Quote:
Originally Posted by Matty81
I think he'll be a great pick for whoever. I think he skates OK - it's not amazing but not a liability and skating is overrated for centres anyway - I'm not saying you want a total slug out there but it's much more positioning, puck distribution and protection imo. Draisaitl has all of that and size in the mix as well.
Heavy footed winger or dman is more concerning to me.
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Agreed - Having amazing speed and explosiveness certainly helps a player like MacKinnon/Crosby in becoming a gamebreaking type of player and being able to do it all by himself, but if you look at most the top centres in the league skating isn't the aspect of their game that stands out the most and as long as they can keep up from end to end, it doesn't hinder them from using the skills they excel at.
While not as flashy, players like Bergeron, Kopitar, Toews, etc. have carried their teams to more success than players like Crosby and Stamkos. Despite the complaints I've seen about Reinhart's and Draisaitl's skating, they could easily be the end up being the best players in the draft and clearly skating isn't enough of a detriment to drop them out the conversation of what appears to be an even top 4.