biggest bust in my opinion.
 

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