Yeah the idea that Cleveland being committed to and planning to go to Wisconsin should have alarmed the Wings or any other team is pretty ridiculous. His Draft evaluation was based on what he'd established to date and where teams thought he might be in 4-5 years, not next semester. We don't know that the Wings didn't discuss with him or his camp the possibility of changing course once it became apparent what was happening. Ultimately it was his choice to stay so he must have seen some value -- whether hockey or personal life related -- in staying.
The obsession with zero points and playing time though is just low-hanging inconsequential fruit. It's a non-issue with Cleveland. The issue is that very few fans would have liked the Cleveland pick in almost any round. It's not wild at all that a guy projected by many to be a third-round pick was selected in the second round. What's wild to many (most?) fans is that any pick, let alone a second-rounder, is used on a low-skill, perceived low-ceiling prospect. It wouldn't matter if Cleveland had three points in 16 games or five points in 35, or 14 secondary and accidental points in the USHL or 10 in the CHL, he'd still be the same low-ceiling tough guy who shouldn't have been drafted until the sixth or seventh round, if at all.
Most NHL GMs have always liked and, though to a lesser extent now, still do like the idea of having a low-cost Adam McQuaid (also a second-round pick) type in the lineup or at least available without having to go through the trouble of acquiring one if/when needed. Often they're easy and cheap to acquire (like McQuaid later was), but sometimes not. That doesn't jive with how most prospect fans view Draft value or even roster construction.
