Going into the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, there was a lot of debate about what the Tampa Bay Lightning were looking for. A defenseman seemed like the most likely option, but we also know that general manager Steve Yzerman and scouting director Al Murray are proponents of picking the top player on their board. If there had been a high-end forward ranked higher on their board, they likely would have gone that way.
When SBNation was going through it’s annual mock draft, the RawCharge staff debated who we should pick. Ultimately, we took Kailer Yamamoto because we believed in his high upside as an offensively skilled forward.