It’ll be 3 or 4 seasons before we know the true value of 2016 draft picks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/06/2016 (3418 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What did the Winnipeg Jets accomplish at the 2016 NHL Draft?

However much you’d like to know the answer by the time the team’s development camp is over July 7, three to four years is actually the amount of time needed to tell.

Or at least see the direction.

Why so long?

The most preferred examples for teams adding high-end players in the draft are Sidney Crosby (drafted 2005, won the Stanley Cup in 2009) and Jonathan Toews (drafted 2006, Cup in 2010).

Patrik Laine, according to most of those whose business it is to know, could well be one of those elite talents. The Jets drafted him second overall Friday. He will not be in the Hockey Hall of Fame by September.

The labels “transformative player” and “superstar” are already being tossed around but these things can’t be rushed.

Recall the storyline of a true icon, Teemu Selanne.

There was some energy about the pick in his draft year, but please remember nine teams passed on Selanne before the Jets claimed him.

When he finally arrived in Winnipeg four years later, it was not with a parade or an anointing, but actually with some grumbling, since he landed with the Jets thanks only to a matched offer sheet by the Calgary Flames.

Of course, the legendary season that ensued took on a life of its own but it did start fairly ordinarily, as Selanne’s second half was a constantly improving revelation of his true talents.

Laine will do what Laine will do, so long as he is allowed to breathe.

That was a wise piece of proactive ownership offered Saturday by Jets coach Paul Maurice, insisting he will be downplaying everything Laine will do for the foreseeable future.

Still, in a step-back exercise, was the weekend a historic one for the Jets?

It may well have been. April’s lottery win certainly changed the picture, since it put the team in position to acquire what is most difficult to acquire in the NHL ­— true scoring ability.

There may be a half-dozen to 10 of those pure snipers in the world’s best league. They are hard to find, they don’t guarantee success, but they sure go a long way in a league where margins between success and failure are so slim.

Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff also filled another need when he added three defencemen on the weekend, two of considerable size, including 18th-overall pick Logan Stanley of the Windsor Spitfires.

‘We targeted a player at the middle part of the first round (Stanley). That’s a player that will be given time to develop’– Jets GM Kevin Chevaldayoff

Cheveldayoff seemed to have a grasp on at least setting the table for good things when you take a longer view.

“We targeted a player at the middle part of the first round (Stanley),” he said. “That’s a player that will be given time to develop.

“When you get an opportunity to pick No. 2, and a player (of) Patrik’s stature and what he can bring to the table, you’re extremely excited. I’m sure we’ll look fondly back at that. There was great excitement in Winnipeg, but probably the greater excitement was at our table maybe even a month ago when it was the lottery.

“Big steps from the foundation standpoint. And we look to continue to grow.”

Over the years, there really isn’t a Jets’ draft that matches the buzz of this one, with the possible exception of an early one, in 1981, when Dale Hawerchuk and Scott Arniel were the first two picks of that year.

That one-two combination was the city’s best ever in terms of games played.

There were a few drafts that carried some legitimate hype and some anticipation, certainly. The 1990 event, when Hawerchuk was traded and Keith Tkachuk was selected 19th, was memorable and the years of Selanne (1988), Stu Barnes (1989) and Shane Doan (1995) seemed more important than others, but hardly matched the excitement seen in the last few months.

Certainly what happened on the weekend far outstrips so many duds, especially those of 1992 (Sergei Bautin) and 1985 (Ryan Stewart).

So go ahead, celebrate, keeping in mind a pivotal draft isn’t going to sway the Jets from their draft-and-develop model or make them start rushing things.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca