Quote:
Originally Posted by stemit14
I know draft position isn’t everything - especially in this tournament - but does anyone have any insight why O’brien was one of the first cuts? He was drafted 8th overall in June and that wasn’t considered a reach of a pick. Several guys that were drafted after him are sticking around (eg. Bear, Cootes and Reschny). Is he younger than them? Maybe it’s that he is more one-dimensional where as Beer, Cootes and Reschny have more of a 200 foot game. In that case, he’s having to compete with guys that are expected to be the heavy offence players (eg. Iginla, Misa and McKenna) that are either older than him or have a much higher skillset on offence.
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You pretty much nailed it.
O'Brien is a kid who was a top six or bust option for Canada in a tournament like this and with Misa returning he didn't really have a spot. He doesn't provide value to a roster in a bottom six role as he's not great defensively, is highly reliant on the PP for his production, and is below average in the faceoff circle (even by OHL standards).