StefanW
Registered User
After listening to Bryan Murray's interview where he discusses picking up Getzlaf and Perry with fairly late selections in the 2003 draft, which led to winning the cup a few years later, I went back through previous drafts to see if anyone had better draft days than that. It seemed like fun, considering draft day is coming up on Sunday and hope springs eternal even picking at 17.
The absolute best draft I found was the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979 draft. They were dead last, which meant picking at 21 in the first round. From the worst draft position in the league they ended up getting Kevin Lowe in the first round with pick #21 (I love the fact that they started with a top end D), they had no pick in the 2nd, picked Mark Messier in the 3rd round (pick #48, obtained in a trade), and picked Glenn Anderson in the 4th round (pick #69, also obtained in a trade). The other guys they drafted did not amount to anything, but holy crap! Talk about turning a strong team into a juggernaut in one afternoon.
Does anyone else have any favourite draft years, or any other examples of teams literally turning everything around in one draft?
Edit: Add in that this was the first draft for the Oiler franchise in the NHL.
The absolute best draft I found was the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979 draft. They were dead last, which meant picking at 21 in the first round. From the worst draft position in the league they ended up getting Kevin Lowe in the first round with pick #21 (I love the fact that they started with a top end D), they had no pick in the 2nd, picked Mark Messier in the 3rd round (pick #48, obtained in a trade), and picked Glenn Anderson in the 4th round (pick #69, also obtained in a trade). The other guys they drafted did not amount to anything, but holy crap! Talk about turning a strong team into a juggernaut in one afternoon.
Does anyone else have any favourite draft years, or any other examples of teams literally turning everything around in one draft?
Edit: Add in that this was the first draft for the Oiler franchise in the NHL.