[Flamescuprun2018]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Brown didn't come from nowhere?

Let's look at cra12's list:

http://thehockeywriters.com/2016-nhl...minary-top-60/

Brown was ranked the 5th best prospect back in July. Ahead of Laine, Dubois, Juolevi, Sergachyev, Nylander.

"oh, but he fell off early in the year". Okay, so he was struggling to build consistency early on. But things like this were still posted midseason:



But did he find that consistency? As has been mentioned, yes, later in the season he was much more consistent. 29 points in his last 19 games, and a dominant U18s where he put up 4-9-13 in nine games.

So let's recap:

- Top 5 in this draft Upside has been there since before the season started.
- Consistency was an issue
- then Consistency stopped being an issue
- Being ranked top 5 in some final rankings while putting up very respectably draft year numbers as a 17 year old.

The points above and Craig Button's excitement for Brown really do add fuel to the Nylander vs Brown debate at 6. With the right development/coaching and mentorship Brown could be the Getzlaf in this years draft.

The same hockeywriters.com link said some super high praise for Chychrun last fall. I do wonder how multiple nagging injuries he had this season held him back versus early maturity that helped him standout at age 16.