[Sylvanfan]

Top 5 pick for me can be somewhat over rated. You really need one of those high picks to be a top 1 or 2. If the Lightning are picking 5th in 08 & 09 they get Luke and Brayden Schenn...not even close to having Hedman and Stamkos . Occasionally you get a guy at 4 or 5 who becomes one of the best guys in the draft. But more often than not, it's the guys taken 1 and 2 that are the real impact players. Chicago, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Washington these are all teams who had at least 1 guy who was a number 1 pick plus another top 4 pick playing a big role helping that player out. Really Los Angeles and St.Louis are the two teams in the last 9 years who won the Cup without having a top 2 pick plus another top 5 pick leading the charge. St.Louis had Pietrangelo and Brayden Schenn who were the 4 and 5 picks in 08 and 09. The Kings had a #2 pick in Doughty, but he was supported by a couple guys picked at 11 in Kopitar and Carter.

It does seem though that without that real top end talent, it's a lot tougher to win a Stanley Cup now.