Quote:
Originally Posted by strombad
You're arguing that it doesn't help. You're wrong.
It does EXACTLY that: help.
High draft picks does not an elite team make, but for teams that put the work in it certainly helps the process. Good teams are built by astute management, but having high level players is a general requirement of being a high level time.
You brought up Detroit, excellent example. After years of poor drafting in the 1st round (save for Kronwall) and trading that pick, where are they now? They were elite 3-4 years ago, but they've been falling down to earth ever since because of the lack of young high end talent on their roster.
Drafting high helps. It's not how you build a great team, but to write it off as having no correlation is misinformed.
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Detroit will be fine. Their prospect depth is pretty good and their development system is arguably the best in the NHL.