“Ask me in 3-4 years!” responded noted NHL draft guru Craig Button late Saturday after a tweet asked him which team had the best draft.
“You won’t have to because most of the answers will be in. I’m not smart enough to do that exercise right after the draft. It’s self-serving because [the] highest grades go to teams that selected players a person rated favorably.”
By that narrow scope, Ron Hextall’s eight 2018 picks would not put him at the head of the class. With five defensemen off the board before he made his first pick, Hextall and his scouts chose who they believed to be the best player available in winger Joel Farabee, then raised more than a few draftnik eyebrows by choosing high school centerman Jay O’Brien at 19.