Best drafting team in the NHL

[Leb_Hitch*]

Just curious as to which team you think is the best at drafting considering what number they drafted their player at, and his current success right now in the NHL or his current progress (nhl bound). Let's not only consider the top 3 picking teams because those are given superstars, but also teams that had late picks but made great selections that will result in a "superstar" on their team and shocked those who lost the chance to pick him.

Name your team, a few key players and their characteristics.

Click to read more...

 

[CH Wizard]

The kings and sens

Kings:

2003: - Drafted Brown and some posters said, he was drafted too high.
- Drafted a proven goal scorer in the NCAA pretty late (Tambellini)
- They knew they drafted enough offensive talent and they drafted a project (Brian Boyle), who becomes better year after year.

2004: -They drafted Tukonen (he's playing well in the AHL) at 11, he was projected to go top 5.

2005: -They drafted Kopitar, again they drafted at 11 a guy who should have been gone in the top 5.

Sens:

- They drafted Meszaros in 2003, they've an eye for talent and he's now playing with the sens as a 20 years old. That's really impressive.

-They drafted good late round gems in Wick, Bochenski.......

- In 2005, they drafted Lee higher then expected and he already seems to have adapted to the NCAA after winning the Mr Hockey award the year before.

 

[Crusher20]

Sens, Kings, Detroit.... Montreal is not bad too.. but not as good.. but sens are first by a huge margin so far. they reinvented the drafting imo.

 

[Michael Morbid]

Colorado makes the most of low picks.

 

[octopi]

Detroit picks very well considering the position they are usually in.

 

[Michael Morbid]

Detroit picks very well considering the position they are usually in.

Especially getting Zetterberg & Datsyuk in late rounds, what was it like 6th & 7th?

I'm liking Colorado's picks, Svatos @ 227th in 2001, and they had a damn good 2005 draft: Stoa, Stastny, Hensick, Macias.

 

[knight44]

Colorado and Detroit have the best drafting, they always seem to pick gems in late rounds. Anyone can draft in the first 3 rounds but it takes talent to get key players in late rounds like colorado and Detroit does!

 

[XX]

Wow someone basing their opinion off of recent picks. Arent you special. Devils hands down. And the old Colorado staff (Draper) really could find those gems. Detroit has always had good scouting but it seems they have the right coaches to mold players into what they should be.

Sens? Yeah its real hard amassing a lot of top 10 picks or trading for them.

 

[Garbs]

Detroit owns this thread.

I'm not sure where people are getting the Senators from.

 

[knight44]

Not a chance Detroit owns this, Colorado is up their with them, both teams are just simply amazing late rounds.

 

[SenatorPhil]

Wow someone basing their opinion off of recent picks. Arent you special. Devils hands down. And the old Colorado staff (Draper) really could find those gems. Detroit has always had good scouting but it seems they have the right coaches to mold players into what they should be.

Sens? Yeah its real hard amassing a lot of top 10 picks or trading for them.

Sens Drafting Record

 

[babybruin]

Red Wings always seem come up big with low picks.

 

[DownFromNJ]

New Jersey, no contest.

They haven't had a high draft pick in a century. They've got Gionta, Martin, Hale, Parise, Zajac, Bergfors, Vrana, and Suglobov all either in the NHL and doing great or on the cusp of stardom.

I mean, look at Bergfors from last year. He's 18 years old and playing in the AHL. He has 1 goal and 5 assists in 7 games. That is amazing. He's always the fastest player on the ice and plays defense very well. Besides the uberpicks like Brule and Crosby, Bergfors is the closest to the NHL of his draft class.

Look at Zajac. He came into the NCAA last year very raw and turned in a top-calibur rookie season.

Look at Gionta. He was a 3rd round pick, and all the sudden he has 9 goals.

Look at Martin. Look at Vrana. Look at Hale, Suglobov, Clemmenson, etc. The Devils are surviving off their draft picks,

Not to mention, (I think it was in THN recently), more players currently playing in the NHL were drafted by NJ than by any other team. Despite the low pick year after year (though this year could be a change).

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Sens? Yeah its real hard amassing a lot of top 10 picks or trading for them.

Daniel Alfredsson - 6th round
Pavel Demitra - 9th round
Sami Salo - 9th round
Karel Rachunek - 9th round
Magnus Arvedson - 5th round
Chris Neil - 6th round
Martin Prusek - 6th round
Ray Emery - 3rd round
Christoph Schubert - 6th round
Brandon Bochenski - 7th round

What more can you ask for?

Not to mention they got Havlat, Meszaros, Eaves, Tim Gleason, and Volchenkov in the lower half of the 1st round. Antoine Vermette and Mike Fisher were some 2nd round picks.

 

[BlueAndWhite]

Sens Drafting Record

I'm looking at it and his comments are partially right.

The Senators have had very good success at the draft table.

They've made some steals (be it in the first round or in the later round) and even though a large chunk of their core were accquired directly/indirectly from top 15 picks - they still made the right choices when they had those high picks. You can find some teams that had more high picks and still did not end up with the same quality and quantity as the Senators.

I do agree that people using drafts later than 2003/2004 as measures of success as being a bit premature.

 

[Shane]

Detroit, Ottawa, and Montreal are a step above the rest of the league.

 

[weaponomega]

The Bruins are a very good drafting team.

 

[BlueAndWhite]

Daniel Alfredsson - 6th round
Pavel Demitra - 9th round
Sami Salo - 9th round
Karel Rachunek - 9th round
Magnus Arvedson - 5th round
Chris Neil - 6th round
Martin Prusek - 6th round
Ray Emery - 3rd round
Christoph Schubert - 6th round
Brandon Bochenski - 7th round

What more can you ask for?

Not to mention they got Havlat, Meszaros, Eaves, Tim Gleason, and Volchenkov in the lower half of the 1st round. Antoine Vermette and Mike Fisher were some 2nd round picks.

The core of the team has been built either directly or indirectly through top 15 picks.

Their three top defenseman were accquired through either being drafted in the top five pick or traded for a player drafted with a top five pick. Hell, two of those picks were first overall and the other was second overall.

The dynamic duo Spezza-Heatley were a result of one top five pick and one top fifteen pick. Now keep in mind, that some teams have still managed to screw top pick after top pick so the Senators do deserve credit in that regard.

 

[The Fuhr*]

Detroit owns this thread.

I'm not sure where people are getting the Senators from.

Your dreaming.

Ottawas picks:

Kaigorodov: 47th 2002
Vermette: 55th 2000
Eaves: 29th 2003
Fisher:44th 1998
Havlat:26th 1999
Alfredsson: 133rd 1994
Boshenski: 223rd 2001
Volchenkov:21st 2000
Mezsaros:23rd 2004
Emery: 99th 2001
Hossa: 12th 1997

Detroit:

Datsyuk: 171st 1998
Hudler: 58th 2002
Holmstrom: 257th 1994
Grigorenko: 62nd 2001
Fischer: 25th 1998
Kronwall: 29th 2000
Lidstom: 53rd 1989
Howard: 64th 2003

By the looks of things Ottawa had done much better drafting then detroit. Considering I did not mention the really good prospects Ottawa has over in Russia or the talented blueliner in Lee, or Glass who won a gold medal last year in the world juniors as the teams number 1 goalie. Ottawa is not only in Detroits league when it comes to drafting but the sens set the bar.

 

[weaponomega]

San Jose is another team that drafts well.

 

[Leb_Hitch*]

Your dreaming.

Ottawas picks:

Kaigorodov: 47th 2002
Vermette: 55th 2000
Eaves: 29th 2003
Fisher:44th 1998
Havlat:26th 1999
Alfredsson: 133rd 1994
Boshenski: 223rd 2001
Volchenkov:21st 2000
Mezsaros:23rd 2004
Emery: 99th 2001
Hossa: 12th 1997

Detroit:

Datsyuk: 171st 1998
Hudler: 58th 2002
Holmstrom: 257th 1994
Grigorenko: 62nd 2001
Fischer: 25th 1998
Kronwall: 29th 2000
Lidstom: 53rd 1989
Howard: 64th 2003

By the looks of things Ottawa had done much better drafting then detroit. Considering I did not mention the really good prospects Ottawa has over in Russia or the talented blueliner in Lee, or Glass who won a gold medal last year in the world juniors as the teams number 1 goalie. Ottawa is not only in Detroits league when it comes to drafting but the sens set the bar.

Good point

 

[Don Draper]

Ottawa continually has it thrown in their face that they amassed all its talent from its top 10 picks, but I would take their 5 drafts after their top 10s over their first 5.

yashin
daigle
Berard
phillips
bonk

hossa
chouinard
havlat
volchenkov
gleason


That doesnt even take into consideration their late round work, which has been exceptional

 

[Pothier]

I have always thought Anaheim has been really good at the drafting table, especially over last few years.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

ive always considered myself very good at spotting out young talent
















ten years after there drafted

 

[AEKaki]

Based on players, I think Pittsburgh has had some awesome drafts since 2002!

Crosby F
Malkin F
Fleury G
Whitney D
Welch D
Talbot F
Salmonsson F
Christensen F
Stone F
...

Based on "average" position drafting, I think both New Jersey and Ottawa win this thread...