To the question of the value of drafting 1-3 over 4-6 (and in the top 6 in general), here are a few things to consider:
Over the past 15 years the top 6 has shaken down in the following ways (lottery picks and picks acquired through trade included):
Most top 3 picks:
Florida (5)
Winnipeg (5)
Pittsburgh (4)
Tampa Bay (4)
Edmonton (3)
Columbus (3)
Colorado (3)
Other notables who drafted in the top 3: Boston (1), LA (1), St.Louis (1), Anaheim (1)
Teams with the most picks in the 4-6 range:
Columbus (5)
NYI (5)
Nashville (4)
(No other team has more than 2)
Most picks in the top 6 total:
Columbus (8)
NYI (7)
Florida (6)
Winnipeg (6)
Tampa Bay (6)
Teams that haven't drafted in the top 6 for the past 15 years:
Detroit
Dallas
Take from it what you will, but going through the last 15 years has me pretty convinced that whether we draft 1st or 6th, it's not going to have an overly positive or negative impact on our franchise by itself.
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