Prospects you were 100% sure about that busted.

[96]

Jesse Blacker
Matt Finn
Stuart Percy
Pogge lol
Yakupov
Zack Phillips
Ryan Strome
Petey Mueller

 

[RANKKA]

Couturier

Think again.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

Nik Bergfors
Robert Nilsson
Steve Bernier

 

[steveat]

Not a Flames fan, but I thought Leland Irving was going to be the next big thing. Boy I was wrong I watched him in person at the 2004 Ivan Hlinka tournament when it was a small event no one knew about. The kid was a wall in the net. The team was great..he was a big reason they won..but man...I don't know what happened.

 

[Szechwan]

what about angelo esposito i thought he was gonna be somebody really good if i remember he was hyped to be really good

Remember my dumbass about 10 years ago thinking that Crosby was going to make Angelo Esposito the steal of the draft.

There was a meme on HF about how even when the Pens weren't tanking for lotto picks, the franchise players were tanking for the Pens.
This of course was after the Pens had recently taken Fleury, Crosby and Malkin at the top of the draft.. then had a projected 1st overall fall to them at ..what, 24 (?) the following year.

 

[Bjorn Le]

I must admit the fact that Ebert was picked last in the 2012 draft is just hilarious. From projected 1st overall to Mr. Irrelevant

Hilarious, but I was never that surprised. I was one of the few people, maybe the only person on these boards criticizing him during his first season in the OHL. I saw a guy with limited hockey IQ and average athleticism, who was very sheltered by one of the best teams in the CHL, and one of its best defensemen in Ryan Ellis. His hype blinded people to his significant flaws.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Yakupov. And for non-Oilers picks, I think most of us though Justin Pogge was going to be something.

 

[ManofSteel55]

I had the same thought seeing this thread. He had all the tools. During that first season he was showing he had all the tools to be a top 4 defenseman.

I’d add Anthony Stewart, I badly hoped the sens would acquire him in his draft year thinking he’d be similar to Doan.

In fact, Spezza never lived up to my hopes.

I remember when Chris Stewart was considered the bad one.

 

[BagHead]

2010 draft alone, since I payed more attention to that one than I do most:
Jack Campbell
Brett Connolly (not exactly a bust, but I saw a top scorer in him. I still wanted Skinner over him, but we didn't land him either. In the end, I'm very happy with Granlund.)
Emerson Etem
Brett Bulmer (out of all the Wild's 2nd rounders that year, I was most convinced of him. Thought he'd be a mix of Lucic and Burrows)
Kirill Kabanov (didn't expect a generational scorer or anything, but I thought he'd be a good middle six scorer and thought the Isles were genius for taking a chance in the 3rd)
Ryan Martindale (thought it was a great pick for the Oilers. I was convinced, for some reason, that he'd be a middle six NHL center)
Max Gardiner (Jake's brother. I watched him in High School and thought he was great... thought the same with Patrick White, so, lesson learned. Anyway, after transferring away from the Gophers for Penn State, he did a real fine job offensively his first year there. Then the wheels came off.)

Since I already mentioned him: Patrick White (in his case, my hype for him died almost the second he hit an NCAA rink)
Also from that draft, I thought Colton Gillies was a terrible 1st round pick, but I also thought he was going to be a prototypical 3rd line shutdown center. How very wrong I was.

Anyway, I could go on for a while, but this is an alright list, even though it covers only 2 drafts. I guess I'm wrong a lot.

 

[drw02]

My first memories of the NHL draft were from '99 and being certain Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark would be superstars

 

[member 105785]

My first memories of the NHL draft were from '99 and being certain Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark would be superstars

In my Sedin draft history readings, I came across an interview where they said many NHL GMs congratulated the Rangers for getting the 2 best players in the draft in Brendl and Lundmark

 

[Judas Tavares]

I thought Zach Hamill would be what Barzal is.

 

[Los Patos de Anaheim]

Wanted the Ducks to draft Curtis Lazar and Jake Virtanen so badly. Needless to say I'm much happier with Shea Theodore and Nick Ritchie.

 

[HSF]

Etem. I don't understand

 

[ponder]

Markstrom in the first couple years after his draft looked SO GOOD, thought he had a great chance to become a franchise goalie. He didn't bust, but he's a bit "meh".

I also thought MPS was a likely all-star, was bummed when we drafted Kadri over him, as I wasn't high on Kadri. Turned out I was very wrong about both guys!

 

[member 116861]

Jack Campbell and Luke Adam are two names that I instantly think of although I'm sure I have bigger ones if I think harder.

 

[derriko]

Jaroslav Svejkovsky - 1996 first rounder by the Caps out of the Czech Republic. Came over to the WHL for his draft +1 season and immediately put up 58 goals in 70 games for Tri-City. His draft +2 season he's an AHL rookie starting the season as a 19-year-old and puts up 38 goals and 66 points in only 54 games before ending the season with the Capitals and puts up 10 points in 19 games including a four-goal game to finish the season. At this point "Yogi" Svejkovsky looks like an easy bet to be a superstar, and he never played more than 29 games in a season ever again. Can't remember what the injury was but this was a player who could have been a big star in the 2000's.

I knew Yogi personally, and he was ruined by concussions, so I wouldn't classify him as a bust because he was a monster talent. He met a girl while playing for Tri-City, and eventually married her. After he retired (due to concussions) he moved back to the Tri-Cities to start a family and coach hockey.

He coached my midget team two years, and for as talented as he was, he was an even better person. Taught us so much about how to take care of our bodies, proper warmup techniques, and so many other little things that. We had one of the best teams in the Pacific Northwest under his tutelage. I think he continued to coach minor hockey for a couple years after I moved on to juniors, and then eventually left to be a Vancouver Giants scout.

I didnt know this, but after his short lived scouting days, it looks like he was promoted to assistant coach for the Giants. From what I could find, it seems like he was a coach with the Giants up until last year.

I have no doubt in my mind a healthy Yogi would've scored 300+ goals in the NHL. Wicked, wicked wrister, speed, and offensive IQ. I would compare him to Gaborik in talent and playstyle.

Fun fact: while he was my coach, he said he never took a slapshot in his life. I dont remeber his exact reasoning, but it was something about how quick you could get a wrister off vs the windup of a slapshot. He could wrist pucks from the blue-line and beat goalies clean.

 

[Debrincat93]

Yakupov.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Nik Bergfors
Robert Nilsson
Steve Bernier

Sign me up for Robert Nilsson as well. Kid had sick hands and was a good skater. Don't know what happened to him. Couldn't make it work in Edmonton after showing promise on LI.

Another name I'm not sure is on here is Griffin Reinhart. I thought with the family pedigree and his size he was a can't miss. I never expected him to really chip in offensively. By the time I actually got a look at him (only had others words and articles about him to go off of) I was shocked and appalled at how somebody could reach the level they had with such poor skating ability. Guy should be playing dek hockey, not ice hockey. In the end he reeks of a guy who just joined the family biz because he had nothing else he was passionate about.

 

[VIPettersson]

Gilbert Brule

 

[Mister Ed]

Ryan Sproul. After he won the CHL D of the year, I was sure he was going to be the next great right handed offensive D. Still a good D at the AHL level, though.

 

[voxel]

I'm pretty low on most prospects so busting is the norm for me... except for Tyler Pitlick.

Saw him live a few times (I lived in TO and watched Marlie games) and his speed and skill blew me away. The only AHL players that have truly impressed me has been few - Nigel Dawes, Craig Andersen, Jamie Oleksiak.

 

[Pantokrator]

Pavel Brendl and Igor Knyazev. I was sure those two were going to dominate.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Ville Pokka.
Jesse Niinimäki
Teemu Riihijärvi.
Probably 3 worst Finnish busts ever.

 

[bukwas]

Not a Flames fan, but I thought Leland Irving was going to be the next big thing. Boy I was wrong I watched him in person at the 2004 Ivan Hlinka tournament when it was a small event no one knew about. The kid was a wall in the net. The team was great..he was a big reason they won..but man...I don't know what happened.

Interesting somebody mentions Irving, when i first starting watching Hart that's who i was reminded of. Hopefully things work out better for Carter.