Ranking of last ten picks overall: Juraj Slafkovsky placed 10th

As everyone knows, the most recent National Hockey League draft was a completely mind-boggling one, out of the ordinary in terms of the number of excellent prospects available.

It was a very strong crop, one of the best of the last ten years.

On top of that, the top draft prospect in Connor Bedard is considered to be a Connor McDavid-type generational talent.

Let’s just say that the Chicago Blackhawks can truly count themselves lucky to have obtained the first pick in the draft with such a crop of prospects.

Unfortunately, it’s not every year that there’s a Connor (McDavid or Bedard) available at the top of the draft.

Indeed, some years, there isn’t really a prospect who stands out more than the others, and so there’s no generational talent.

Well, as we all know, unfortunately, that crop of prospects fell in the year the CH won the first overall pick after finishing last in the NHL standings.

The Tricolore drafted Juraj Slafkovsky, a Slovak with great potential, but nowhere near the first overall pick we’ve seen in other drafts.

In fact, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranks the CH prospect 10th among the NHL’s top 10 overall picks.

Indeed, Wheeler explains in his article that Slafkovsky is the worst first overall pick of the last ten years.

Lucky CH, isn’t it…

In order, he places :

1. Connor McDavid
2. Connor Bedard
3. Auston Matthews
4. Rasmus Dahlin
5. Alexis Lafrenière
6. Jack Hughes
7. Owen Power
8. Aaron Ekblad
9. Nico Hischier
10. Juraj Slafkovsky

I’m not 100% in agreement with this ranking, especially with Hughes behind Lafrenière, but one thing’s for sure, Slafkovsky can’t be placed anywhere but 10th.

Sad to say, as much as I believe the young Slovak will become a good player for the CH, I don’t see him becoming better than some of the other nine players, or even one.

I love Slaf, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have the makings of a first overall pick.

I know he’s still young and has only played 39 games in the NHL, but it’s hard to see him becoming better than any of the players in this ranking.

Wheeler explains that Slafkovsky is 10th by a long way, and that for him, he should never have come out on top.

He ranked him 5th before the 2022 draft, and believes that drafting the Slovak ahead of Shane Wright, Logan Cooley and Simon Nemec was a mistake.

In short, I sincerely hope that Slafkovsky will be able to surprise and become an excellent NHL player, but for now, the conclusion is clear: the CH really did win the lottery in the worst possible year.

Let’s hope Slaf gets some top-6 playing time this year and proves us wrong sooner rather than later.

In a gust

– Jack Eichel enjoys the Stanley Cup.

Have yourself a day, @jackeichel 🏆

📸: @RichardTGagnon pic.twitter.com/rvKFB53k4G

– 🏆 – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) July 15, 2023

– Contract signed in Pittsburgh.

– CF Montreal will be in action today, while Charlotte is in town.

GAME DAY 🔵⚪️⚫️

CF Montreal vs Charlotte – 7:30pm

Your prediction?#CFMTL #AllezMTL pic.twitter.com/NgbHSEQ7NH

– KAN FC ⚽ (@kanfootballclub) July 15, 2023

– Just excluded from the podium.