Quote:
Originally Posted by puckluck2
Who has said they suck at drafting? Save for Eberle their draft picks have all been easy safe choices. Most teams I think would have picked Hopkins, Hall, and Yakupov. Some teams at the time might have picked Seguin. All teams with hindsight would probably pick Seguin now. I don't think anyone is criticizing their drafting but how their team is being built. No defence or a NHL capable goalie, although Dubynk has looked good this year.
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Dubnyk is actually a young starter now - not an elite starter but someone who has actually performed really quite well given that a lot of people had given up on him a few years back (much like Irving right now). He has had a few weak games but he has stolen a few for the Oilers as well.
Nugent-Hopkins is going through a sophmore slump, which isn't unheard of, I still have some concerns about his frame but he is a good player. It is easy to forget that the team is still pretty young and will have some growing pains in the next year or so. They need to shore up the defence and get some toughness up front - although I think Hall is a pretty tough player there are some major concerns about his durability.
Yakopov is a player who is tough to get a read on, he has some talent but I just don't see where he fits on the team.
The one thing I think of when I think of the Oilers is that they have a good individual collection of parts but I don't see the team atmosphere sometimes and that is what is really required to win games.