tomd
Registered User
- Apr 23, 2003
- 10,362
- 6,337
I'm just saying that for a 1st round pick a team should be aiming higher than a physical defensive center who has real weakness in his offensive game. I know why they drafted him and I get it. But I don't see him as a 3rd line center at this point. 4th line at best if he even makes the NHL on a regular basis.So by your logic, we should only be using our 3rd round picks or later for 3C’s? How often does that work out? If they think they can get that type of player at 22, and he’s not clearly a reach I really don’t see an issue with that. I’m just pointing out an unrealistic expectation for the position we picked him to eventually fit into our lineup. Regardless where those other guys were picked, they were solid 3C’s that rarely, or never hit the imaginary baseline you set for him for it to not be a wasted pick in your eyes.
Look, the Ducks took a very similar player in Groulx in 2018. Five years later and we're still waiting for him to break through. And he was far more advanced offensively than Gaucher. I don't see a very different path for Gaucher other than they may rush him b/c he was a 1st rounder.