2016 vs. 2017 Draft

[Speyer]

Back in 2017 the annual draft class was seen as weak, not only in terms of high end talent, but also regarding depth in comparison to the 2016 draft a year prior. Since then some of the 16 blue chip prospects like Poolparty, Juolevi, Brown, McLeod etc. have been disappointing while a few later round prospects like Bratt and Fox have emerged as some of the best players in the draft.

On the other hand Makar is now arguably seen as a better player than Matthews at this point and behind him there is a pretty large group of players who are making a case for second best player in the draft. Guys like Hischier, Petterson, Heiskanen, Robertson, Suzuki, Thomas, Vilardi, Necas, Batherson, Oettinger etc. are all looking like high end players this year and might get even better in the future. So this provokes the question: Will the 2017 class eventually surpass the one from 2016 and flip the narrative?

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[McDuffz88]

In hindsight the 2017 draft was stacked

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

for all my lazy homies

(Best 2016 goalies are Carter Hart and Filip Gustavsson)

(2017 goalies were Oettinger, Swayman, Skinner, Ukko Pekkonen)




I'll take 2016.

 

[loosemoose]

2016 seems to have significantly better top end. I don't think 2017 has anything to match Matthews-Tkachuk-DeBrincat-McAvoy-Fox starting 5. That's already Hart, Norris, Rocket, 4X Norris top-5, multiple AS, three 40+ goal scorers and two 100+ point players, and probably bunch more accolades.

2017 does have much better goaltending tandem in Oettinger/Swayman.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

2016
M. Tkachuk - Matthews - Laine
DeBrincat - PLD - Bratt
Kyrou - Thompson - Puju
Jost - Dube - Hagel

McAvoy - Fox
Sergachev - Chychrun
Girard - Hronek

Hart

2017
EP - Hischier - J. Robertson
Suzuki - Thomas - Necas
Batherson - Norris - Mittelstadt
Comtois - Vilardi - Rasmussen

Makar - Heiskanen
Joki - Hague
Boqvist - Liljegren

Oettinger


my best attempt

 

[biturbo19]

2016
M. Tkachuk - Matthews - Laine
DeBrincat - PLD - Bratt
Kyrou - Thompson - Puju
Jost - Dube - Hagel

McAvoy - Fox
Sergachev - Chychrun
Girard - Hronek

Hart

2017
EP - Hischier - J. Robertson
Suzuki - Thomas - Necas
Batherson - Norris - Mittelstadt
Comtois - Vilardi - Rasmussen

Makar - Heiskanen
Joki - Hague
Boqvist - Liljegren

Oettinger


my best attempt

I think the depth on defence swings it for 2016 here. 2017 has the 1-2 punch to rival or actually beat out 2016, but the bottom-4 isn't as strong. As much as Sergachyov and Girard are generally "overrated", they're still very comfortably better than Jokiharju and Hague, and 2016 still has Chychrun and Hronek to boot, who are also better than Jokiharju/Hague, much less Boqvist/Liljegren.

2017 has a small edge for depth up front, but i don't think it's enough to overcome the depth advantage defensively. Also the best player in the whole deal with Matthews...though Hischier, Pettersson, Thomas is an awfully tempting trio of Centers that really makes me want to swing it the other way.

 

[JKG33]

2016
M. Tkachuk - Matthews - Laine
DeBrincat - PLD - Bratt
Kyrou - Thompson - Puju
Jost - Dube - Hagel

McAvoy - Fox
Sergachev - Chychrun
Girard - Hronek

Hart

2017
EP - Hischier - J. Robertson
Suzuki - Thomas - Necas
Batherson - Norris - Mittelstadt
Comtois - Vilardi - Rasmussen

Makar - Heiskanen
Joki - Hague
Boqvist - Liljegren

Oettinger


my best attempt

2016 is better and I don't see how it's close at all. Line by line 2016 wins every single time until you get to goaltending.

Nice line combos BTW

 

[swissexpert]

2016 is better and I don't see how it's close at all. Line by line 2016 wins every single time until you get to goaltending.

Nice line combos BTW

How are Fox and McAvoy better than Makar and Heiskanen?
Also the bottom 6 there are at least equal.

You also have to consider age, they're all a full year ahead in their development curve.

For example Matthews/Tkachuk/Laine seems like a clear one because they are more proven and have accomplished more in the league but they are not outproducing the EP/Nico/Roberston line so far.

In fact, its the other way around.
2016:
33 GP 13G 22A 35P 1.06 PPG
vs 2017:
40 GP 23G 30A 53P 1.33 PPG

Still leaning towards 2016 overall but it's a lot closer than some think here.

 

[McJedi]

It’s close. The best player is Makar. The best goalie is also from 2017.

But it’s really close overall.

 

[ninetyeight]

2016 is better and I don't see how it's close at all. Line by line 2016 wins every single time until you get to goaltending.

I don't think your take is objectively correct. Laine and DeBrincat have been pretty disappointing so far (call it snake bitten or whatever but it is what it is). PLD is having a better season, but with the prior quieter seasons, I wouldn't have him as top end talent just yet. Thompson is dominating, but Pulju has been terrible and Kyrou has been off this season.

Mean while EP, Hischier, Robertson, Suzuki, Necas, Batherson are absolutely killing this season (I think everyone is over ppg?). With Defence I'll take a Makar-Heiskanen duo over pretty much any other two guys in the league. The rest of the D is clear for 2016, but this is definitely close.

 

[AKL]

The 2017 draft is a prime example of why you ignore people who wanna claim an entire draft is weak

 

[wintersej]

I think the depth on defence swings it for 2016 here. 2017 has the 1-2 punch to rival or actually beat out 2016, but the bottom-4 isn't as strong. As much as Sergachyov and Girard are generally "overrated", they're still very comfortably better than Jokiharju and Hague, and 2016 still has Chychrun and Hronek to boot, who are also better than Jokiharju/Hague, much less Boqvist/Liljegren.

2017 has a small edge for depth up front, but i don't think it's enough to overcome the depth advantage defensively. Also the best player in the whole deal with Matthews...though Hischier, Pettersson, Thomas is an awfully tempting trio of Centers that really makes me want to swing it the other way.

Almost exactly my take. I think it’s clearly 2016, but the fact that 2017 can make a strong case is meaningful for how crappy of a draft it was supposed to be.

 

[wetcoast]

for all my lazy homies

View attachment 605616

(Best 2016 goalies are Carter Hart and Filip Gustavsson)

View attachment 605615

(2017 goalies were Oettinger, Swayman, Skinner, Ukko Pekkonen)




I'll take 2016.

This is my gut feeling as well the top 10 players from the 16 draft will probably have "better" careers than the top 10 from the 17 draft, although the goalies might make the difference but goalies are largely a crapshoot.