Quote:
Originally Posted by $ven27
Joe Sakic? You're serious?
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Sure, why not? A top end pick in a good draft year should be a star player at worst and a franchise/superstar if they really turn out.
Top ranked centres taken in the last decade:
2003: E. Staal
2004: Malkin
2005: Crosby
2006: J. Staal, J. Toews, N. Backstrom
2007: Turris
2008: Stamkos
2009: Tavares, Duchesne
2010: Seguin
2011: Nugent-Hopkins
2012: Galchenyuk
Pretty good list outside of Turris.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he will definitely be a Sakic level player but he has that chance. But his upside is certainly a lot higher than a speedier Langkow. A lot of the top centres taken in the last decade will end up as Hall of Fame players if their careers keep going the same way they are. No reason to think MacKinnon will be significantly worse than some of these guys. I'm not expecting him to be a Crosby obviously but he can certainly be a franchise centre.
The upside of these top 3-4 guys is huge and their probability of achieving it is high. That is why we want the high pick this year. There are still some very high upside guys in the 4-8 range but their probability of achieving it is slightly lower perhaps.