1999 NHL Draft: Worst in recent memory?

[Michael Farkas]

Always puzzles me that the Devils drafted a goalie in the 1st round considering Brodeur was in the middle of his prime.

Not to be cliche, but you take your best player available. The Devils took a goalie in the 1st round in 1997 as well (J.F. Damphousse, who I thought was awful at the time).

After watching back to back Vezina seasons from Hasek, the Sabres drafted Martin Biron 16th overall in 1995. Then spent another 1st round pick on Mika Noronen in 1997.

 

[Brodeur]

Always puzzles me that the Devils drafted a goalie in the 1st round considering Brodeur was in the middle of his prime.

I suppose the thought could have been BPA. Even with hindsight there wasn't much to be had between Ari Ahonen (27th) and their next pick Mike Commodore (42nd). Jordan Leopold and Adam Hall were the only NHL regulars (aside from goalie Alex Auld) in the second round. I remember in the moment that I wanted them to take Ross Lupaschuk.

Ahonen had a big 2001 WJC and the Devils tried to cash him in as an asset; THN had him #5 on their Future Watch. He was offered in a package to try to land Rob Blake at that deadline but LA didn't want a future based return and Colorado sent over Deadmarsh/Miller plus picks.

And perhaps it's easy to take for granted that Brodeur remained a Devils for as long as he did. Maybe easy to forget that Brodeur had a contract dispute in the summer of 1995 and was ready to sign an offer sheet with St. Louis. A technicality with that CBA might have been the only thing that stopped that. The Blues had previously offer sheeted Shayne Corson and forked over draft picks. They reacquired those picks but the NHL said that St. Louis was ineligible to do another offer sheet. This rule must have been tweaked at some point.

Brodeur eventually signed a 3 year deal prior to the 1995-96 season and then a four year extension in December 1997. He would have been RFA in the summer of 2002 and potentially UFA in the summer of 2003. So perhaps that was a long term worry in 1999.

Typically newly drafted goalies aren't sniffing at an NHL starting gig for 4-5+ years, so Ahonen could have been insurance just in case there had been any contract difficulties. But as it was, Brodeur signed a five year extension in October 2001 and Ahonen ended up not being good.

Maybe not exactly the same situation since Dominik Hasek was a little bit older (and closer to UFA), but Buffalo used 1st rounders on Martin Biron (1995) and Mika Noronen (1997) in years where Hasek won the Vezina. In their case, Biron did take the reins when Hasek was traded in 2001.

 

[Brodeur]

It's too bad most of the stuff from back then isn't archived. There was a favorite of mine written by a Calgary based journalist Eric Francis who predicted that Lundmark/Brendl would be better than the Sedins.

Francis' take was so bad that I later saved the text for posterity:

Smith's moves sure to pay off

By ERIC FRANCIS -- Calgary Sun
It's a scary day when Neil Smith and his New York Rangers walk away the clear winners of the NHL entry draft.

More accustomed to trying to buy proven talent, Smith did well to pick up future superstars Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark who will, in the long run, be better players than the Bobbsey Twins in Vancouver, who many figure would be lost without one another.

 

[MadLuke]

Has for drafting of goaltender, goaltender development can often be quite long and teams live in a world with free agency, injuries, etc...

Carey Price was drafted not only in the first round but really high after Theodore had a solid season, got some random late Hart vote (he had shown crack too).

There was some talk of being a strange pick, we had a young recent Hart winner in goals (but not that much because of the really bad season in between the good 2), should have pick Brule, etc... by the time Price was ready to be an star number 1 Theodore was long gone, Brodeur career, relationship with the Devils, needs for a competent number 2 to play a reasonable amount of games, ended up being quite out of the norm and not something you bet a lot of money on.

PS, you know we are getting old when something 25 years ago is referred too has recent memory...

 

[Michael Farkas]

PS, you know we are getting old when something 25 years ago is referred too has recent memory...

To be fair, this thread was started a zillion years ago haha - it was just bumped pretty randomly today.

 

[MadLuke]

To be fair, this thread was started a zillion years ago haha - it was just bumped pretty randomly today.

You know we are getting old when 2015 does not feel like it was that long ago.....

 

[WarriorofTime]

Even though he was only 4th, Pavel Brendl got a lot of hype, many thought he was the best player, with the Sedins being more of a novelty thing and some trading circumstance resulting in Stefan going first. It's actually rather remarkable how hard he busted, with only 78 NHL games, that maybe goes more under the radar since he only went 4th.

Not sure if anyone has ever really done a deep dive into it. He had a good year in Sweden, a good season in the KHL inaugural season but wasn't really a European superstar either.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Heh, I hear ya...I'm constantly reminded of my age...every rink has the lineup sheets and many list dates of birth...

"Oh cool, this team is dressing a player that was born during my streak of consecutive Penguins games watched...great..."

 

[Brodeur]

Even though he was only 4th, Pavel Brendl got a lot of hype, many thought he was the best player, with the Sedins being more of a novelty thing and some trading circumstance resulting in Stefan going first. It's actually rather remarkable how hard he busted, with only 78 NHL games, that maybe goes more under the radar since he only went 4th.

Brendl definitely doesn't get as much flack as a result.

It's funny to hear Brian Burke tell the story of how those draft pick swaps came to be, he definitely makes it seem like he moved heaven and earth to get it completed. But we also heard from Tampa GM Rick Dudley and he definitely painted it as more mundane.

With the draft becoming decentralized starting next year, Burke lamented that and claimed that the 1999 swaps only happened because of he kept bothering Dudley in person leading up to the draft.

But Dudley would say that he was always intending to move the pick since Burke wasn't exactly quiet about wanting both Sedins. For better or worse, Tampa preferred Brendl. Dudley was just making Burke sweat to try to get him to improve his offer. Burke wasn't exactly offering a huge bounty (a pair of 3rd rounders). As I recall, Dudley was trying to get a 2nd+4th instead. Definitely odd that that was a sticking point for what Burke has retroactively called the worst draft.

Simultaneously Dudley was shopping the pick to the Rangers who had just had their trade for Ziggy Palffy rejected by the NHL. Rangers wanted Brendl so Tampa could still move down and do that trade, so Dudley accepted Burke's offer on the morning of the draft.

With hindsight, Burke didn't have to move up to secure both Sedins. In a parallel universe, the Rangers take Brendl #1, Thrashers take Stefan #2, and Vancouver gets the Sedins at #3/4.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Brendl is one of those situations where taking a chance on a specialist is dangerous. Brendl could shoot the lights out, but had nothing else in his game really...he was ridiculously out of shape and never made much of an effort...

He was expected to make the Rangers straight away...or at least there was hope that he would because of their needs and all that...Brendl couldn't get through the first day of training camp because he was so out of shape.....................at his first NHL camp...as an 18 year old. That would become a trend...

So, already you have a one dimensional player, he can only shoot...so, there's no "B" game. He has to score goals or he's a net negative. He was too slow and too uninterested to even hang out at center and try to snipe...

You have to be really careful scouting and drafting a specialist...there's someone in the 2024 draft that is a specialist (not a slob like Brendl was), he'll be an interesting case study...

 

[Brodeur]

Tverdovsky Comes Full Circle

Hockey: Mighty Ducks trade Green and No. 15 pick to Coyotes for defenseman, who was in original deal for Selanne.

www.latimes.com

Unrelated to any of the prospects that year, but I did find it amusing how quickly the Oleg Tverdovsky trade materialized that day. Normally trades involving a young All Star D like Tverdovsky might take a few weeks to get done but that one apparently only took a few minutes.

And then off the ice, I felt bad for Tverdovsky after reading this tidbit many years later. He had been drafted by Anaheim in 1994 and made the NHL as an 18 year old. He figured he'd be in Anaheim for the foreseeable future, so he buys a house in 1995. Then he's traded in early 1996 to Winnipeg who are then relocated to Phoenix. So in 1999, Tverdovsky puts his original Anaheim house for sale thinking he's going to be in Phoenix for several years. Then he gets traded back to Anaheim. I don't think he sold the house but I just pictured him doing a lot of unnecessary packing and unpacking.

 

[Avs2022]

1999 NHL entry draft - Wikipedia

The first round produced 4 players that ever played in an All-Star Game: The Sedins, Nick Boynton and Martin Havlat

The rest of the draft produced 3 more: Henrik Zetterberg, Ryan Miller, and Radim Vrbata.

How terrible was this draft class?!?!?

Hey! I was at a 2002 Kings/Avs playoff game and Riku Hahl (taken in 6th round) scored a goal to make it 3-1. Avs were losing 3-0. The game ended either 4-1 or 3-1 or something I can't remember.

And how do we forget Av's/Leafs legend Jeff Finger?

Edit - I just saw Sheldon Keefe was a draft pick that year. Crazy.

 

[Hobnobs]

Always puzzles me that the Devils drafted a goalie in the 1st round considering Brodeur was in the middle of his prime.

I mean.. They drafted 29th OA so not many options left. Devils probably was looking for a young backup down the road so they wouldnt have to overwork Brodeur like thy ended up doing anyway.

Rather I'd say it was surprising they picked a goalie in the first round considering they already did it in 97 (Damphousse). They had just lost Chris Mason to Preds iirc so maybe they just wanted to restock the pipeline so to speak.

 

[JianYang]

The only thing I remember about brendl is bret the hitman hart entering the ring in a calgary hitmen Brendl jersey

 

[Brodeur]

The only thing I remember about brendl is bret the hitman hart entering the ring in a calgary hitmen Brendl jersey

That Brendl jersey seems to be the perfect way to describe Bret's WCW run. Seemed promising in 1999 but quickly went downhill.

 

[Voight]

That Brendl jersey seems to be the perfect way to describe Bret's WCW run. Seemed promising in 1999 but quickly went downhill.

Thanks to Goldberg.

 

[Brodeur]

Thanks to Goldberg.

Goldberg unfortunately ended Bret's career, but WCW as a whole was headed downhill. On a Goldberg hockey note, he was a guest of Brett Hull's for the 2000 Stanley Cup. At some point after Game 6, he got spotted by Scott Gomez who was a wrestling fan and they got him to join in their celebration.

WWE's Goldberg parties with the Devils: An oral history | New Jersey Devils

The story of how WWE superstar Bill Goldberg partied with the 2000 Devils the night they won the Stanley Cup - told by the guys who were there

www.nhl.com

 

[JJ18Sniper]

It was the wrong draft for Mad Mike to accumulate 4 first round picks.

 

[Michael Farkas]

If he didn't try to draft a couple of basketball players with low hockey skill, he probably would have done all right...

If the Mezei or Kudroc pick is Havlat, that's a really nice draft...Connolly and Havlat were two of the most technically skilled guys in that draft, even with the power of retrospect...

 

[Brodeur]

It was the wrong draft for Mad Mike to accumulate 4 first round picks.

Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks Box Score: April 14, 1999 | Hockey-Reference.com

Get the latest box score updates on the Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks game played on April 14, 1999 on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

Interesting "what if" that I stumbled on a few years back. In their final game of that season, Vancouver gave up a game winning goal with four seconds left in regulation. Hypothetically had they gotten to OT and gotten at least a tie, they would have flip flopped spots with the Islanders pre-lottery. Assuming Chicago still wins the lottery to move up from #8 to #4:

1. Tampa
2. Atlanta
3. NY Islanders
4. Chicago
5. Vancouver

Do the Sedins get split up? In Brian Burke's book, he recounted how Chicago approached him first about giving up #3 because the Blackhawks wanted both Sedins. Does Chicago talk Milbury into giving up the pick?

 

[VanIslander]

I - as a Canucks homie - will forever remember Burke trading up tons for the other Sedin.

Vancouver was skewered and mocked for the move.

Really, newspapers and sports talk radio went bat-****! (Now we get the spectrum from social media)

 

[Michael Farkas]

Does Chicago talk Milbury into giving up the pick?

Probably...I'm not sure that Milbury would have been in the Sedin business...

His European picks up to that point...
1996 3rd - Zdeno Chara - 6'9"
1996 5th - Petr Sachl - 6'1"
1996 8th - Evgeni Korolyov - 6'2"
1997 3rd - Robert Schnabel - 6'5"
1997 4th - Petr Mika - 6'3"
1998 5th - Jiri Dopita - 6'4"
1998 7th - Evgeni Korolyov - 6'2" (again)
1998 9th - Radek Matejkovsky 6'1"

Then 1999
10th overall - Branislav Mezei - 6'4"
28th overall - Kristian Kudroc - 6'7"

And not the Sedins were 5'10" or anything. But I don't think that they were his tastes necessarily...at least, to a degree that he wouldn't have done all the gymnastics to make it happen.

So, I could see how Chicago could make it happen.

As a totally irrelevant sidenote...Milbury's Isles would invite a popular Sedin linemate to training camp as an undrafted free agent back in 2002...Alexandre Burrows. He didn't make the team or get a contract.

 

[kaiser matias]

Probably...I'm not sure that Milbury would have been in the Sedin business...

His European picks up to that point...
1996 3rd - Zdeno Chara - 6'9"
1996 5th - Petr Sachl - 6'1"
1996 8th - Evgeni Korolyov - 6'2"
1997 3rd - Robert Schnabel - 6'5"
1997 4th - Petr Mika - 6'3"
1998 5th - Jiri Dopita - 6'4"
1998 7th - Evgeni Korolyov - 6'2" (again)
1998 9th - Radek Matejkovsky 6'1"

Then 1999
10th overall - Branislav Mezei - 6'4"
28th overall - Kristian Kudroc - 6'7"

And not the Sedins were 5'10" or anything. But I don't think that they were his tastes necessarily...at least, to a degree that he wouldn't have done all the gymnastics to make it happen.

So, I could see how Chicago could make it happen.

As a totally irrelevant sidenote...Milbury's Isles would invite a popular Sedin linemate to training camp as an undrafted free agent back in 2002...Alexandre Burrows. He didn't make the team or get a contract.

They also drafted the Sedin's Swedish linemate, Mattias Weinhandl, in 1999, and he would play parts of three seasons for the Islanders from 2002 to 2006. However an eye injury ruined any serious shot he had at the NHL.