Quote:
Originally Posted by kyuss275
The only way i see this years first rounder being in the NHL next year is if they draft Jones, MacKinnon, or Drouin. Even then i don't think its a guarantee.
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I think we've got an extremely high chance of it happening if it is one of those three. There's almost always too much pressure to move a top 3 into the NHL either because they think there's nothing to learn at the CHL level or because fans, rightly or wrongly, demand it.
In the past 5 drafts, the players drafted #1, 2, or 3 who didn't make the NHL team next year were:
- Erik Gudbranson
- Jonathan Huberdeau
- Ryan Murray
Of those, only Huberdeau was a big surprise to me. Columbus rebuilt their back end and gave Murray time to develop to his reasonably safe cap, while I have never been a fan of Gudbranson.
Either way, that's about a 20% chance to not make the team if we go by simple math. With the depth the Flames have in all categories, I don't see them being able to turn away MacKinnon, who's likely a ready made 2nd line C, Drouin, likely a top 6 forward, or Jones, who beats most D here already.