"Why we don’t think Gardiner would be a first-rounder in a 2008 re-draft is the number of that year’s draftees who have surpassed him in the eyes of our scouting panel. Twenty prospects from the 2008 draft now rank ahead of Gardiner in terms of long-term NHL upside. They include (in the order they were drafted):
Nikita Filatov, LW, Columbus, drafted 6th overall.
Mikkel Boedker, RW, Phoenix, drafted 8th overall.
Cody Hodgson, C, Vancouver, drafted 10th overall.
Kyle Beach, LW, Chicago, drafted 11th overall.
Joe Colborne, C, Boston, drafted 16th overall.
Greg Nemisz, C, Calgary, drafted 25th overall.
Jacob Markstrom, G, Florida, drafted 31st overall.
Vyacheslav Voynov, D, Los Angeles, drafted 32nd overall.
Jake Allen, G, St. Louis, drafted 34th overall.
Patrick Wiercioch, D, Ottawa, drafted 42nd overall.
Justin Schultz, D, Anaheim, drafted 43rd overall.
Luke Adam, C, Buffalo, drafted 44th overall.
Zac Dalpe, C, Carolina, drafted 45th overall.
Patrice Cormier, C, Atlanta, drafted 54th overall.
Marco Scandella, D, Minnesota, drafted 55th overall.
Danny Kristo, RW, Montreal, drafted 56th overall.
Adam Henrique, C, New Jersey, drafted 82nd overall.
Braden Holtby, G, Washington, drafted 93rd overall.
T.J. Brodie, D, Calgary, drafted 114th overall.
Andrei Loktionov, C, Los Angeles, drafted 123rd overall."
...
These 20 players have completely shifted positions in Future Watch 2011 based on the scouting feedback. But a 2008 re-draft would see Gardiner selected in the middle of the second round at the highest because 24 players from that draft are in the NHL now and another 20 are rated higher than the Wisconsin defenseman.
We report this not to intentionally temper the Toronto enthusiasm on gaining a first-round prospect, only to pass along an unbiased progress report on Gardiner’s status in the scouting community.