7. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Nugent-Hopkins is a really good player. Here’s the catch: he isn’t a great one. When you’re selected first-overall, especially by a team who has struggled for so long, you have lofty expectations set upon you. Those expectations span from the more conservative “just be elite” to the more aggressive “be the face of the franchise” approach.
Both are very difficult to achieve when A) the team around you is considered the laughing stalk of the league and you have to do most things yourself, and B) because the team sucks, you’re thrown into the fire that is facing every other teams best players in hopes that you can at least keep up.
Nugent-Hopkins ranks 3rd in games played, 5th in goals, 4th in assists and 4th in points within the 2011 draft class. Edmonton had better options when they selected Nugent-Hopkins, in hindsight.
Nugent-Hopkins is a well-liked and respected player in the league. He has never recorded 30 or more penalty minutes in a season. But that does not make you a good, bad, great or horrendous player. “Nuge,” as he is called, has recorded 20+ goals and 30+ assists just twice in his career. He’s had three 20+ goal seasons and four 30+ assist seasons. That led to him registering four 50+ point seasons, including last seasons 69 point campaign.
The Oilers have gotten off to a fast start thus far, and Nuge has recorded a goal and 5 assists for 6 points in 9 contests. If the Oilers have success, it’s clear Nuge can be an even better player than what he has been in his career thus far. But on his own, Nuge is primarily a consistent 50 point producer per season. That tally isn’t what you look for in a number one pick, unfortunately.