Adler Mannheim forward Tim Stützle has rightly captivated the hockey world with a draft-year spent in the German men’s league.

The German winger is a human highlight reel, stringing together some of the sport’s most impressive plays on a consistent basis. His pace overwhelms defenders and his motor never stops running.

As the hockey world and the scouting community hold Stützle in better esteem with seemingly every update to their draft rankings — Stützle clocks in at No. 3 on the updated Consolidated Draft Rankings — we’ve held him between No. 7 and 9. Understandably, Stützle checking in at No. 8 in our last ranking was its most controversial item.

This article endeavours to explain our position: Why Stützle is undeniably a top-eight talent in this year’s draft but one with more flaws tha