I look at the G/O and go with what my buddies who have coached these kids since they could p*ss say. As the G/O go so does da hockey world. It has been like that from beginning. And the 2020 draft is loaded and deep. What you are talking about was the age 97 draft which I know like clockwork. The talent up top was amazing but it dropped off a cliff after pick 25. This draft is not like that draft it has 75-90 guys who can play in da NHL.
Well we will see about 2022 I guess but from what I have seen, it's not likely going to be any worse than many of the previous years but will have a stacked top 10. Better than any draft probably since 2015. Canada alone has three premier prosects in Wright, Savoie and Luneau who should be blowing some socks off, and Lambert will be in that draft too. However I am only judging that based on like AAA and a few of the European prospects I know, and a lot can change in two years as guys transition into the CHL and U20 leagues.
2020 is not nearly as deep as you think it is. Even Bob McKenzie has said that it's mostly a top 10-15 draft and it is pretty much average after that... And I can tell you right now that it is only average because of the wingers. It's a good winger class (and even then a lot of it is boom-bust), a crap goalie and center class, and a pretty much average defensive class. I would be shocked if there are 75-90 NHL guys that come out of here, because most of them have a lot of work that needs to go perfectly to even have a shot at the NHL.
You are probably judging it based on Canada's contribution. This year is probably the best Canada draft since 2015, and Germany/Austria are making up for the fact that Switzerland has practically nothing, but it's also the worst USA draft in a long time, and even Russia and Finland are mostly just 'meh' outside of a few guys each. Sweden has a good high end but the rest of the draft is pretty much as good as it has been for the past little while as well. So I would say it's an average class at best, and the lack of center and goalie prospects can easily make it a below average class. I can say this as someone who has studied these guys since last year, and have been building various models ranking these guys.
Next year's "terrible" class does not have nearly as many high end wingers, but they have a lot better defense, center and goalie prospects. Really the main thing is there are not any Lafreniere or Byfield prospects, but L'Heureux, Roy, Reynolds, Bourgault, Belliveau, Clarke, Othmann, Johnson, Ceulmans, Power, Cossa, Lennox, Gaudreau, Guenther, Lambos, Sillinger, Stankoven, Chayka, Korczak, McTavish, Pinelli, Dean, Malatesta, Robidas, Huckins, Kidney, Whynot... That's a pretty strong Canadian class again next year, and it is a mix of all positions, just like the rest of the draft. USA and Finland is much better too. Russia is TBD, and Sweden is pretty much the same kind of depth, including a top 15 goalie prospect in Wallstadt.
