Draft Retrospective: How Dylan Strome took the unconventional route to being an NHL success story

After a slow start in the NHL, Dylan Strome was labeled a bust.

Top-three picks come with a different set of expectations. And Strome was quickly surpassed by players taken after him. 

It took a trade from the Arizona Coyotes to the Chicago Blackhawks, four years after his draft, for Strome to find his NHL footing.

Even then, it seemed like his place in the NHL was tenuous at best. Strome dropped from 0.88 points per game in his first season with Chicago to 0.43 two years later. He rebounded with 48 points in 69 games lat season, but Chicago never extended a qualifying offer. 

He eventually signed with the Washington Capitals, where he's netted seven points in 10 games this season. 

It’s easy to credit Strome’s comparatively lengthy development curve and weak results to an era of drafting that