Couldn’t agree more. We were trading off high 1st rounders when we hadn’t even finished the rebuild yet. They can’t fire every scout in one fell swoop, but hopefully some savvy moves are in our future.
So, I did a quick and dirty Expected return calculation for our drafting from 2016 to present, and we should have expected about 9-10 NHL players with our picks. I think we're on pace for about that, maybe a touch behind.
Our drafting has been about average, nothing to write home about, but not something for heads to roll over either. What killed us is trading off 4oa, 7oa, 12oa, 39oa, 49oa, and 72oa, that should have likely netted us another 2-3 legit players (if Duchene, Chychrun and DBC worked out and extended, the value of the trades were fine, but not for one or two years of each). The GM is gone, and we have someone who seems like he's got a plan instead of reacting. Things should improve.
All that said, I'd still like to improve on our scouting and be above average. Maybe Jokiharju or Hague instead of Bowers, K'andre Miller instead of JBD, Sillinger instead of Boucher, Peterka instead of Jarventie, ect would have done it, but every team has it's misses. I think we need to clean up our first round a bit, we've technically met expectations with Brady Stu, Greig and Sanderson, especially if Yakemchuk hits. But I think Boucher, Thomson, and Brown were all area's of opportunity. Having a McAvoy, Sillinger and McMichael in the system for example, would have been a huge boon.