Quoting: BrandonDubinskyGOAT
Yeah Shattenkirk and Alzner were awful during that 2017 against the Penguins. I don’t think Shattenkirk was healthy since I remember Cullen blowing by him for a short handed goal and Alzner was just too slow, the Penguins exposed him. People said the Caps would be worse without them, but look what happened! They added quick defensemen like Djoos and won the cup. Schmaltz was a first round pick, to only make it big in the AHL seems disappointing.
First round picks are overrated when considered as just first round picks.
There is a big difference between a top 5 pick and a pick 26-30.
There are essentially a few tiers that vary a bit by year
Tier 1: pick 1 (sometimes 1 and 2 or even 1 and 2 and 3)
Tier 2: the next 5-7 or so picks (usually about 3-8
Tier 3: the rest of the top 10 to about 15 (pick 9-15)
Tier 4: the ret of the teens to early 20s (pick 16-24 or so)
Tier 5: the rest of the first round into the second (25-35 or so)