It's worth noting that we started the year with Dorion as GM, so it was still his staff running the draft and the scouting. there's only so much you can do mid stream, so I wouldn't assume this draft is a blueprint for Staios' vision.
While this is true & I expect that some changes could be made with the amateur scouts I'm not sure the philosophy changes. It's clear at development camp IMO that they want players who are bigger & tougher who will fight for space & win puck battles all over the ice.
When we look at the top 6 D in the draft it is clear that Yakemchuk, Silayev & Dickinson were projected to be the three D who would be the most difficult to play against. The smaller ones might be better offensively but that isn't as great a need. When I compare Yakemchuk & Silayev I view Yakemchuk as better offensively & Silayev better defensively. When I compare Yakemchuk & Dickinson the biggest difference for me is that Yakemchuk is a right shot & Ott needs a right shot top 4 D.
It's a simplistic way to define the differences & I also think these defencemen were much closer than most thought. Yakemchuk brings more offence than Silayev & is a right shot which Dickinson is not. Yakemchuk IMO brings all the intangibles that Ott needs & then you can add his offensive skillset to size, hard to play against, hits, fights & is a right shot. Also Yakemchuk is an older draftee which to me means he could be ready sooner & unlike the smaller players already has NHL size & weight. The core is young & a number of them will still be there when this guy is NHL ready & at that point he could be the piece that helps them push the team further along. Bouchard came in 3 yrs ago & improved each yr offensively to help propel Edm to the cup final this yr.
