I suppose we're arguing the same thing, though for different reasons.
I don't think this team is capable of identifying a Keith or Letang, and I don't think they can develop a Karlsson (I'm sure you disagree, and that's fine, it's only the point in relation to the post I responded to). Therefore, they need to maximize this time and use premium picks on the position, to gamble that high talent will overcome internal deficiencies, and they need to gamble often with later picks, trying to find the falling gems.
They only can't identify a Keith or Letang until they find one. Just like how Pittsburgh and Chicago couldn't find them in forever, then found them, and then couldn't find them again. Almost like there's a huge element of luck and timing involved. Kinda like how Ottawa apparently could develop Karlsson, but have failed with most of their other d-men leading to a mess of a team. Good development, or one great draft pick (who Hakan Andersson was REALLY high on)?
If you think our scouts are just mentally incapable of recognizing skill/upside, then fair enough. But I don't see it. At the very least guys like Saarijarvi and Hronek are upside picks, and Cholowski is a very interesting one as well. More gambles are needed, and I think that comes with having more picks. Using premium picks on D is needed, and that also comes with having more of them. Like, the top 10 last year didn't have many interesting D available. This year there's like 5 of them that look great, so chances are much higher we'll take one.
There's also more of a sense of desperation in terms of hunting down the guys they like. Lindstrom maybe wasn't a popular pick, but I think it says a lot that they don't want to risk missing out on a guy they really like like they did with Edler for example. Someone like Setkov isn't the classic "gamble" (midget with skills), but he's still an outside-the-box type of pick of a type that could pay off. They're doing a lot of things to try and find quality d-men.
