An expert repeats the draft of Nick Suzuki and the result speaks volumes

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Jeff Drouin
August 10, 2022 (1:03)

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At this time of the year, when it is quieter in terms of news in the hockey world, many experts take the opportunity to make assessments and more in-depth analyses.

One of the exercises that is always very interesting and popular is to look back at a past draft to see what the order would look like if we had to do it all over again today.

Unsurprisingly, with each draft, some players become true steals, while others unfortunately don't live up to expectations.

DRAFT 2017 REVIEW

Notably, revisiting the 2017 draft, the Nick Suzuki draft, there were several surprises.

Suzuki himself was notably a solid selection, 13th overall, by the Golden Knights (before being involved, a year later, in the infamous trade that sent Max Pacioretty to Vegas).

Anyway, let's have some fun here rehashing the first round of the 2017 draft.

That year, Nico Hischier was the very first pick by the New Jersey Devils, followed by Nolan Patrick, selected by the Flyers and defenseman Miro Heiskanen selected by the Dallas Stars.

However, the next picks, Cale Makar and Pettersson, seem to have moved ahead of the first three selections in the new draft.

In fact, the two players would be the first two out according to most experts, while Hischier fell to third and Heiskanen to fourth.

This leads to Nick Suzuki at No. 5, followed by St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas at No. 6 and Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson.

The top 10 is completed by Josh Norris of the Ottawa Senators, Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes and Drake Batherson, also of the Senators.

The Habs' Ryan Poehling, selected 25th by the team, has dropped five spots, but the most noticeable drop is that of Nolan Patrick, who is now 20th. It must be said that the numerous injuries he has suffered have certainly not helped.

Note that two players chosen in the top ten, Lias Andersson by the Rangers and Cody Glass by the Golden Kights, are no longer on the list.

Just goes to show that a top 10 pick is not always a guaranteed success.

Here's the full list of the revisited first round of the 2017 NHL Draft.

1. Cale Makar
2. E. Pettersson
3. Nico Hischier
4. Miro Heiskanen
5. Nick Suzuki
6. Robert Thomas
7. Jason Robertson
8. Josh Norris
9. Martin Necas
10. Drake Batherson
11. Kailer Yamamoto
12. Jake Oettinger
13. Filip Chytil
14. Erik Brannstrom
15. Henri Jokiharju
16. Eeli Tolvanen
17. Alex Formenton
18. Alexandre Texier
19. Casey Mittelstadt
20. Nolan Patrick
21. Owen Tippett
22. Nicolas Hague
23. Maxime Comtois
24. Michael Rasmussen
25. Timothy Liljegren
26. Mario Ferraro
27. Morgan Geekie
28. Sebastian Aho
29. Jesper Boqvist
30. Ryan Poehling
31. Morgan Frost
32. Gabriel Vilardi