3. Ian Cole
Ian Cole is somewhat of an enigma. Originally drafted in the first round by the St. Louis Blues, Cole possessed the upside of at minimum a top four defenseman yet was never able to crack a solid spot in the Blues’ lineup. St. Louis Head Coach Ken Hitchcock is known to hold grudges and has a tough time allowing youthful defenders a chance to break through.
The main question with Cole has never been skill set or size. He showed some lapses in judgment and sometimes was out of position in his stay with the Blues. Playing in a more structured system like St. Louis employs is tough for a younger defenseman and most of his growing pains should be behind him and his arrow is pointing clearly to the north.
Cole showed no signs of his early career inconsistency in his debut and broke through when arriving in a late season trade for Robert Bortuzzo to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Cole racked up stellar possession numbers and his HERO charts show that he could be a borderline top pairing defenseman from an analytics standpoint. With some seasoning and more game experience there could even be expectations for Cole to elevate his game even further.
Next: #2 - Olli Maatta