I mean thats not wrong regarding his pedigree, but it doesnt say much eihter. I definitely had him below Reber, Antenen and Körbler going into the season. Yes he put up very good numbers on the u17 national team before that. But he never displayed any outstanding offensive skills during that time though. In fact he seemed to be leeching of points of the far more dynamic Reber in a lot of the games that I saw. At the end of the day it was not unreasonable to throw a pick at him when you are Halifax. But if you do that you have to accept that you are going to get a player with a ceiling comparable to Biasca. But I would agree that the pick should only considered to be "failded" in retrospect. I highly doubt though that Halifax would sign him again knowing what they know now.
I dont think the other swiss draft picks (who actually reported) were significantly worse players than Ponzetto. I had Körbler pegged as a better player going into the season as he was a much better two way player with a better motor to boot. Forgets resumee was arguably a bit better as well at draft day. His international stats were more or less comparable to Ponzettos and he at least had played fairly successfully in our U20 league before. Ponzetto only played in the U17 league. The jump in level of competition from there to the CHL is huge. I also dont agree with you that Forgets season in Shawinigan has been that good, even against the backdrop that its chaotically run franchise. You make it sound like he is guaranteed to take a top line spot next season. Every fans take i read, wants him on the third or even fourth line.
Its true that some imports struggle adjusting to their respective league. Pius Suter had big problems in his first season in the OHL. Even Meier didnt put up great numbers as a rookie on a stacked Halifax squad. But at least those guys showed something in those years that their respective teams held onto them. I admit I havent seen that many games of Ponzetto in 2023-2024. But when I saw him, he was invisible. And all you hear from fans about the toppic is along the lines of "looks lost out there", "complete lack of hockey iq" and "is simply ont ready for the CHL"...