Your Team's Worst Draft Picks

[ted2019]

I'm going to go with my top 5 as a Flyers fan:

#5. Bob Currier RW (6th overall, 1969 draft) Played 0 NHL games
#4. Larry Wright C (8th overall in 1971 draft) Played 106 NHL games with 12 points in his career. Even though the Flyers also had the 9th pick and drafted Pierre Plante and he had a few nice seasons in the NHL (played 2 games with the Flyers before being traded) the Flyers could've drafted Steve Vickers or Terry O'Reilly, who both went in the 1st round.
#3. Mark Suzor D (went 17th overall in the 1976 draft) Played 64 games and had 20 points. The Flyers could've drafted either Greg Malone, Brian Sutter or Reed Larson, who all went by the 22nd pick.
#2. Glen Seabrooke C (went 21st in the 1985 draft) played 19 games with 7 points. The Flyers could've drafted Joe Nieuwendyk or Mike Richter, who both went 27th & 28th in the draft.
#1. Ryan Sittler LW (went 7th overall in the 1992 draft) Never played an NHL game

Click to read more...

 

[Hobnobs]

Red Wings top 5 not in order

1. Jakub Kindl. 19th overall, 2005.
2. Mike Sillinger. 11th overall, 1989
3. Kory Kocur. 17th overall, 1988
4. Fred Williams. 4th overall, 1976
5. Thomas McCollum. 30th overall, 2008.

 

[Moose Head]

Habs

1. Doug Wickenheiser. 1st overall, 1980
2. Terry Ryan. 8th overall, 1995 - 8 games
3. Ray Martinyuk. 5th overall, 1970 - 0 games
4. Cam Connor. 5th overall, 1974 - 89 games
5. Robin Sadler. 9th overall, 1975 - 0 games
6. Lindsay Vallis. 13th overall, 1989 - 1 game

Other notables - Heroux, Bilodeau, M. Higgins, Hossa, Chouinard, Fischer

 

[shadow1]

I can't come up with five because of how new of a franchise the Avalanche are, but -

In the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the Avs had four picks. They tried to send them all to Tampa Bay for 1st overall (Vincent Lecavalier), but failed. They selected:

12th Overall - Alex Tanguay
17th Overall - Martin Skoula
19th Overall - Robyn Regehr
20th Overall - Scott Parker

I know it was a different NHL then, but in place of Scott Parker (7 goals, 699 PIM in 308 GP), the Avalanche could have selected Simon Gagne or Scott Gomez.

Ironically they had the first pick of the 2nd Round that year, 28th Overall. They selected Ramzi Abid, one pick before Jonathan Cheechoo went to San Jose at 29th Overall.

 

[Skobel24]

1. Rico Fata: One of the fastest skaters I've ever seen. Unfortunately, that's about it.

2. Brent Krahn: Selected 9th overall in the 2000 draft. Played 1 NHL game, for Dallas, at the age of 28. He let in 3 goals on 9 shots.

3. Kris Chucko: If I recall correctly, concussions pretty much derailed his career. Played only 2 NHL games. 600 goal scorer Rob Schremp was picked immediately after.

4. Matt Pelech: Huge disappointment. Niskanen, Downie, Neal, and Vlasic all went a few spots afterwards.

5. Greg Nemisz: I had such high hopes for him. Only played 15 games. After him, Ennis, Carlson, Markstrom, and Josi were drafted

 

[Brodeur]

I started following the Draft in 1995, so I'll try avoid anything from before then:


1. Adrian Foster - 28th overall (2001) - Just a bizarre pick back then which doesn't look much better now. From Gare Joyce's book "Future Greats and Heartbreaks", Joyce recounted how the Devils simply didn't like anybody in that spot. So they went with a home run swing in Foster who barely played the previous two seasons due to injuries. Foster had grown up playing with Dany Heatley and Krys Kolanos and apparently looked like he was a similarly high end bantam. Joyce further relayed that the Devils staff knew it was a long shot and that they knew they could get the 58th pick in the deeper 2003 Draft as compensation if Foster wasn't signed.

Foster did sign an ELC and was a black ace for the 2003 SCF but didn't pan out. Realistically, a late first rounder in an average/below average year not panning out isn't that notable but the circumstances were just strange.

Another oddity was that the NHL had awarded the Devils a compensation package from the Blues. St. Louis' previous ownership had been found guilty of tampering with Scott Stevens in 1994. This wasn't determined until 1999. So the NHL gave the Devils a five year window (1999-2003) to:

A) swap first round picks with St. Louis
B) take one of St. Louis' firsts

If I recall correctly, the Devils were not allowed to use both options in consecutive years and the Blues had a one time veto.

The Devils ended up taking St. Louis' first rounder in 2001 (24th overall). This just seemed strange if they knew they weren't completely in love with the talent available at #28.

Part of me just wishes they would have waited until 2003 to take St. Louis' pick, although that was the year that they swapped picks which enabled them to move up for Parise.

2. Stefan Matteau - 29th overall (2012) - I suppose it's early to write off Matteau but he's inching closer to Jarred Tinordi territory. The team didn't do him a ton of favors by keeping him up for a good chunk of his 18 year old season which burned a year off his ELC. Ideally Matteau would be getting ice time in the AHL right now rather than being a healthy scratch.

Again, it was more circumstances. The team had to forfeit a first rounder between 2011-2014 for the Ilya Kovalchuk cap circumvention ruling. Giving up the 29th pick seemed like a formality.

The NHL eventually backtracked a bit with the new CBA, so the Devils were at least assigned the 30th pick in 2014 rather than giving it up entirely. But if they had forfeited the Matteau pick, the Devils would have been slotted at #11 in 2014. Perhaps in that universe, they would have taken Kevin Fiala or Dylan Larkin?

3. Mattias Tedenby - 24th overall (2008) - Tedenby was supposed to go somewhere in this range. John Carlson seemed like a perfect fit though. Right handed puck moving D with decent size. As a bonus, Carlson was a local product. There were question marks about Tedenby's hockey sense heading into the draft.

There were a few more notable ones before I became a fan. Neil Brady going 3rd overall in 1986 and appearing in 89 games stands out. Corey Foster went 12th overall in 1988 and appeared in only 45 games. If I recall correctly, years later Devils scout David Conte lamented that they thought one of Roenick/Selanne/Brind'Amour would be there at #12 and how there was a precipitous drop after that trio. As it turned out, they ended up going #8-9-10.

 

[Brodeur]

I know it was a different NHL then, but in place of Scott Parker (7 goals, 699 PIM in 308 GP), the Avalanche could have selected Simon Gagne or Scott Gomez.

Parker had been originally drafted by the Devils in 1996, but he had a breakout season (30 goals) in 1997-98. So he used the leverage to try to get a better contract out of the Devils since he might go in the first if he re-entered in 1998.

Parker's offense ended up not translating but at the time many figured he could be the next Chris Simon. The Avs had to trade Simon away in 1996 and I seem to recall that they missed that type of player as they has fallen short in the playoffs in 1997 and 1998.

If I recall correctly, Gomez went a little higher than expected. Craig Button also relayed a story from Dallas' table for that Draft. They were targeting Gagne at #27 and felt like he'd be there. But Philadelphia nabbed him at #22. Dallas' scouts then implored GM Bob Gainey to move up a few spots for Jiri Fischer but Gainey thought Fischer would be there at #27. Detroit took Fischer at #25 and Dallas ended up moving #27 to the Devils for #39 (John Erskine) and #57 (Tyler Bouck).

 

[Voight]

Jack Skille, 7th in 2005
Kyle Beach, 12th in 2008
Cam Barker 3rd in 2004
Mikhail Yakubov 10th in 2000
Pavel Vorobiev 11th in 2000

& thats just in the last 15 years.....

 

[Boreal01]

1. Kevin Cheveldayoff (16th overall in 1988) Picked before Rob Blake, Tony Amonte, Mark Recchi (0 GP)

2. Michael Rupp (9th overall in 1998) Picked before Alex Tanguay, Robyn Regehr, Simon Gagne; was never signed and ended up being selected by New Jersey (76th overall in 2000)

3. Scott Scissons (6th overall in 1990) Picked before Darryl Sydor, Keith Tkachuk, Martin Brodeur (2 GP)

4. Ryan O'Marra (15th overall in 2005) Picked before Martin Hanzal, Tuukka Rask, T.J. Oshie (33 GP, 7 points)

5. Dave Chyzowski (2nd overall in 1989) Picked before Bill Guerin, Bobby Holik, Adam Foote (126 GP, 31 points)

 

[Xelebes]

Edmonton Oilers:

1994 #4 Overall Jason Bonsignore: 79 games played, 16 points
1998 #13 Overall Michael Henrich: 0 games played
2002 #15 Overall Jesse Niinimaki: 0 games played
1989 #15 Overall Jason Soules: 0 games played
2007 #15 Overall Alex Plante: 10 games played, two points

 

[Terry Yake]

Ducks

Alexei Smirnov 12th overall in 2000

Mark Mitera 19th overall in 2006

Logan MacMillan 19th overall in 2007

 

[Bouma Fett*]

1. Rico Fata: One of the fastest skaters I've ever seen. Unfortunately, that's about it.

2. Brent Krahn: Selected 9th overall in the 2000 draft. Played 1 NHL game, for Dallas, at the age of 28. He let in 3 goals on 9 shots.

3. Kris Chucko: If I recall correctly, concussions pretty much derailed his career. Played only 2 NHL games. 600 goal scorer Rob Schremp was picked immediately after.

4. Matt Pelech: Huge disappointment. Niskanen, Downie, Neal, and Vlasic all went a few spots afterwards.

5. Greg Nemisz: I had such high hopes for him. Only played 15 games. After him, Ennis, Carlson, Markstrom, and Josi were drafted

In fairness to Krahn injuries totally killed his career. There could have been something there. I don't think the pick of him itself was that atrocious. If he had not wrecked his knee I really believe he could have at least been a Hiller level goalie through his career, which while not necessarily great for where he was selected, wouldn't have been that bad of a thing.

I'd actually put Tim Erixon above him. The only saving grace with him was the package we got back, which only looks good because of us doing a decent job drafting. Erixon refused to sign with us, and after all of that, ended up being nothing more than a journeyman #7 so far.

 

[tony d]

For Ottawa:

Mathieu Chouinard in 1998; Could have had Robyn Regehr 4 picks later.
Alexandre Daigle in 1993; Could have had Chris Pronger
Jakus Klepis in 2002; Could have had Alex Steen 8 picks later
Brian Lee in 2005; Could have had Anze Kopitar 3 picks later
Patrick Eaves in 2003; Could have had Loui Eriksson 4 picks later

 

[redwingsphan]

Red Wings top 5 not in order

1. Jakub Kindl. 19th overall, 2005.
2. Mike Sillinger. 11th overall, 1989
3. Kory Kocur. 17th overall, 1988
4. Fred Williams. 4th overall, 1976
5. Thomas McCollum. 30th overall, 2008.

Sillinger played over 1000 games. He wasn't great, but the wings have made much worse selections than that. I'd say kindl shouldn't be on there either. Again he isn't good, but he's at least played in the NHL. Unlike kocur and Williams.

 

[MS]

Red Wings top 5 not in order

1. Jakub Kindl. 19th overall, 2005.
2. Mike Sillinger. 11th overall, 1989
3. Kory Kocur. 17th overall, 1988
4. Fred Williams. 4th overall, 1976
5. Thomas McCollum. 30th overall, 2008.

Um, what?

Sillinger in particular was a great pick in a bad draft.

Curtis Bowen, Max Kuznetsov, Yan Golubovsky, and Jesse Wallin would all be up there for Detroit. Kocur is the worst, though - was a 3rd-4th round prospect picked in the 1st because he was related to a Wings player.

 

[The Panther]

Edmonton Oilers:

1994 #4 Overall Jason Bonsignore: 79 games played, 16 points
1998 #13 Overall Michael Henrich: 0 games played
2002 #15 Overall Jesse Niinimaki: 0 games played
1989 #15 Overall Jason Soules: 0 games played
2007 #15 Overall Alex Plante: 10 games played, two points

Good list. I think we also have to start considering Nail Yakupov here.

So far, he's averaging 17 goals and 38 points and -28 per full season. Yeah, he's an NHL player (maybe), but for a 1st-overall draft choice, that's pretty bad.

 

[Howe Elbows 9]

Yakupov might be a disappointment, but I don't think he's one of their worst picks. Aside from the players Xelebes mentioned, Alexei Mikhnov (17th overall in 2000) only played two NHL games and Michel Riesen (14th in 1997) 12 games.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Fun thread!

For the Devils, there have been many as of late unfortunately for us fans.

My "top" 5 of the worst.

1. You have to start with their 1st ever pick, Rocky Trottier #8 overall in 1982.
A total bust.
He ended up playing in only 38 career games.
Only had 1 noteworthy goal, a penalty shot vs Edmonton.
Other forwards taken in the 1st round that year: Dave Andreychuk, Rich Sutter, Murray Craven, Patrick Flatley.
I'll bet the main reason he was drafted so high was due to his older brother Bryan.

2. Neil Brady, 3rd overall in 1986.
A forward taken 3rd overall and he only scored 9 career NHL goal in 89 games.
Others selected after Neil in that 1st round included Vincent Damphousse, Brian Leetch, Scott Young and Craig Janney.

3. Lance Ward, defenseman taken 10th overall in 1996 out of Red Deer.
The Devils were hoping they had a Scott Stevens protégé in Ward but instead they drafted a slow grenade handler who never signed with New Jersey.
He went back into the draft 2 seasons later and played around 200 non-descript games for Florida & Anaheim.

4. Goaltender Jeff Frazee, selected 38th overall in 2005.
He played 19 total NHL minutes in his career, meanwhile a fella named Jon Quick was drafted one round later in 2005, and other players still on the board were Paul Stastny and Kris Letang.

5. Mats Tedenby, forward out of Sweden drafted 24th overall in 2008.
At the time, most Devils fans wanted defenseman John Carlson who was from NJ.
Instead, Devils scouting head David Conte took the swift Tedenby which ended up being a large error in judgment.

**Honorable mentions
Mike Hoeffel taken 57th overall in 2007 instead of Wayne Simmonds
Adrian Foster in 2001, had well known injury issues, should have never been a 1st rounder.
1997 Goaltender JF Damphousse, 24th overall, didn't make any sense with a young Brodeur in the fold and JF ended up stinking badly.
Corey Foster, D, 12th overall in 1988

 

[Hawksfan2828]

Jack Skille, 7th in 2005
Kyle Beach, 12th in 2008
Cam Barker 3rd in 2004
Mikhail Yakubov 10th in 2000
Pavel Vorobiev 11th in 2000

& thats just in the last 15 years.....

Lets not forget Jimmy Waite (8th overall), Ty Jones (16th overall), Dimitri Nabokov (19th overall), Eric Lecompte (24th overall), Adam Bennett (6th overall), Bruce Cassidy (18th overall)..... That is just 1980 to 1996...

 

[Ishdul]

Jack Skille, 7th in 2005
Kyle Beach, 12th in 2008
Cam Barker 3rd in 2004
Mikhail Yakubov 10th in 2000
Pavel Vorobiev 11th in 2000

& thats just in the last 15 years.....

It's pretty glaring when you look at the Blackhawks drafting and see that Barker, Skille and Beach bookend Kane and Toews.

 

[Killion]

Toronto

Neil Clarimont
Dave Cotey
Tom Martin
Cam Crosby
Ernie Moser
Jeff Ware
Brandon Convery
Scott Pearson & Thornton
etc
etc
etc

 

[Hawksfan2828]

It's pretty glaring when you look at the Blackhawks drafting and see that Barker, Skille and Beach bookend Kane and Toews.

If you think about it in the history of the Hawks drafting over the past 35 years they really only drafted 5 stars in the 1st round, Savard, Roenick, Seabrook, Toews and Kane...

 

[Voight]

It's pretty glaring when you look at the Blackhawks drafting and see that Barker, Skille and Beach bookend Kane and Toews.

At least Pittsburgh did ok from 2002-2006. Same with Washington from 2004-2008.

 

[Stephen]

Jeff Ware was aggregiously bad for the Leafs. Apparently he was drafted in the first round by Cliff Fletcher because Ware's dad was a friend.

So while other teams were busy drafting for the future, he was picking a kid with zero upside because of family ties.

 

[Killion]

Jeff Ware was aggregiously bad for the Leafs. Apparently he was drafted in the first round by Cliff Fletcher because Ware's dad was a friend.

So while other teams were busy drafting for the future, he was picking a kid with zero upside because of family ties.

.... is that right eh? I wasnt aware of the backstory on Ware. Explains the "why" thats for sure.