Usually people think 1st overalls are going to be sure fire things but lets look and compare the 2nd overall picks over the past 7 years to the first.
99 Patrik Stefan vs Daniel(or Henrik? I forget) Sedin. It may have taken some time for either or Sedin but they've certainly turned out to be as good as initially advertised. The same cant be said for Stefan.
00 Rick Dipetro vs Dany Heatley. He may have the longer/larger contract but I think I'd take Heatley. Granted at the time Milbury probably had better options then the Rick.
01 Ilya Kovalchuk vs Jason Spezza. Kovalchuk now and the future but Spezza can possibly close the gap if he can stay healthy. A premier playmaker vs a premier gamebreaker. Tough to say who you'd rather have.
02 Rick Nash vs Kari Lehtonen. Nash exploded out of the gates whlie Lehtonen bided his time honing the craft. Nash has a Richard trophy and will be up there in scoring goalsfor the next while (this year has been bad thus far) whilst Lehtonen has star written all over him
03 MAF vs Staal. I'd take Staal. 21 year old who scored over 100 points last year and has a cup ring. Again MAF struggled early but has been lookin good this year.
04 AO vs Malkin. Probably the most intriguing of the battles. During the draft consensus was that AO wouldve been #1 in the 03 draft but Malkin has closing that gap since the draft. Give this one time and we'll see how it pans out.
05 Sid the Kid vs Bobby Ryan. Dont know much about Ryan (although Burkie shouldve drafted JJ instead) but I think Sid is and will have the better career. By a longshot.
06 Erik Johnson Vs Jordan Staal. Staal is a regular in the NHL at 18. Johnson is about potential although he really shone in the WJCs last year. This one will take time as well.
Again its tough to value Dmen vs forwards vs goalies. Just wondernig what the HF opinions are.
99 Patrik Stefan vs Daniel(or Henrik? I forget) Sedin. It may have taken some time for either or Sedin but they've certainly turned out to be as good as initially advertised. The same cant be said for Stefan.
00 Rick Dipetro vs Dany Heatley. He may have the longer/larger contract but I think I'd take Heatley. Granted at the time Milbury probably had better options then the Rick.
01 Ilya Kovalchuk vs Jason Spezza. Kovalchuk now and the future but Spezza can possibly close the gap if he can stay healthy. A premier playmaker vs a premier gamebreaker. Tough to say who you'd rather have.
02 Rick Nash vs Kari Lehtonen. Nash exploded out of the gates whlie Lehtonen bided his time honing the craft. Nash has a Richard trophy and will be up there in scoring goalsfor the next while (this year has been bad thus far) whilst Lehtonen has star written all over him
03 MAF vs Staal. I'd take Staal. 21 year old who scored over 100 points last year and has a cup ring. Again MAF struggled early but has been lookin good this year.
04 AO vs Malkin. Probably the most intriguing of the battles. During the draft consensus was that AO wouldve been #1 in the 03 draft but Malkin has closing that gap since the draft. Give this one time and we'll see how it pans out.
05 Sid the Kid vs Bobby Ryan. Dont know much about Ryan (although Burkie shouldve drafted JJ instead) but I think Sid is and will have the better career. By a longshot.
06 Erik Johnson Vs Jordan Staal. Staal is a regular in the NHL at 18. Johnson is about potential although he really shone in the WJCs last year. This one will take time as well.
Again its tough to value Dmen vs forwards vs goalies. Just wondernig what the HF opinions are.