Undrafted, reentered 1st-rounders
- Thread starter CaptainShark
- Start date
Jersey Fan 12
Positive Vibes
- Nov 20, 2006
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Not a first round pick, but goalie Nico Daws was Central Scouting 's top ranked North American goalie when he was taken in the third round after not being drafted the prior year.
Caser
@RUSProspects
Can think of Chinakhov, but should be considered that for Russian players it is a bit easier to end up undrafted.
McRpro
Cont. without supporting.
Tanner Pearson was a first round pick in his D+2.
LeProspector
AINEC
- Feb 14, 2017
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Henrik Borgstrom went undrafted his first year
Strawberry Fields
12x Calder Cup Champs
Wound up going in the second, but Brett Leason was ranked by many as a first rounder in his D+2.
Danny Syvret had about as dominant an overager season as possible after going undrafted (captained a Memorial Cup winning team, won OHL and CHL defenseman of the year, WJHC gold including scoring the gold medal game winning goal) … but still only went in the third round, and his NHL career amounted to 59 games.
David Perron was 26th overall in his second year eligible (played Jr. A at 17)
Jack Quinn was an overager drafted in the 1st rd, so I assume he was overlooked the previous year
He was not an overager, he's a late 2001 birthday, thus 2020 was his first year draft eligible.
Peasy
Registered User
He was not an overager.
Torspo21
mailataikuri
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
Viktor Tikhonov ('88) - 28th overall in 2008
Our Lady Peace
Registered User
Dany Heatley - 2nd overall in 2000 in his 2nd year of eligibility
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
Careful with pre-2005 NCAA players. There was still the whole opt-in/opt-out thing...it's not exactly the inferred thread intent...
Maybe some caveats with the NCAA guys like Heatley in the 1995-2004 range since players had to formally opt into the draft. To maintain their college eligibility, those guys had to wait an extra year before being drafted. This led to a few guys being ranked on Central Scouting's list presumably before they committed to college.
In the same draft year as Heatley, Rick DiPietro gave up his college eligibility instead of waiting until 2001.
Another example was Mike Van Ryn being 56th on Central's final ranking for North Americans in 1997. But since he played for Michigan in 1997-98, he had to wait a year before entering the draft (and was drafted in the 1st in 1998).
And then there was the odd case with WHL prospect Adrian Foster who decided not to opt into the 2000 Draft because he missed most of his original draft year due to injury. Foster was a highly regarded prospect and was the 3rd overall pick in the 1997 WHL Draft. He had been on teams with Dany Heatley + Krys Kolanos and put up comparable numbers. By 2001, Heatley and Kolanos were tearing up the NCAA.
ELCs weren't as regulated back then, so there was some financial incentive to get drafted higher. Foster would have another injury plagued year but opted into the 2001 Draft where the Devils took a gamble that he'd regain the form when he was younger. Apparently a few teams had indicated to Foster that they were ready to draft him on the first day (rounds 1-3).
I forget if Travis Zajac opted into the 2003 Draft or if his plan was always to go to North Dakota/NCAA. He probably wasn't on too many scouts' radars in 2003 but then doubled his offensive output in the BCHL and ended up in the 1st round in 2004.
Not a first rounder, but Wayne Simmonds went undrafted in 2006. Owen Sound GM Mike Futa convinced Simmonds to give up an NCAA scholarship to Bowling Green to play in the OHL. Meanwhile Futa was hired by the Kings early into the 2006-07 season. Simmonds was not listed among Central Scouting's top 210 for North Americans in 2007. He said his only pre-draft interviews were with Atlanta and New Jersey, so he expected either of them to take him with a late round pick.
But since Futa was well connected with Simmonds, LA didn't need to do any extra background work. Originally they were going to draft him at #52 but the table was surprised that Oscar Moller (THN #19, ISS #24) was dropping. Presumably LA had Simmonds ranked over Moller, so the table huddled and debated whether to take Moller first since it was unlikely he'd last until their next pick at #61. At least one Kings staffer wanted to stick to their list, but in the end they gambled and they still got Simmonds. Simmonds said he was driving when his agent called him with the news. I think he said he had to pull over in order to process everything.
Pre-1992 the rules with the European players was a bit strange although it's easy to take for granted that drafting from USSR/Czechoslovakia was uncharted territory to some degree. There was a rule about a first time European draft eligible only being able to be drafted in the first three rounds unless he had a certain number of games (with the senior team?). This led to a lot of confusion with Vancouver taking Pavel Bure with a sixth rounder in 1989 when most of the league was under the impression that he had to go in the first three rounds or wait another year.
THN listed Kasparaitis as an honorable mention in its 1991 Draft Preview (somewhere ranked 45-70). Alexei Kovalev was also listed as an honorable mention and would be the first Soviet taken in the 1st round in 1991. USSR dissolved in December 1991 which would open things up. The Rangers taking Kovalev #15 was a bit of a surprise in 1991, but the following year Alexei Yashin went #2. So that might be an indicator of how things quickly changed.
Edit: draft day video of Kovalev
To that point teams weren't entirely sure when they could get those guys to sign. Veterans like Fetisov/Larionov had to endure a lot of red tape to come over later in their careers. Bure's status ended up going to court. Mogilny/Fedorov had to defect which was scandalous. Ditto guys like Petr Svoboda and Bobby Holik.
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Not sure if he ever submitted his draft paperwork in previous draft eligible years, but Ruslan Salei (RIP) went #9 in 1996 as a 21 year old. THN's Draft Preview says he fell through the cracks playing in Belarus. Salei played 1995-96 for Las Vegas of the IHL and played well.
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Heatley couldn't be drafted after his 17 year old season in order to remain NCAA eligible. He had to wait until after his 18 year old season. Same thing with Parise, Whitney, Hainsey, Kesler, Cammalleri, Vanek, etc.
Our Lady Peace
Registered User
That makes so much sense now. I was wondering why I noticed that trend around the early 2000s
Yeah it was 1995-2002 where NCAA route players with normal bdays coming out of their 17 year old season weren't draft eligible. 2003 was so stacked as a draft because you had the 1984 NCAA route guys as first year draft eligible (Vanek, Parise, Kesler, Pavelski) plus the 1985 NCAA route guys as first year draft eligible (Suter specifically) and of course all of the late 1984 and normal 1985 CHLers and European Pro route players.
EDIT: there was some weird opt-in/opt-out draft rule for NCAA route players as well that they got rid of after the 2004-05 lockout. I believe that's why Di Pietro had to leave BU after one year: he opted in for the draft, forgoing his NCAA eligiblity, and that's why Al Montoya wasn't draft eligible as a 17 year old while at Michigan (he did the Toews/Celebrini and graduated HS early). Additionally, Paul Stastny and Keith Yandle opted out of the 2004 Draft and then were drafted in 2005
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Facing Off: Q&A with Niklas Kronwall, aka Baby Lidstrom
Who is the next Nicklas Lidstrom? David Amber finds out that it might be fellow Detroit D-man Niklas Kronwall.
I didn't know Kronwall skipped his first potential draft year. Central Scouting had Kronwall ranked #28 among Europeans in 1999.
How AI is helping sports teams scout star players
Algorithms are transforming the way athletes are evaluated.
www.nbcnews.com
Not a first rounder, but I remember this pre-2018 Draft article about teams using AI. One guy's algorithm had Sean Durzi as a top 40 pick for 2017 but he went undrafted (Durzi was ranked #124 on Central's NA ranking). As I remember it, Durzi went into the following season with a chip on his shoulder and made some on/off ice adjustments. TSN had Durzi #48 for its 2018 draft ranking and he'd go #52 to Toronto.
Mikko Koskinen got drafted in his fourth and final year of draft eligibility at #31 in 2009. Magnus Hellberg was taken #38 in his third year (2011). It was amusing since the draft board wasn't digital until the following year. As I remember it, that Hellberg panel remained blank for a good 10-15 minutes.
Carolina had been planning on taking Pyotr Kochetkov with #28 in 2019 but were surprised when Ryan Suzuki was available. They'd end up taking Kochetkov (3rd year) with their next pick #36.
Not sure if he was just under the radar, but Brandon Montour went in the 2nd round in his third year of draft eligibility. He had played his original draft years in lower league and then had a big USHL rookie season.
Maybe not exactly what the OP wanted, but a couple guys who were drafted and re-entered knowing they'd go higher:
Scott Parker (NJD 3rd round 1996 - COL 1st round 1998): Parker was drafted as a bruiser/fighter but potted 30 goals in his D+2 season. The thought was that he'd be like a Chris Simon type enforcer who could take a regular shift and chip in 15-20 goals. Parker was asking the Devils for first round money and Lou declined. Meanwhile Colorado was looking for a Simon replacement after trading him in 1996.
Kyle Wanvig (BOS 3rd round 1999 - MIN 2nd round 2001): Wanvig scored 12 goals in his draft season then exploded for 55 goals in his D+2 season. He wanted first round money and Boston wasn't interested.
Boston tried to trade him to Toronto just as his draft rights were about to expire. But Wanvig's agent wasn't able to fax a copy of the signed contract by the deadline, so the trade was nixed. Wanvig went #36 to Minnesota.
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theslatcher
Registered User
Think of an inactive Swedish player who played for the Red Wings at one point aside from Zetterberg and chances are he wasn't drafted in his first year eligible. Heck, Nyquist is an active one who was drafted in his second year eligible.Facing Off: Q&A with Niklas Kronwall, aka Baby Lidstrom
Who is the next Nicklas Lidstrom? David Amber finds out that it might be fellow Detroit D-man Niklas Kronwall.www.espn.com
I didn't know Kronwall skipped his first potential draft year. Central Scouting had Kronwall ranked #28 among Europeans in 1999.
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