Rangers passed on him when they had the opportunity to draft him and instead chose Mcilrath. Fowler has played very well for USA. First thing you notice is what agreat skater he is. Sort of plays like Brian Leetch. This has all the makings of Hugh Jessiman 2.0
I liked Fowler as a draft selection at the time, but like Al said, we already had MDZ and Sanguinetti. Also not fair to call McIlrath a Hugh v2.0 b/c it's still way too early.
different type of players, though. Wouldn't be fair to compare Beukeboom to Leetch and just b/c McIlrath won't have Fowler's skating ability doesn't make him a bust like Hugh. He should turn out to be a valuable player, though i believe Dump overrates his impact.
yeah hard to compare since the pick was made looking for a big body heavy hitting D Man. Cant really bitch about not having Fowler. We will see how much of an impact Dylan makes, hopefully a big one but I still am against having your "enforcer" being a dman. The goal would hopefully be that he is a top 4 or even a top 2 dman (otherwise why draft him in the first round) and playing over 20 minutes a game, would be hard to do if he is getting 5 minute penalties or 10 minute misconducts for fighting
McIlrath is a project. Saw him in Hartford. May be ready in 2 years. But my guess is that the Rangers will rush him.....Save face. Typical Sather reach. Yeah, Fowler was the right pick at that time. But done is done.
I def think its too early to consider McIlrath a bust. Good for Fowler that he's having success in the NHL but there's no sense in comparing him to a player who plays an entirely different style of game. Plus, McIlrath has had some injuries that have certainly slowed his progression.
Agree that a player like McIlrath is not a top 10 pick. However, looking in hindsight, other than Fowler there are maybe a couple of players picked after Dylan that i could say i'd like to have.
