Lucic is the 1 in million player that every team hopes for when they draft these guys.... He's an extreme rarity. Hoping to find the next Lucic is why all these players have risen in the draft, but its not happening.
And yes, Wilson made the Caps. That doesn't change the fact that his upside is not very high. He might, might, if everything goes right become a third liner. Basically he can be a Travis Moen (but bigger) or a Turner Stevenson. Thats not the kind of upside I look for in a first round player (it can be found later, or cheaply in free agency. And thats the same thing I see in McCarron, maybe he makes the NHL, but if he does, its just as a grinder.
The fact is, your rookie contract carries about 1million cap hit for a first rounder.
Now that guy can play on your third fourth line, instead of signing a Brandon Prust (2.5 million) in free agency or
That Guy can be a pick you hope plays in your top six instead of spending 5 or 6 million on a free agent (and the best guys almost never become UFA anyways).
Which is better from a cap perspective. And this is why I'd never draft a McCarron in the first two rounds, because the guys who have both skill and size, they are all off the board later in the draft, as we talked about earlier.
