Who is debating this pick? Who was debating Peterson? As far as I can tell both went around where they were projected to. If anything Peterson is similar to Hughes, he was often called the most talented player in the draft, but his slight frame dropped him in the rankings. Interestingly in both cases the Canucks were less concerned than other teams picking in that area.
Kravtsov came on late in the season, but he was supposed to go around 10 (I think McKenzie had him at 12, and McKenzie is as close to actual teams draft lists as there is). Some parroting ranking services and obviously less informed fans were as usual behind the 8-ball here, but let's not set the bar at that level.