I'm down on this pick, but anyone throwing out a McIlrath comparison is completely off their rocker. Emery can skate for days but really isn't overly physical. McIlrath was very physical but a poor skater.
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Ultimately, I don't need every drafted Dman to be another Adam Fox. What I do need is for drafted Dmen to be able to quickly and accurately move the puck to a teammate while under pressure. Sure there are times when you're just going to have to dump the puck out, but it can't be every time, like a Trouba or Ryan Lindgren. And I have less faith here than with a lot of other guys on the board.
The lack of production is honestly a huge red flag for me. Emery played a grand total of 95 games this year (including 6 at the WJC), and put up just 28 points across all competition. He did not have a goal in 95 games. Over the same time frame, the NTDP had 8 players put up 50+ points in just NTDP competition, not including USHL games played. The fact that he didn't luck into more points on a team with that high production is worrying.
For comparison, in his draft year, Lindgren wore the C for a NTDP game that had just 5 players score more than 35 points in NTDP competition. That season, Lindgren finished with 8 goals and 42 points total across all competition. And we've seen just how poorly Lindgren moves the puck at the NHL level.
Direct comparison:
NTDP games
Emery: 61 GP, 0-16-16
Lindgren: 61 GP, 6-19-25
USHL games
Emery: 27 GP, 0-6-6
Lindgren: 25 GP, 4-8-12
WJC 18 games
Emery: 7 GP, 0-6-6
Lindgren: 7 GP, 2-3-5