But all that goes away when you lay a body on Parehk, he is akin to a Adam Boqvist.
I fundamentally disagree with false dichotomy you are producing, putting all the high-end qualities in the Parehk camp, but this the type of hyperbolic argument has currency here and the routine has been done before. It is a not as clear cut. Parehk has many faults: 1. He shoots off his back leg, directing soft floaters at the net, a dipropionate amount of time and it kills plays. 2. When crossing the blue line, and navigating traffic he takes the most unathletic posture by forming a tripod (straightening his back). This almost got him blown up in the Memorial cup. 3. This next point has brought up by another poster and is fundamentally true. Parehk doesn't carry the puck up the ice or really attempt stretch passes. He mostly defers those duties to Dionicio or whomever.
We obviously disagree on Yakemchuk's vision and IQ. I actually think it is a strength and you characterize as a sever limiting factor.
Yakemchuk controls and dictates play, in all three zones, in a way that Parehk cannot. Parehk avoids defensive responsibility like few prospects I have seen in covering top-ten potential picks. He will legitimately play air traffic controller, directing players around, with his stick in the air, rather than be involved in the play. He is not slippery enough to avoid contact and seems afraid and shocked when physical engagement comes his way. I refer you to the 4 minute double minor in the Memorial Cup, where pinched, heard foot steps, lost the puck and cross-checked the approaching player in the face. He disappears for long stretches in games. He will use his cloaking device to disappear and reaper to provide air traffic controller directional advice and disappear again. He also turns over pucks at an alarming rate in the defensive zone, especially when pressured. It is not highlighted for some reason, but he is good at masking this, because he is always deferring. He basically uses all his energy between the redline and the goal.
He is not player you build a winning team or winning culture around.
Even if he hits, he will be a PP wizard that disappears when the games become meaningful. He will cost a team a large portion of the salary cap distribution, but will always need to be protected 5 on 5. He is not Karlsson or Hughes, but is less committed defensively than both.
And going to some previous discussions, this is a Staois pick. He saw all the top guys play and he hasn't fired Don Boyd or radically altered the amateur scouting staff. Unless he does that ASAP, it is an endorsement. Moreover, this whole narrative around Ottawa not liking skill or focusing on high PIMs players is erroneous, they apparently liked Iginla a lot and he is a six foot skill guy. Martian was saying Iginla was the pick of he was there.
