[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Cole436

Lombo was also had the makings of a very good player from 2007-2009 on the Flames.

Agreed, but with the rather notable caveat that his NHL success was attributed almost entirely to his incredible straight-ahead foot-speed. Lombardi tantalised fans with how many odd-man opportunities he would generate or become part of, simply because he skated faster than everyone else on the ice. However, his problem was a frustrating lack of finish.

I will say this again: Lombardi is an very, VERY poor comparable player from which to project expectations for Poirier. Poirier has similar skating abilities, but he is bigger, stronger, handles the puck better, is a better shooter and passer, and thinks the game at a higher level. Poirier is better in practically every respect than Lombardi was, and it's not even that close.

Originally Posted by Cole436

I get that we're excited about having an abundance of higher first round picks, but we have to be realistic here. Having franchise players going past the top 10 (ex. Jarome Iginla going at #11) is an astronomical anomaly.

I don't share macrov's projection of Poirier as a franchise winger. My point in posting was to show how utterly horrible your comparison was between Poirier and Lombardi. If Poirier turns out to be not much better than Lombardi, then we should consider this pick something of a bust. The good news is that he has everything going for him to suggest that he will be a top-six winger.

Just a terrible, terrible comparison.

Originally Posted by Cole436

Best case scenario, he's a first line elite winger. At worst, he bottoms out as a third line grinder with wheels. However lets reign in expectations until he actually plays a game in the NHL.

I disagree. Based on his skill set and his development curve to date, we should expect Poirier to be a top six winger, with the potential to be a top-line—perhaps even elite—winger. We should not expect less than this, and if he tops out on the third line, people should be disappointed.