Personally I don't draft Kotkaniemi over Zadina. Dude was revved up to be a Hab. I think he would have given 110% to be a star here. Maybe I eat crow on that when I'm 40.
But for this team? No. Keep stockpiling centres. I want Hughes or Cozens in 2019 and Lafreniere or Byfield in 2020. One of the four would be amazing. Two of the four would be the making of a real contender.
Let's say we finish dead last in 19-20 after moving Weber and Price and we win the lottery for Lafreniere. In 2019 we drafted Lavoie because Price had a decent season so we got 6th overall or something. We are now running with:
C: Lafreniere, Poehling, Suzuki, Kotkaniemi
L: Domi, Hudon, Lehkonen,
RW: Lavoie, Scherbak, Bitten, Ylonen
F: Drouin (can play anywhere)
Now with this depth, we realize that Poehling and Lafreniere are real deal top centres while Suzuki can pivot to the wing. Maybe Kotkaniemi doesn't pan out as a top centre but ends up a really good 2/3 C. Suddenly we are running with a lineup that could look like
Suzuki - Lafreniere - Lavoie
Domi - Poehling - Drouin
Hudon - Kotkaniemi - Scherbak/Bitten
You could even move Kotkaniemi to the wing and have him replace Domi if he busts like I expect him to.
Point is, Leafs (I know I know we all hate hearing about them as they haven't won anything but hear me out) drafted Nylander and Marner as centres and play both as wingers. That's much easier to do than draft wingers and make them centres. Also if say Matthews signs an offer sheet in Arizona and is gone next summer, Toronto still has Tavares and Kadri and can move Marner back to centre if need be. That's why you need heavy centre depth. Poehling, Kotkaniemi, and Suzuki is a start. I want more.