I generally go for the younger guys, but I'm actually a believer in Pionk's upside and would have had him 5th on our list:
- Scored 0.5 ppg in 28 NHL games last year
- Tied Leetch's record for longest point streak by a rookie Ranger defenseman
- Scored almost a ppg in the NCAA
- Excellent skater who can use skating, puck handing, and hockey sense to create scoring chances against NHL players
- Very good one-on-one defender with high compete level
- Was matched up against NHL top lines at 22 in his first pro season
- Is just 22 with only one pro season under his belt and still has room to improve
Admittedly, a lot of the NHL observations are from a small sample size, but even if they over-represent his current ability, I think they're indicative of the upside he has. If we had any D prospects who I thought had #1 upside, I'd put them ahead of Pionk. But I don't think the upside between Hajek, Miller, Lundkvist, Rykov, and Pionk is all that different, so in that case, the guy who is closest to the NHL seems like the best prospect to me.