Quoting: drewjenks
OK I agree it's not irrelevant but you're missing my point.
Ottawa's roster is so bare that the first few prospects to pan out will make them OK .... the next few will make them good .... and the next few will make them great.
I'll use Toronto as an example. Ottawa obviously has a better prospect pool than Toronto.
However .... every prospect that pans out on Toronto (Liljegren, Sandin, Bracco, Moore, Petan, Rosen, etc) will be added to a core that already includes:
Matthews
Tavares
Marner
Nylander
Kapanen
Johnsson
Kadri
Rielly
Muzzin
Dermott
Andersen
Every prospect that pans out in Ottawa (Brannstrom, Brown, Formenton, Batherson, Balcers, Jaros, Abromov, etc) will be added to a core of:
Chabot
Tkachuk
Tierney
White
Ceci
Ottawa's roster is so far behind the top teams that it neutralizes the strength it's prospects.
I get what you're saying. I don't expect OTT to be a playoff contender in the next 2 seasons, especially next year
That being said, the "first generation core of players" will be established in that 2-year time frame. It will most likely include all the players you listed, beside maybe Abromov (Which is still a question mark), and more. They've all proven that they can be NHL players. (If they end up being top 6 or bottom 6 is yet to be determined).
And I agree, they will definitely need another wave of prospects to complement the core which they'll get in the next 3 years with the 15+ pick they have in the first three rounds.
But with the quantity and quality of prospect OTT has, I can't see this taking more than 3 years to make them relevant again.
Also, people are quick to criticize Dorion for the moves he's made but the guy has a really good eye for an amateur prospect. His draft picks in the last 3 years are unbelievable