We — as a collective hockey-watching audience — have been treated and gifted multiple cemented first-overall selections for several drafts. Whether it is Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Alexis Lafreniere, or even Nathan MacKinnon in 2013 — there have been top-tier top picks for a while. Everyone knew who was going to be selected first, it was just figuring out the picks after that which caused the drama.
For 2021, influenced by the pandemic or not, there really isn’t one of those top players. According to those that have been scouting and analyzing prospects for decades, this draft doesn’t really have any prospects destined for stardom either.