Behind Enemy Lines said:
Regarding my Stefan comment, my bad. It would have been more clearer saying Atlanta is proud to select and Stefan in the same breath. Think you will ever have this statement repeated by theThrasher braintrust? But hey, if as an Atlanta fan you are still happy with this, good on ya. Another prospective #1 could have been Martin Havlat.
Sure, Havlat could have been number one, but then, Ladislav Smid could be number one in this year's draft. Of course, if Washington picks Smid before Ovechkin, everyone will be stunned and Washington will have blown the full value of the pick. That doesn't change the fact that a few years from now Smid could turn out to be the best player in this draft, though.
The fact is no one considered Martin Havlat to be a candidate for the first overall pick in 1999. Only Stefan, Brendl, the Sedins, and Connolly got any consideration for the pick. Taking anyone else would have been foolish at the time. Hindsight is 20/20. You don't get the benefit of looking forward five years and taking the guy who'll be the best then - you have to take the guy that looks like he has the best potential moving forward. That's why I don't get upset that guys like Jackman, Havlat, Comrie and others have turned out better than Stefan. I only judge him against the players that were logical alternatives at the time.