If a mid-second round pick turns into a bottom pairing defenseman, that's quite disappointing. You could acquire a better player with a second round pick. Devon Toews was recently acquired for 2 second round picks. Nate Schmidt was traded for a 3rd round pick (but this was a cap dump).
If a defenseman gets virtually no points, they probably shouldn't be in the NHL. Even very defensive defensemen should probably be getting 15+ points if they have top 4 minutes. Defensemen with fewer points than that probably won't have good advanced stats. Luckily, Yan Kuznetsov actually did produce a respectable amount in the NCAA this year, especially for his age. Therefore, I think he has top 4 upside. Hopefully he gets some powerplay time for his team. Or at least a lot of minutes.
Anecdotally, it seems like it's easier to teach an offense-minded player about defense than it is to teach a defense-minded player about offense.
Offense often requires inherent skill. Defense can often be taught.
Point totals require more minutes. Defense is just defense.
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