Can We Over Talk The Draft?

We did it when it was Taylor versus Tyler. We did it when it was Nugent-Hopkins versus Larsson and we're doing it again.

It seems as though the increased exposure and constant lack of being able to talk about anything other than the NHL draft has people losing their minds in respect to who truly is the best prospect at the draft. Oilers fans aren't the only ones either.

When Sean Couturier was ready to be drafted, but had to wait a full year before he was actually eligible, at the time, scouts were aware he was a consensus at a top pick. Over the draft eligible year however the scouts had already seen the good, so it became time to pick apart the bad. It was done so much, that Couturier's stock actually dropped all the way to the Flyers who selected him eighth overall. He showed in the playoffs and with his sound two-way play, that he really was the good that scouts saw earlier and before they began to tear apart his play having seen him too often.

When Taylor Hall was drafted over Tyler Seguin, there were some who thought the Oilers made the right choice -- the consensus choice. There were others who had worked Seguin into the equation as the smarter of the two options. While the jury is still out, Hall has done more in a limited time that Seguin and proven to be the top selection. Hall is a true leader on the Oilers and I don't think if you asked fans, that many if at all would trade Hall straight up for Seguin at this point.

Nugent-Hopkins was tops in the NHL as a rookie on a point per game basis and he's likely going to be punished by not winning the Calder trophy due to injury. Of course, there was a contingent of fans and media that believed because the Oilers needed better defense and that Adam Larrson was the better option. Larrson has spent much of the playoffs as a healthy scratch.

The point here is that we can over-hype the draft. Picking #1 should be the easy part. It's picking #3, #4 and #5 where things aren't so clear.

The Oilers haven't had that problem so with the #1 pick, is there really any reason the Oilers shouldn't take the guy who's been the talk of the draft for the last year and a half? Yakupov is not a defensman. That much is true. But, he is the best player available this year and he would be by leaps and bounds had everyone not had nothing better to do that dissect his every little move.

Take the best player available. From there, if you have to move him or another piece to fill the holes you need to fill if that in the long run benefits your team.