In Defense of Verbeek and Yzerman

Lately, I have seen a lot of criticism towards Anaheim Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek and Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman. It’s come from both random Mastodon, Twitter, and YouTube commenters, but also in hockey publications. Frankly, I don’t understand most of the criticism of these two, but I do find it interesting that both are getting criticized over the same things: free agency signings and whom they draft. So, let’s dive in a bit and allow me to explain why I find these criticisms to be reactionary.

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Drafting

A lot of people are not happy with how either team drafted this year, though in Yzerman’s case, this is nothing new. Every year, the Red Wings have been criticized for their drafting. Let’s start with why people are upset with Verbeek, though. All the criticism revolves around drafting Leo Carlsson over Adam Fantilli. That’s it, and I’ve seen a lot of rage and depression over this, including from some hockey writers. A lot of the public, saw Adam Fantilli as the undisputed #2 in the draft, believing there to be a massive gap between Fantilli and Carlsson in talent. NHL scouts and executives saw differently (and not to toot my own horn or anything, ok, I’m bragging, but I didn’t think there was much of a difference either). I need fans to get this through their heads: The consolidated rankings by Elite Prospects is not how front offices see prospects. Corey Pronman’s mock drafts are merely educated guesses, not reality. Your personal board is not an NHL scout’s board. That goes for me as well. Many scouts told The Athletic that they saw Carlsson having a higher ceiling than Fantilli, and it was for good reason: he has no holes in his game. Fantilli may be a better offensive player, but he doesn’t play defense well. Carlsson is a complete player with zero obvious holes. He’s strong offensively and defensively. He will still put up a lot of points while also providing defense. Fantilli will provide goals, but no defense. He’s a damn good pick who might be better than Fantilli. Seriously, calm down Ducks fans, there’s no reason to get depressed, I promise.