[Caged Great]

I believe that we should get two NHLers of the 3 1st round picks. Usually prospects like the ones that should be available at 6 should make the NHL, and the ones at 22/28 are 50-50 at best. After that, we should likely get one guy out of the rest (each pick from the 3rd through 7th is about 15% so we have a better than even chance that one could pan out)

Usually, you have to draft talent, rather than acquire it through trade. You can add depth pieces, like we did with acquiring Knight, through trade, but 1st liners rarely come to your team from anywhere but the draft.

The problem we face is that we have more than one need. We need the supporting cast, and we need superstars. The teams that have acquired the supporting cast first have had vastly larger amounts of success (Canes 06, Ducks 07, Pens, Hawks, Bruins, and Kings winning cups) verse teams that get the stars first (Panthers, Oilers, Blue Jackets, Islanders etc.). The only reason why I have been saying that we should try for the supporting cast types first, is that the results have been significantly better doing it that way verse going for the star guys right now. Being patient and building the foundation strong makes the entire organization better, which leads to more and better opportunities for trades and signings.