“He has the size, the speed and the shot,” a scout once remarked to me, “so I’ll never understand how he didn’t pan out in the NHL.”
If there’s anything to learn from the pre-draft processes of years’ past, it’s that guessing how a bunch of 18-year-olds will mature and develop is a frivolous exercise. Nail Yakupov was “destined to become one of the true must-see players around the league.” Griffin Reinhart was “potentially a Gary Suter-type — physical, two-way defender.” Slater Koekkoek had “all the pieces.”
The common denominator between these players is talent.