[Caged Great]

From what I've seen in past drafts is that players that are more filled out seem to get overrated a bit in the rankings. It's like how you saw McIlrath and Morin get drafted early because they are huge D-men even though the rest of there game was lacking. Similarly, the rankings tend to prefer center's over wingers slightly because that's a lot more difficult of a position to play and most teams need centers.

MDC is only like 170, where Draisaitl is 210. That also enables Draisaitl to push on guys, which he will have issues with in the NHL when he goes up against the Regehr type guys. Kopitar is able to be successful doing that because he's 6-4 230, Draisaitl is 6-1 or 6-2, so it's not quite as likely to be successful.

MDC is more of a finesse playmaker with a good shot that jumps in and out of the play than a guy who bulls through people on the way to the net, but it's not like he's a pushover either. He could develop that as he fills out. He does shoot quite a bit too, so it's not like he's always looking to pass like Tanguay.

It's not like Draisaitl is garbage, the difference in abilities between them is slight overall, my preference is due in part to preferring faster players and those that are more projectable. With Draisaitl already being filled out, there's not really a ton of room for him to grow physically. MDC could likely add 40, maybe even 50 pounds between now and his likely veteran NHL playing weight, which will bump him to 210-220 (He has broad shoulders, so he's not likely going to be slight).

Really I would be thrilled with any of the top 6. They all are very good in their own ways, because they are extremely different.

You have

Monahan --> Reinhart
Matt Duchene --> Bennett
Kopitar --> Draisaitl
Bigger more physical Tanguay/Simon Gagne --> Dal Colle (there's not a bang on comparison from what I've seen)
Plus Ehlers.