I knew Virtanen would be on here right away lmao

Juolevi has actually been good this year.

It may be my biased side coming out but when the Jets drafted Stanley they said that it was gonna take a few years. What Stanley did this summer to build himself up, I can see him staying...He also has looked decent this year in the few games he has played....esp without any pre season games

I mean some of them are good

Jones and Milano aren’t that bad. They’d be 3rd rounders rn

Galchenyuk had some good years in Montreal before coaches started to tamper his usage because of defensive issues. Jankowski's been in the NHL long enough to be called an NHL player, and same with Crouse. Also, Nylander's earned his spot with Chicago. He's unfortunately injured for the year, though.

Agree with all.
Alex Wennberg is also one of those players...at least during his time in Columbus.
Not sure if he has done anything yet in Florida.

If Galchenyuk hadn’t been drafted 3rd overall, he’d probably be in the KHL right now. I definitely agree that a lot of players end up playing more than they ought to just because of expectations.

I feel like Wennberg is more just that his one good year that raised the bar more than anything.

I mean, for some of them, like Nylander, Mcleod, and Galchenyuk, they "only" play because they have untapped potential that they haven't hit yet. They were picked in the first round for a reason. They just havent put it together yet. Nylander had 26 points in 65 games in his rookie season. Galchenyuk had 30 goals when he was 21. Mcleod was pretty solid throughout his OHL career until he suffered a torn meniscus and has had to compensate to regain some of the skills he probably lost over his recovery. Guys like these play because they have skill that can be brought out but just doesnt shine through every night

Galchenyuk is 3 weeks away from turning 27. There’s no untapped potential there. He is what he is, an AHLer with a good shot.

Also, many of these guys are long-time NHL players and not the guys that get persistent call-ups only to do nothing. To me, those guys have made it on merit. Maybe they didn't hit their full potential, but they're NHLers regardless.

What I'm saying is more often than not, they still have 1st round skillsets even if they arent going to be top 6 guys and they are still better than the majority of 4th liners like Austin Watson and Zac Rinaldo that constantly get contracts from random teams because they need a filler player.

Plus now with Stanley playing, Cole Perfetti(this year) is the only Jets 1st rounder not playing in the NHL...not to shabby of picks

Their scouting department and their player development group have been the Jets' major saving grace throughout their post-Thrashers relocation history. Most teams would not survive the loads of trade requests and UFA shunnings that Winnipeg has, but they do because they're so good at those two particular things.

Yeah, although Galchenyuk’s one good skill allows him to play in the NHL, when people who are as good as him like Charles Hudon are playing in Switzerland. The only reason he’s in the NHL is because of where he was drafted.

Galch's offensive skill has never been a question, though. It was always the other end that caused many coaches to wince and not play him in his preferred spot (center).

Esp when you look at Atlanta's record of picks...lol

Jano has been solid this year. At 700,000K I have no complaints. Get him off that list

Yes, that's the hilarious part of all this. Atlanta was decent when it came to signings and trades, and Waddell always kept a clean cap sheet devoid of albatrosses like he does today in Carolina, but their scouting department was a complete and total dumpster fire. Thank god that Carolina had Yorke and Tulsky as incumbent guys in those areas of the franchise before Waddell came in, and he was smart enough to keep those two around, have them promoted up the chain, and have them protected with lab gloves and long-term extensions.

Well, two reasons why:

1) There's a lot of sentimental value of a first rounder over someone picked later in the draft. The teams first pick in a draft is expected to be your best prospect from that class, and is often the most thoroughly scouted and examined. You want to get absolutely everything you can out of the top guy, which is why these players get afforded opportunities that someone picked later would not. A good portion of guys on this list are (still) relatively young and can still have productive NHL careers, even if a number of their contemporaries have surpassed them in ability and value.

2) Game experience and name value have a lot more pull for some GMs. Galchenyuk, Ceci and Johnson still get contracts because general managers usually see "Wow! Cool Games Played!" instead of their overall impact in those games. This ties in the first point I made because first round picks often accumulate games quicker. Additionally, first round picks have more name value than guys taken later, and yes it's solely based on draft position. Sbisa and Ennis get deals because they were former first rounders, and GMs will sell big assets for Griffin Reinhart because he could still be better than Rielly and Trouba.

I just know he was forced in the mix in Calgary and never looked very good to me. But really any of these guys can have a renaissance and find a way to stick. Just trying to come up with a list of "would this guy have ever found the NHL if he wasn't picked so high?" and it's really an impossible task. Look how many undrafted/late bloomer/KHL guys show up out of nowhere and stick. Development isn't a straight line, and opportunities and talent don't always align.

But his shot isn’t good enough to justify putting him in an NHL lineup with all of his deficiencies. The only difference between him and Hudon is that he was 3rd overall, and Hudon was in the 5th round. This is why after being drafted the same year by the same team, Galchenyuk has 551 GP in the NHL and career earnings of $22 million, whereas Hudon has 125 NHL GP and career earnings of only $2.3 million.

Galchenyuk got a deal because Ottawa was banking on him getting some powerplay points to bump is value up, so a GM who overvalues first rounders gives them a fifth or something. If he can't provide that for him, I think the next stop is the KHL.

Sorry AK I didn’t notice you posted the list. If I saw your name I wouldn’t have been so passive aggressive haha. I agree though 100%

Don't give me special treatment haha if I'm wrong put me on blast