Your Favourite Teams Best Draft In The Last 5 Years

[nyr5186]

Rangers

2004

6 G Al Montoya
19 C Lauri Korpikoski
36 C Darin Olver
48 L Dane Byers
51 C Bruce Graham
60 C Brandon Dubinsky
73 R Zdenek Bahensky
80 C Billy Ryan
127 R Ryan Callahan
135 L Roman Psurny
169 L Jordan Foote
247 D Jonathan Paiement
266 R Jakub Petruzalek

However, its looking more and more like the best pick made by the Rangers in the past 5 drafts is a guy they got at #205 in 2000...Henrik Lundqvist. If he pans out, he'll be one of those guys who people will look at in the future and say, "How the **** did so many teams pass on him?!".

 

[Big McLargehuge]

For the Penguins it's clearly either 2001, 2002, 2003, or 2004



2001 gave us Armstrong, Welch, Surovy, and Eaves
2002 gave us Whitney, Nemec, Christensen, Fernholm, Paddock, Geopfert, Bartschi, and Talbot
2003 gave us Fleury, Stone, Filewich, Carcillo, Bissonnette, Bolf, Chiodo, Dixon, and Moulson
2004 gave us Malkin, Salmonsson, Goligoski, Kennedy, Sersen, Morrison, Brown, and Ihnacek

Really it's hard to decide. 2001 has less names, but a general higher quality and 2004 is almost too soon to say. It's probably between 2002 and 2003 with a slight edge to 2003(in large part to Fleury).

 

[dBoon]

For the Wild:

2000 did bring 2 sure things in Gaborik and Schultz, but I like 2003:

1. Burns
2. O'Sullivan
3. Irmen
5. Kopriva
6. Misharin

 

[Jaded-Fan]

For the Penguins it's clearly either 2001, 2002, 2003, or 2004



2001 gave us Armstrong, Welch, Surovy, and Eaves
2002 gave us Whitney, Nemec, Christensen, Fernholm, Paddock, Geopfert, Bartschi, and Talbot
2003 gave us Fleury, Stone, Filewich, Carcillo, Bissonnette, Bolf, Chiodo, Dixon, and Moulson
2004 gave us Malkin, Salmonsson, Goligoski, Kennedy, Sersen, Morrison, Brown, and Ihnacek

Really it's hard to decide. 2001 has less names, but a general higher quality and 2004 is almost too soon to say. It's probably between 2002 and 2003 with a slight edge to 2003(in large part to Fleury).

it is 4 of the 5 years huh? . . .

Actually the Pens have been doing a pretty bang up job of late, 2004 needs to be discounted though because those players just were drafted, though Malkin is looking more and more like the real deal with his progress this year, Salmonsson is also looking like the steal that everyone thought that he might be. I will not pick a particular year, but getting 4 or 5 possible NHL players with a 'steal' or two like Talbot or Eaves each of the last 4 years is really saying something for the Pen's brain trust.

 

[BuppY]

1. Carlo Colaiacovo
2. Alexander Steen
3. Matt Stajan
4. Brendon Bell
5. Kyle Wellwood
6. Jay Harrison
7. Ian White
8. Jeremy Williams
9. Karel Pilar
10. John Mitchell

 

[Legionnaire]

1. Carlo Colaiacovo
2. Alexander Steen
3. Matt Stajan
4. Brendon Bell
5. Kyle Wellwood
6. Jay Harrison
7. Ian White
8. Jeremy Williams
9. Karel Pilar
10. John Mitchell

Damn that's a nice draft.

 

[J17 Vs Proclamation]

Florida 2003 was great. One of the best drafts by a team in the last 10 years and FLA's best by far.

Tuma, Lojek, Stewart, Horton, Roussin, Hecimovic, Meyer, Kreps.

Every single one of those players has a legitamate chance to play in the NHL. 8 players from 1 draft. It was unreal.

Tuma and Lojek will both be 5th or 6th dmen someday, maybe better. Hecimovic will be on the 4th or 3rd line somewhere. Kreps's stock had risen at the beginning of the year, and Meyer is skyrocketing.

Plus James Pemberton and Denis Stasyuk are two good players who may each some day play in the NHL, although both longshots, I expect Pemberton at least to play an NHL game someday.

Was an immense draft. Stewart's stock has gone through the roof. Though Kreps stock has not risen and Horton is suffering injuries. The phrase safety in numbers applies as we had a lot of picks.

 

[mattihp]

Teemu Lassila- one of the better young goalies in the sm-liiga

Take out 'young' and switch SM-liiga to Europe and the statement would be just as legit

 

[Heimy]

Florida 2003 was great. One of the best drafts by a team in the last 10 years and FLA's best by far.

Tuma, Lojek, Stewart, Horton, Roussin, Hecimovic, Meyer, Kreps.

Every single one of those players has a legitamate chance to play in the NHL. 8 players from 1 draft. It was unreal.

Tuma and Lojek will both be 5th or 6th dmen someday, maybe better. Hecimovic will be on the 4th or 3rd line somewhere. Kreps's stock had risen at the beginning of the year, and Meyer is skyrocketing.

Plus James Pemberton and Denis Stasyuk are two good players who may each some day play in the NHL, although both longshots, I expect Pemberton at least to play an NHL game someday.

Just this fans opinion but after watching him for a few weeks in last summer's developmental camp, I'll go out on a limb and project Martin Tuma develops into a top 4 Dman for the Panthers and a player coveted by other teams around the league. All the tools are there.

 

[HellsBells]

Damn that's a nice draft.

Those aren't all from the same draft, I don't think anyway. I think that is just a list of their top prospects.

 

[mooseOAK*]

Either 2001 or 2002...

2001
17 Carlo Colaiacovo
39 Karel Pilar
65 Brendan Bell
82 Jay Harrison
134 Kyle Wellwood
168 Maxim Kondratiev
246 Tomas Mojzis

2002
24 Alexander Steen
57 Matthew Stajan
74 Todd Ford
88 Dominic D'Amour
191 Ian White
254 Jarkko Immonen

Every one of them signed to a pro contract or playing in an Elite European league, amazing.

 

[leafaholix*]

Every one of them signed to a pro contract or playing in an Elite European league, amazing.

As much as I made fun of Todd Ford... he's doing extremely well in the ECHL.

So it looks pretty strong.

 

[hotgoalie11565]

For the Wild:

2000 did bring 2 sure things in Gaborik and Schultz, but I like 2003:

1. Burns
2. O'Sullivan
3. Irmen
5. Kopriva
6. Misharin

Yes, 2003 was a good year for the Wild. But in the long run, 2004 could be even better.

R1/12 A.J. Thelen (D)
R2/42 Roman Voloshenko (LW)
R3/78 Peter Olvecky (W)
R3/79 Clayton Stoner (D)
R4/111 Ryan Jones (F)
R4/114 Patrick Bordeleau (LW)
R4/117 Julien Sprunger (RW)
R5/161 Jean-Claude Sawyer (D)
R6/175 Aaron Boogaard (RW)
R7/195 Jean-Michel Rizk (RW)
R7/206 Anton Khudobin (G)
R9/272 Kyle Wilson (C)


1) AJ Thelen. Don't let the sophomore slump fool you. He could be our #1 Defenseman within the next 3 years. There's no way he's staying in East Lansing for four years.
2) Roman Voloshenko. Reports are that he's worked on his skating this season. And, he's been named to the Russian WJC team and is playing on a line with Radulov.
3) Clayton Stoner. Playing solid D much like another Wild Dman from his hometown, Willie Mitchell. Also third on his team in scoring.
7) Anton Khudobin. Will play with the Russian WJC team. From several different accounts, he looked really good against CHL All-Star players.
9) Kyle Wilson. Having a pretty good year @ Colgate so far.

 

[Legionnaire]

Those aren't all from the same draft, I don't think anyway. I think that is just a list of their top prospects.

Sarcasm detector, activate!

 

[Communal Blood]

Either 2001 or 2002...

2001
17 Carlo Colaiacovo
39 Karel Pilar
65 Brendan Bell
82 Jay Harrison
134 Kyle Wellwood
168 Maxim Kondratiev
246 Tomas Mojzis

2002
24 Alexander Steen
57 Matthew Stajan
74 Todd Ford
88 Dominic D'Amour
191 Ian White
254 Jarkko Immonen

Agreed.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Minnesota Wild: It's a toss up for them I think so far since they are a young team...

2003:
1/20: Brent Burns- Defenseman (Upside is tremendous, could be a top 3 easily)
2/56: Patrick O'Sullivan- Center (Again tremendous upside could be a superstar/franchise player)
3/78: Danny Irmen- RW (Gritty, hard nose player who is tearing it up right now with Minnesota)
5/157: Marcin Kolusz- C (Bust, but meh)
6/187: Miroslav Kopriva- G (Warm body for goaltender)
7/207: Georgi/Grigori Misharin- D (Had a good year for Saginaw last year but got stuck playing in Russia this year. Could return but could be a good defenseman/pest for the Wild in a couple years)
7/219: Adam Courchaine- C (Undersize will need to work on his play but could be a good player in a few years if he can get physical and work the puck)
8/251: Mathieu Melanson- LW (Jury is still out on the kid but is doing well, getting > a point per game but had coaching problems, don't know where he'll end up)
9/281: JM Bolduc- D (looked good last year, regressed this year. Has good size though and looks to be physical and mobile. Should be a good depth defenseman at least for Minnesota)

And then

R1/12 A.J. Thelen (D) (Top 3 defenseman easily)
R2/42 Roman Voloshenko (LW) (Top 6 forward for Minnesota)
R3/78 Peter Olvecky (W) (Not getting a lot of ice time but could be a nice player)
R3/79 Clayton Stoner (D) (Heart and soul type of player, plays with intensity and has some offensive ability. Could work wonders in a few years for the Wild, who like this type of player)
R4/111 Ryan Jones (F) (No idea but hey it's a forward!)
R4/114 Patrick Bordeleau (LW) (Could end up being a nice grinding forward. Has tremendous size but hasn't used it to score points)
R4/117 Julien Sprunger (RW) (Really good Swiss player, should come over to work out. Has good size)
R5/161 Jean-Claude Sawyer (D) (Eagle defenseman, can't say much)
R6/175 Aaron Boogaard (RW) (Could end up being a good grinding forward that'll pot 10-15 points a year but will check and grind hard)
R7/195 Jean-Michel Rizk (RW) (Was tearing it up earlier in the season but slowed down, looks to be a good physical winger)
R7/206 Anton Khudobin (G) (Really stole the show. Could end up being a good goaltender for Minnesota if he comes over in a few years)
R9/272 Kyle Wilson (C) (Um good numbers LOL, don't know much about this guy)

 

[Kubera55]

Rangers

2004

6 G Al Montoya
19 C Lauri Korpikoski
36 C Darin Olver
48 L Dane Byers
51 C Bruce Graham
60 C Brandon Dubinsky
73 R Zdenek Bahensky
80 C Billy Ryan
127 R Ryan Callahan
135 L Roman Psurny
169 L Jordan Foote
247 D Jonathan Paiement
266 R Jakub Petruzalek

However, its looking more and more like the best pick made by the Rangers in the past 5 drafts is a guy they got at #205 in 2000...Henrik Lundqvist. If he pans out, he'll be one of those guys who people will look at in the future and say, "How the **** did so many teams pass on him?!".

While 2004 will hopefully be a banner year for the NYR, I'd have to give 2001 as the current best draft in five years.

Blackburn - Not many 18 year olds play in the NHL. Blackburn did it, and did it well until Bryan Trottier completely hung him out to dry (and his shoulder injury).
Tjutin - An elite two-way defensive prospect, drafted in the 2nd round. Should be a top 3 guy for the Rangers for years to come.
Garth Murray - A good grinder type who's already hanging out at the AHL/NHL border.
Bryce Lampman - A good depth defender who's also hanging out at the AHL/NHL border (and has started to really come into his own this sesaon in the AHL).
Marek Zidlicky - An overager who the Rangers never came to terms with, but he's already a top scoring defenseman in the NHL.
Ryan Hollweg - After a devastating head injury nearly ended his career, he's making a comeback and looks to be another solid grinding/agitator forward.
Juris Stals - A big body forward who's shown some scoring touch, and defensive awareness, and is currently working on his game in the ECHL.

Blackburn, Tjutin, Murray, Lampman, and Zidlicky have all made it the NHL already. If lockout ended tomorrow and they were all recovered from their injuries, they'd all probably be in the NHL right now. Five guys in one draft making it to the NHL? Two legit 'blue-chips' (Blackburn and Tjutin) and one 'red-chip' (Zidlicky)?

Hard to top that, even if injuries seem to have destroyed Blackburn . . .

 

[BlueBleeder]

For St Louis tough to choose between 2003 and 2004.

I'll go with 2003 though

1-30 Belle
2-62 Backes
3-84 Barulin
3-88 Fitzgerald
3-101 Zakharov
4-127 Bolduc
5-148 Stempniak
5-159 Beckford-Tseu
6-189 Lehun
7-221 Skachkov
8-253 Pervyshin
9-284 Aaltonen

Bolded picks I think will be NHLers

 

[Ismellofhockey]

Ottawa has several good drafts to choose from, but in the last five years I'd take the class of 2001:
2 C Jason Spezza
23 D Tim Gleason
60 D Victor Uchevatov
81 D Neil Komadoski
99 G Ray Emery
127 D Christoph Schubert
162 D Stefan Schauer
193 C Brooks Laich
218 D Jan Platil
223 F Brandon Bochenski
235 Neil Petruic
256 F Gregg Johnson
286 R Toni Dahlman

Soezza is already a scoring line player with the Sens and has franchise potential.
Emery is blue chip goalie prospect and a 4th round steal.
Bochenski has scoring line potential and was a steal in that position.
Komadoski, Platil and Schubert are solid depth prospects already contributing in the AHL.
Dahlman already played a bit in Ottawa as a depth player.
Gleason (Smolinski)and Laich (Bondra) were used in trades, but it doesn't diminish their value as solid picks, Laich in particular..

A total of 9 players who might play in the NHL at some point, several of them potential impact players.

What's really impressive with this list is that 5 of those picks already have NHL experience (Spezza, Gleason, Laich, Emery, Dahlman)
2 others are almost sure bets in Platil and Bochenski.
Out of 13 picks only 3 are off the radar.

 

[DaveG]

it has to be either 2003 or 2004 for Carolina, probably with a slight nod to 03 because of Staal. 2000-02 were prety poor drafts for the franchise.

My picks for Future NHLers bolded
2003:
1) C - Eric Staal
2) D - Danny Richmond
4) D - Aaron Dawson
4) G - Kevin Nastiuk
4) D - Matej Trojovsky
5) D - Tyson Strachan
7) L - Shay Stephenson
8) C - Jamie Hoffmann
9) C - Ryan Rorabeck
possible future grinder in one of Rorabeck and Stephenson IMO.

2004:
1) L - Andrew Ladd
2) G - Justin Peters
3) D - Casey Borer
4) D - Brett Carson
5) G - Magnus Akerlund
7) D - Ryan Pottruff
8) R - Jonas Fiedler
9) D - Martin Vagner
Vagner is still salvagable IMO, though he's going to need at least 2-3 injury-free AHL seasons before he's ready.

 

[silver_made*]

Florida 2003 was great. One of the best drafts by a team in the last 10 years and FLA's best by far.

Tuma, Lojek, Stewart, Horton, Roussin, Hecimovic, Meyer, Kreps.

Every single one of those players has a legitamate chance to play in the NHL. 8 players from 1 draft. It was unreal.

Tuma and Lojek will both be 5th or 6th dmen someday, maybe better. Hecimovic will be on the 4th or 3rd line somewhere. Kreps's stock had risen at the beginning of the year, and Meyer is skyrocketing.

Plus James Pemberton and Denis Stasyuk are two good players who may each some day play in the NHL, although both longshots, I expect Pemberton at least to play an NHL game someday.

roussin and meyer will be the best of the bunch, and, no, i didn't forget stewart or horton

meyer: i like to see if a junior player improves from year to year, and not only has stefan increased his points production each year, but it is all the more impressive in the tight-defense WHL.

roussin: remember the flack richards got for playing w/ lecavalier in rimouski? this is perisode II.