Not a fan of picking a defenceman in the first round specifically because of that list you posted, unless they are a clear cut talent like Ekblad or Hanifin this year. If they haven't done enough to impress for a top 5 ranking then pick a forward that's easier to project and save the defence picks for later rounds. Same thing for goaltenders, they are all over the map when it comes to development so using a high pick is almost never worth it
The defencemen that are picked in the first round past the top 5 are usually the guys that can put up lots of points from the blue line and teams figure as long as they have that they can work on the defensive game. As we've seen though that's a lot harder to accomplish in practice, and just like forwards a lot of young d-men can't transition their offense to an NHL game.
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