Quoting: SlickWilly
I'm not the biggest fan of the argument "the average 10th overall pick isnt actually that good" when calling draft slot value. If you wanna use it to say that the draft is a total crapshoot, then I'll agree with that. But you can constantly find guys of high value in the teens, just because whoever picks at 10 makes a mistake doesnt mean that the 10th overall pick isnt valuable.
I agree, saying the "10th overall pick isn't actually that good" is a bit of an ignorant statement. excluding 2023 (because it's too early to tell), the 10th OA picks from the previous 10 drafts are:
Pavel Mintyukov (already a fantastic NHL dman in his first season)
Tyler Boucher (has yet to play in the NHL)
Cole Perfetti (already a quality NHL player on pace for 41 points with limited ice time in Winnipeg)
Vasily Podkolzin (can't seem to consistently stay in the League)
Evan Bouchard (already a point per game #1 dman)
Owen Tippet (very good top 6 winger on pace for over 30 goals)
Tyson Jost (may end up being a bust)
Mikko Rantanen (elite top line forward)
Nick Ritchie (couldn't stay in the league)
Valerie Nichushkin (2-way winger that's over a point per game, scoring at a 40 goal pace)
The average 10th overall pick is actually quite good, and there are many elite players selected in the 10-30 range almost every single season.