Yes you are right about debrusk and zboril. I mixed them up, sorry.

There are always some rankings that put certain players way off. In general though Connor was a top 10 pick and barzal a top 15 (mostly top 10). Barzal fell because of size and health while Connor fell because he was small and hadn’t played college level yet. Those factors probably scares some teams off.

Also for you point of how they were available at 13? Guys fall every year. Perfetti fell to the jets this year. Consensus top 10 pick caufield to montreal at 15 last year. The list goes on

So then are we saying rankings are more of a guideline than "the bible" like some people use them? That I would agree with. The rumor with Barzal and Boston was he didn't interview well and they didn't like his attitude. Again its a rumor, but Barzal was exactly the type of player Boston needed and covets, so there was something behind the scenes that turned them off.

Not really ultimately. All the 1M guys can be replaced by league minimum players, Halak and another Greiss type G is an above average tandem, trading one or both of Marchand/Bergeron for promising young assets is ideal. A bit tricky but totally cool.