Bob Mackenzie's first preview at the beginning of last season had the Finns and Mathews ahead and Chychrun in the mix for top five. He was talked up as the best defenseman in the draft, not in the top tier of the draft.
I challenge anyone who thinks Patrick (the RNH comparison is silly) doesn't project as an elite center or Liljegren a 1D to provide evidence. Show me the scouts that doubt either of these talents.
Pretty much this.
There is always going to be at least 1 dman talked up a lot. Hanifin dropped to 5 because maybe that's where he belonged. He was probably never in the contention for #3 but people were led to believe that because he was a dman and now looking back, he has probably higher potential than any dman from the 2016.
I fully agree with the GMs who said that they don't think there was a #1 dman in the 2016 draft. There is of course the possibility of a Subban or Letang emerging from the drafts but not every draft will have a dman with #1 potential and upside shown already at age 17~ (Liljegren might have that, at least in comparison to Juolevi, Sergachev or Chychrun).
There is no shame in getting a solid #2 dman in the top 10 though. Would people be happy if they drafted a player who turned out to be Stralman, Hjalmarsson, Shattenkirk, Byfuglien with their top 10 pick. I think most people would. There aren't even 30 of those to go around.
