On their first cup team they had 3 players drafted by the Panthers.

And one of them was Dmitry Kulikov who was drafted in 2009 and left the Panthers in 2016 and then played for 9 more teams before returning to Florida in 2023.

So in reality 2 players. You don't build a NHL championship level (or playoff level) team by drafting million kids and then waiting 6 years for the hopeful payoff.

You draft a couple elite kids (like Barkov and Ekblad) and use the rest of your resources to allocate talent around them to put a competitive roster on the ice. The Panthers made the playoffs 3 years after drafting them ( won their division) and were at least competitive in other years.

Most organizations would not be this patient. I think it's ridiculous to think you need this long to put a competitive roster on the ice. We shouldn't be bottom of the barrel for a half decade. You have to put at least some rosters that can try to compete for playoff spot.