Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandman
As a big draft-watcher, and a guy who watches a fair bit of junior hockey, I can say that were huge concerns about Draisaitl's skating (he's still no speedster), and I didn't think he would amount to much more than a 60-point player. There was many outlets that had Drai, Bennett, and Reinhart taking turns as the #1, with Ekblad taking over the spot later in the season IIRC. In their Draft Preview Issue, The Hockey News had Bennett 1st, then Ekblad, then Reinhart, then Drai.
Bennett was my favorite, but even back then I knew that he was going to have to learn to stop trying to grandstand, and do everything by himself. He was a one-man show in those days, but I liked his grit and I thought he would get it together enough to be a top-2 C for us.
I liked Reinhart, but not his softness.
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Yeah going into the draft I think a lot of fans and people wished Bennett dropped to 4 over Draisaitl based on his skating being a pretty big weak point, being that big and unable to skate would have caused him a lot of issues and it did when he was up in his first stint when it looked like he was going to be a bust.
To come back 10 years later and say yeah I just knew he was the best in the draft and was #1 on my list after watching 1 game is like saying I knew Alex Daigle was going to be a big bust.
Also I knew someone ranked in mid teens and 20's was going to be the best player in the draft.