Logan Stanley is not the worst player in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by a long shot. He might have been the worst first round pick, but he is definitely not the worst player. Now that he is healthy and playing for the Windsor Spitfires again the question should be asked: what can Jets fans make of a player who is not terrible, but was drafted too high for his skillset? The answer is probably not a lot at this point.
Stanley is what he is: he can be decent defensively and a mess offensively. Add to that the fact he had a long layoff because of injury and then the Spitfires being eliminated in the first round and he had not played in a game of hockey since January 17. Missing all that time meant he had to get back into game shape without the ability to play in a real game for months.
Stanley has not been terrible at the Memorial Cup, but he has also not been exactly what a team would want in a first round pick. When he was picked he was seen as a project, someone who needed to refine many parts of his game to make him a NHL defenceman. He probably should not have been taken in the first round, but he was because he is big. Every team thinks that they can turn the next bit, hulking defenceman in junior into the next Zdeno Chara and no one has succeeded yet. It is not Stanley’s fault if he does not turn into the player the Jets thought he would be when they drafted him; there is only one Chara and that is not Stanley. Hopefully Stanley continues to improve and show more acumen for the offensive side of the game. If he does not than there is still a chance that he will at least play in the NHL for a few games.
