The 2017 CC Hot Take-a-Thon: Martin Necas was a terrible pick for the Carolina Hurricanes

It’s summer, it’s hot, and the takes are sizzling, which can only mean one thing: the Canes Country Hot Take-a-Thon is underway. Our writers have come up with their hottest takes. Some of them are for real. Some of them are satire. All of them are entertaining. Want to contribute your own take? Head to the FanPosts section, put on your fire suit, and get to takin’.

It’s not the easiest thing for me to come up with a hot take. Let’s be frank: I’m not one to ramble on social media and in person. I am a mellow guy that for the the most part keeps a level head. I don’t like taking hard stances on subject matters and try to remain as objective as possible in all of my writing, as I believe any journalist should do.

However, there is one thing I am extremely passionate about: the NHL Draft. I study it as much as I can as soon as preseason rankings come out and follow most of the top prospects throughout their final season in junior hockey. There’s something special about watching a young teenager flourish into an NHL star (see: Jeff Skinner).

Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis has drafted well since he took over the reins in 2014. He drafted current NHLers Noah Hanifin and Sebastian Aho, among others, and has lined the prospect cupboard with future young stars Julien Gauthier, Haydn Fleury and Jake Bean. He has positioned the Hurricanes well for the future better than his predecessor had.

You may have seen a few colleagues of mine post satirical articles over the past few days that are not actually grounded in any semblance of reality. But, I believe every word you are about to read.

The Martin Necas pick was bad. Like, the Ryan Murphy pick in 2011 level of bad.

Necas has too little of a track record and remains too much of a wild card to justify his selection at 12th overall. He has under produced with HC Kometa Brno and looked overwhelmed most of the time. He will continue to be overwhelmed when he makes it over to North America. News came out last week that he has already suffered a pulled abdominal muscle.

Necas has received a “Claude Giroux” comparable. You guys are banking on that? Really? You expect a center drafted in the middle of the first round, in one of the weaker draft classes in the past few years, to develop into a star first line center? Not happening. The last time the Hurricanes selected a center in the middle of the first round, the Ottawa Senators drafted Erik Karlsson and, one pick earlier, the Canes ended up with...Zach Boychuk. Please remind me how well that worked out for the franchise.

Necas is not going to develop into the first line center the team desperately needs. Nor will he develop into an All-Star center.

Ideally, Ron Francis should have traded the pick, but you can’t force teams to trade with you and it takes two to tango. There wasn’t a dance partner out there. However, there was a better option at 12th overall. Nick Suzuki, who was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights one pick later (sound familiar?), filled the Canes’ need for a center. He has a high level hockey IQ, quick hands and great finish around the net. His numbers don’t lie. 96 points in 65 games with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League is nothing to shake your finger at.

Feel free to bookmark this article in your browser. I have been wrong before. If I am wrong, all the better: the Hurricanes will have a solid top-six forward to complement their talented group of defensemen. But if I’m right (and I will be), then I’ll be able to pull this back up and say, “I told you so.”

I understand the desire to see a new prospect and think, “Man, this kid is going to be a star that will help my team for years to come.” But Necas isn’t it, so don’t put all your eggs in one basket.