Let me also list the following Top 10 picks from the 6 drafts from 2014 to 2019 drafts that are not franchise altering picks, also no guarantee of getting this valuable prize as result of sucking for a year. Dal Colle, Haydn Fleury, Virtanen, Dubois, Puljuarvi, Juolevi, Jost, Glass, Lias Andersson, Mittelstadt, Patrick, Kotkaniemi, Hayton, Zadina, Kravtsov, Kakko, Turcotte, Cozens, Broberg, Zegras, Podkolzin; You can argue with the list and their "value" but I would say that roughly 1/3 of those 60 top picks aren't worth sucking for. If I tabulated the names in the 5 to 10 range it might be more like 50% meh.
Yes there are beautiful players at the top of the draft but no real guarantees outside the top 3 or 4 of each draft. I'm not really sure a ninth overall pick is that much better for the current group than losing out in a tight playoff race and picking 14th and getting some experience in close games and staying competitive. What is important is having the skill, ability or luck to hit on your 2nd, 3rd and later round picks. Hopefully over the next 2-3 drafts we also get some lotto luck that lets us pick at least once in the top 3 or 4.
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