I think this is a pretty mediocre take. Wright has the potential to be a generational talent. I think he has more upside than any pick since Matthews, and his ceiling is definitely above Hughes imo. He lost a season to COVID and may need an extra year of post-draft development as a result (as opposed to immediately stepping into the NHL), but I feel like his ceiling is still off the charts. He did get exceptional status and have a comparable rookie season to McDavid and Tavares after all. Just because Bedard is likely to challenge McDavid for best player in the world status doesn’t take away from the fact that Wright could potentially be a top 5 player in the world as well.

No I’m just saying as of today, it’s not draft day, I’d like to see Wright at the juniors if he makes it and the rest of his year. I think Hughes (Jack) still has a ton more to show off. I’m only saying Nico like that because Hischier is very underrated.

I personally put a good stock into the world juniors maybe more than I should but I like watching the Juniors than doing more in-depth looking. I understand that Wright probably has the highest ceiling; but I think Jack has 90pt potential currently and that pretty hard to expect any rookie to do within their first few years.

Woah Wright>Jack?

I thought Wright is expected to be a generational player

He is, Hughes also looks pretty damn good though

Okay, that’s fair enough. I guess I’m a bit more bullish on Wright, he was outstanding at the U18s last year, tied for 2nd in points with Bedard with 14, however both Bedard and Michkov (who led the tourney with 16 points) played in 7 games while Wright only played in 5 so Wright had the best PPG, and of course he was granted exceptional status and then won OHL rookie of the year. Recent history has suggested that it’s difficult for rookies to step into the NHL and contribute right away, and while I think Wright has the best odds of making an immediate impact since Matthews, losing a developmental year might hurt, and I can understand the hesitancy based on the last 5 drafts. I too place a lot of stock in the WJC, probably because that’s one of the few times I actually get to see the best prospects in the world play and make my own judgments, otherwise I mostly just read a lot of scouting reports. But I’d expect Wright to be an impactful top 6 player for Canada this year, he almost made the team last year and that roster was stacked. And I agree that Jack for sure has 90 point upside, I think he could even be a top 10 centre in a few years, but I think Wright could be a top 5 player overall. Hischier I think is just fine. He’ll be a reliable 60-70 point 2-way guy, definitely worth his contract, but I don’t think his upside comes particularly close to even Hughes, so he’ll only ever be the 2C.

YOU'VE JUST BEEN MICHKOV'D 😱HE PULLS OFF 'THE MICHIGAN'!!🚨 Matvei Michkov #RUS 1-1 #KarjalaCup pic.twitter.com/13KuTfKy2V

— This is the KHL (@KHLreplays) November 13, 2021

😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

I think he really likes that move lol, iirc he tried it twice at the U18s last year. Unbelievably talented

Rolling puck too, incredible talent!

So who's better Michkov, Wright or Bedard? I've only scouted Wright because well he's this year and i don't have to do Michkov/Bedard until next year

Personally I think Bedard is the next generational player, but I’d love to see two players (Wright and Bedard)

Yeah I may have been bold with Hischier I just love a guy who plays a two way game but also puts up decent totals. I’m just a huge fan of Nico I’m so glad the devils went with him. I could see him grabbing 80 points but that’s very high. I think he still has work to do but he’s also super young and could become a Selke caliber player.

I love the Juniors because you’re not just playing your OHL or SHL etc clubs. You’re playing a lot of kids who are just as good if not better. In Wrights case he’s trying to prove he’s a mile ahead. If he performs in the Juniors, say like Cozens or Byram (despite their lacklustre final game 😉) then I’d obviously change my view.

I just don’t love saying a kid will surpass Hughes this early. Because Hughes as you mentioned could become a top player in the game (top center that it is).

On the flip side, I’m so excited to see Bedard more and more on big stages. That kid is S I C K

Edit:
I also shouldn’t have said Hughes has the highest ceiling maybe I should have said had the highest ceiling currently but Wright has 1-2 years to change that.
I was probably too harsh on Wright there.

Obviously I love Jack Hughes but as a non biased fan, I think Wright will be better. But again It's way too early to tell and it depends on what team gets Shane.



I agree with this
Hughes is going to be a for sure 1C. Nico is going to be a low end 1C, very good 2C

If I had to rank the last 5 first overall picks based on potential (including Wright): Wright, Hughes, Laf, Nico, Power

Yeah I definitely was too harsh with my opinion and didn’t word it correctly. And kinda wrong like @Alfie11 said

But I do have high hopes for Hischier.

I think Power has more potential than Nico, he's close to Laf potential wise I'd say

I’m more of Clarke kinda guy💪
Power is a super safe pick to be a top 2-4 guy.

Still way to early to say for me. But I will give the edge to Michkov since he is already playing in the KHL against men at 16 years old and producing. That is really impressive.

Oh yeah, I really liked Clarke too, Power is a top pairing D in the making ( unless Buffalo ruins him ) and i think Clarke has a similar potential though i do have Power slightly ahead of Clarke

I think Clarke can be a silky skating puck mover with 60-70 point potential but he’s got more risk to “fail”.

Whereas Power is like a guaranteed top 4 guy I just wonder where he’ll end up being. Will he stay within your 2nd pair at like 20-30 points and be a two way. Or will Power develop into a similar Hedman type D with star top pairing play (regardless of his point totals).

Obviously Power may fail like Reinhart lol, but I don’t think it’ll come to that.

Now but for busy or boom I really do think Lambos is the bust or boom guy. He fell and became a great pick for Minny. 26th was a great “steal”.

Yeah, i wasn't a big fan of Lambos, i had Ceulemans, the big 4 D's ( Clarke, Hughes, Power, Edvinsson ) and Stanislav Svozil ahead of Lambos

Oh yeah that’s why him falling was good the for wild. I think I woulda went with Lambos over Ceulemans and didnt Svozil fall to round 2? Cause 10-20 wasn’t an amazing spot for Lambos but 26 was solid. Idk if I woulda went Svozil over Lambos either but I feel like he didn’t go in round one.

Svozil fell to 69 ( nice ) but I had him around 20 on my board, Lambos has more potential than Svozil but Svozil has a higher floor and I like his tools, I also had Ceulemans around 15, while Lambos was around 25

Im not as high on Power as other people are
What is your order for the first overall picks?

Imo it’s Bedard, then Michkov, then Wright, but it’s like saying Crosby, then Ovechkin, then Malkin. Bedard should challenge McDavid for best player in the world, and Michkov will be right there, likely beating out Kucherov for best winger and also being in that best player in the world conversation. Wright has the lowest ceiling of the 3 imo, but that means very little when his potential is still to be a top 5 player lol, he’ll be in the tier of guys like Matthews and Draisaitl (comparing the 3 to McDavid/Kucherov/Matthews or Crosby/Ovechkin/Malkin is how I’d put it).

It is REALLY impressive what Kekäläinen has done since 2019. After going all in back in 2019 TDL and only having 3 picks in 2019, 5 picks in 2020, then 9 in 2021. He has stockpiled prospects:
Marchenko
Foudy
Voronkov
Chinakhov
Johnson
Sillinger
Ceulemans
Svozil
Malatesta
Then adding Bean, Boqvist, Christiansen. I really like CLB future.

Yep, as the CBJ gm in the GM Game, i can confirm that CBJ’s future IRL is very good, they do need more RD’s though as while Boqvist, Ceulemans, Peeke are right handed, they have like no one else

Yup, with two 1st rounders this year that could change, hello Mr. Nemec