The Rankings in Reverse Order
30th place - Columbus Blue Jackets - 4.6 %
Like the other expansion teams, only included for completeness. A tiny sample size of 2 drafts where only Klesla has made the big show has consigned the Blue Jackets to last place. Not a great start but it wont be hard for Columbus to improve their ranking and they are sure to do so.
Sensational Verdict: Going nowhere!
29th place - Chicago Blackhawks - 11.8%
A surprise to see the Blackhawks here, but Chicago are just that bad. Their first round list includes names like Waite, McGill, Dykhuis, McAmmond, Moreau, Cleary, Bell, McCarthy.. and those are the success stories! Out of 19 first round picks, Jeremy Roenick is the sole bright spot. This is a story repeated in the 2nd round and every round beyond. A miserable 19 NHL players from 15 years of drafting is almost as painful as having Bill Wirtz as your owner. Respect to Hawk fans for they are truly hardcore.
Sensational Verdict: Awful awful awful.
28th place - Detroit Redwings - 16.7%
A shock entry at 28th, this storied franchise does not have a strong record. It is clear having fewer high picks hurt their success rate and their drafting outside the 1st round is stronger, but not by much (23rd). This does not excuse a substandard 58% score with the twelve 1st rounders they did have. Their saving grace was an ability to draft elite talents later with Lidstrom, Fedorov, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Kozlov all arriving later.
Sensational Verdict: Fire the scouts! Okay, maybe just the Canadian ones.
27th place - Los Angeles Kings - 17.2%
Despite drafting Aki-Petteri Berg, the Kings have been held back by the sheer mediocracy they have drafted in the early rounds. Like Detroit, their late-round finds (Blake, Lang, Zhitnik, Visnovsky) are high on quality but low on quantity and it's not enough to rescue them from the bottom regions. In five drafts from 1989-93, the Kings had no first round pick in four of them. Not a recipe for success.
Sensational Verdict: Kings are paupers in the draft.
26th place - Washington Capitals - 17.4%
Ahead of Detroit and LA because of their better score, Washington almost match Chicago for ineptitude in the first round and show little prowess outside it. If they were penalised for having more picks and early ones too, they could be even lower. Bondra, Gonchar, Allison are nice finds but every team has a few.
Sensational Verdict: Ovechkin should sack the scouts and make his own picks.
25th place - Tampa Bay Lightning - 17.5%
Tampa Bay have had a solid success rate in the first round. They should really be doing better though considering they picked higher than most. Like most teams among these stragglers, depth is unimpressive but they have spotted excellence in Brad Richards and Kubina. Need to do better and still have potential prospects who could mature (Alexeev, Artukhin) and improve their score.
Sensational Verdict: After ten years of drafting, excuses are running out!
24th place - Atlanta Thrashers - 17.7%
Another expansion team with only a few drafts, these results cant be taken seriously. They couldn’t go wrong with Kovalchuk and Heatley and unlike Columbus, have unearthed a few NHLers to go with them.
Sensational Verdict: Nothing sensational here.
23rd place - Nashville Predators - 18.2%
One year older than Atlanta, Nashville hasn’t quite had the first round gifts they had. Still, Hamhuis and Hartnell are players any team would love to have and it remains to be seen if their drafting will get any better.
Sensational Verdict: Meh.
22nd place - Toronto Maple Leafs - 18.5%
Inept in the first round, their successes are as mediocre as they come with Yanic Perreault as the pick of the bunch - although Boyes may well be better. The second round is a disaster zone. Toronto's drafting begins to redeem itself in rounds 3-6 finding 13 players. Quantity helped it up over quality. The Leaf Nation may not like their ranking but in truth, it could be lower.
Sensational Verdict: Who cares about quality!
21st place - Calgary Flames - 20.0%
Calgary continues the motif of quantity over quality. Theo Fleury remains their star pick, long since he left the NHL but he was really an exception. The Flames tend to find and draft blue-collar players. Not a flashy record but enough to find 33 of them and land in the 21st spot. One of only three teams to have a first round pick in every single draft, they should have done better (the others were PIT & NJ).
Sensational Verdict: Come back Theo!
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Teams Ranked 11 - 20
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20th place - Florida Panthers - 20.2%
Florida shares many similarities to their rival Tampa. Both have drafted 18 players, but Florida did it with fewer picks which places them higher. However weaknesses show in their first round selections.. they are better at drafting outside the first round (17th) but not so hot at drafting high quality players (24th). Where they have done better than the teams below is in the mid-rounds.
Sensational Verdict: Lots of teeth but no claws.
19th place - New York Rangers - 20.4%
Like Chicago, they’ve managed just one home run first round selection (Alexei Kovalev. Unlike them however, they’ve turned it around with strong choices in the rest of the draft – in fact they rank top 10 when the first round is not included. Steals like Weight, Zubov, Amonte, Savard, Zidlicky highlight a quality haul. Fans can be happy since the Rangers have more late developers arriving than most other teams which will propel them up the rankings.
Sensational Verdict: Just like the pre-cap playoffs, choking in the most important round..
18th place - Edmonton Oilers - 20.4%
Here are the surprising Oilers. Long bemoaning their poor first round choices (Kelly!), I didn’t expect them to reach the middle of the pack. But just like the Rangers, that first round hides an unheralded top 10 ability to find players later in the draft. They have 10 players from rounds 5-6 – more than any other team.
Sensational Verdict: Not that bad (well that counts as sensational for the Oilers!)
17th place - Phoenix Coyotes (Winnipeg Jets) - 20.4%
Another surprise entry, the Coyotes/Jets are the polar opposites of the Rangers and Oilers. Drafting outside the first round their record is no better than 21st. It’s clear they owe this position to the Jets with quality first round selections like Selanne, Tkachuk and Doan. The organisation usually succeeded in the first round with a score of 72%, good for seventh best mark.
Sensational Verdict: Wilting in the desert.
16th place - St. Louis Blues - 20.4%
Not considered adept at the draft, it’s hard to understand why. With less first rounders than anyone else over the 15 years, they notched up 7 out of 9. They are equally solid outside that round, ranking 12th in that category. In particular they are champions in the 6th round where their success rate is higher than the average score for the 2nd round! They have found 8 players there, twice as many as most clubs. Their weak point is probably failing to find enough top quality players. Brind’Amour is the only first rounder to really hit the heights.
Sensational Verdict: Blues are good drafters!
15th place - Pittsburgh Penguins - 20.6%
A team that observers are more accustomed to seeing at the top of HF rankings, this must be a mistake? Well known for their headline picks in the first round, and it’s a decent record, if rather average overall. Their weakness is in the second round where Richard Park might be the best they have to offer from 15 selections. Finding 11 players in rounds 3 and 4 helps soften the blow. They are neck and neck with Buffalo with 33 NHLers out of 160 picks each.
Sensational Verdict: Try telling Crosby his team are average..
14th place - Buffalo Sabres - 20.6%
Buffalo have a strong reputation, yet their first round selections are a disappointing 59%. Nobody even comes close to Turgeon and he was drafted almost 20 years ago. Not so strong at finding quality in the second round either, they only start to shine with picks like Afinogenov, Kotalik and Mogilny. They also have notably more late developers (6) who are only just now beginning to emerge (and so did not count). That gives them the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh as their percentage is certain to improve.
Sensational Verdict: Slow to peak yet irresistable in motion!
13th place - Dallas Stars (Minnesota North Stars) - 21.1%
The Stars exude strength in the first round, notching 11 hits out of 13 picks for the second best percentage in the league. Modano, Morrow and Iginla are three captains any team would love to have. This is matched by the best score in the fourth round (38% compared to a league average of 18%). Along with Carolina they have had fewer picks than anyone else in those 15 years but have done reasonably well.
Sensational Verdict: Texans know their hockey!
12th place - Philadelphia Flyers - 21.6%
Ranked 12th, the Flyers are perhaps the most consistant team so far in rounds 1-6. Outside the slightly disappointing first round score of 60%, they are 8th best. Their ability in the 3rd round (46% success versus league average of 26%) is only bettered by Colorado. The only criticism is that they don’t find real quality outside the top 3 rounds.
Sensational Verdict: How do you sensationalise the 12th team? Taking suggestions.
11th place - Vancouver Canucks - 23.1%
Out of the tightly packed middle ground emerge the Canucks powered by a strength in second round drafting (6 out of 13), third best in the league. Like Calgary they demonstrate a superior ability to find the hard-nosed player with Peca, Scatchard and Cooke leading the way. Unlike Calgary they have found top quality too with the likes of Nedved, Ohlund, Bure and Aucoin. However a few of those came via very high picks.. some observers may well believe they will drop down the rankings.
Sensational Verdict: Grit and talent a winning combination.. but will they maintain it?
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Top 10 teams
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10th place - Boston Bruins - 24.2%
Boston are one of the solid drafters in the league, like Philadelphia. Consistant in every category, there isnt anything poor, nor excellent about their drafting prowess.
9th place - New York Islanders - 24.2%
All that talent.. on another team. 40 players out of 165 picks and 19 from the first round alone. The stats do show them to be less proficient outside the first round, ranking only 18th
8th place - Minnesota Wild - 25.0%
Minnesota are off to a great start and have several late bloomers coming through as well which will boost their score. One to watch.
7th place - Ottawa Senators - 25.3%
Ottawa are good at finding elite players (ranking 3rd overall) but poor overall performance outside the first round (16th) weakened their percentage score.
6th place - Montreal Canadiens - 25.3%
With the second most picks, the Canadiens have found 44 players, ranking them 6th overall. They do slightly better outside the first round, ranking 5th. And in finding the best players, they ranked 4th, the only other team apart from the top two to rank that highly in all three categories. They are particularly strong in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, finding an astonishing 18 players, including stars like LeClair, Schneider and Theodore.
5th place - Anaheim Ducks - 25.7%
Ducks only have 9 drafts in this sample but did quite well with them, consistantly drafting above the league average (19 out of 74 in total). However they have real trouble finding elite players, Paul Kariya being their only star turn. Until they rectify this, the only way is down.
4th place - Carolina Hurricanes (Hartford Whalers) - 26.1%
Yet another surprise is thrown up with Carolina’s entry at 4th. Along with Hartford, they had very few picks (142) but found 37 players with them. This quantity of players was consistant throughout the draft as their success rate outside the first round was second only to New Jersey. Where they really fall down (and this perhaps contributes to the perception they arent draft masters) is an inability to find star talent. Apart from Pronger, O’Neill, Nylander and maybe Cole, there isnt much. Carolina rank 21st in the league in this respect.
3rd place - San Jose Sharks - 28.6%
Meet the rising stars of the draft - the Sharks who have only participated in 11. If you wondered how these guys got so strong, their draft history shows a lot. They have nailed their first rounders with 15 out of 17 representing the league’s top success rate (88%) and a 16th is due to emerge with Goc’s breakthrough! They are also the top team at finding top quality talent which is supported by the late round steals of Nabokov and Kiprusoff.. That first round however is their strength and they are not quite as hot drafting outside the first round, ranking only 10th. But like Buffalo they have several late emergers (6) which will only improve their score in the future
2nd place - Colorado Avalanche (Quebec) - 28.6%
Colorado have produced the most players with 50 in total and have an all star lineup from the first round with Sakic, Sundin, Lindros, and Nolan. However they have also had the most picks and the most in the first round. Their performance in the second round is actually very poor with just 3 players out of 18 picks - pretty much the worst in the league. This is followed by a sensational performance in the third round (11 out of 22) giving them a massive 50% success rate including players like Drury and Hejduk. Another 18 players follow in the later rounds, making them the 3rd best team at drafting outside the first round.
1st place - New Jersey Devils - 28.7%
At the top are the New Jersey Devils. Despite strong challenges from Colorado and San Jose for the mantle, they are the most consistantly successful in the draft at virtually every level. Although their first round record is only 65%, they still have excellence from it in the likes of Brodeur, Niedermayer and Shanahan. Their roll of honor is almost as lengthy in the second round with an impressive 12 from 24 giving them a 50% hit rate. In all they produced 48 players, not only considerably more than most clubs but at a better rate too. Their position at the top is further confirmed by having the best score outside the first round as well. Furthermore they also have the second best record at finding top quality players. While only fractionally ahead of a couple teams with 28.7% overall, when you take the other indicators (outside 1st round, elite players) into consideration New Jersey are fully deserving of their mantle as champion drafters.
