Fleury going 1st overall in 2003

[Legionnaire11]

As others have said, another team probably would have taken a different player.

Also, although the draft was full of studs in hindsight there wasn't a guarantee on any of these guys. It was strong for sure, but nobody could have known that it would be legendary.

 

[RDTBay4]

He has his name on the cup 3 times.

 

[Pancakes]

Fleury is pretty obscenely talented. It's easy to forget that given he never truly lived up to the hype, but his athleticism and movement in the net are/were virtually unmatched.

 

[SomeDude]

Fleury is pretty obscenely talented. It's easy to forget that given he never truly lived up to the hype, but his athleticism and movement in the net are/were virtually unmatched.

As true as that is, it's equally as amazing that he didn't flame out with the way the Pens mangled his development. The guy didn't even get a goalie coach until he was like 27, even then coach is a stretch for what Meloche was.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

the way i remember it, nathan horton was the consensus #1 for most of the year.

MAF started getting attention during the world junior championships, where even though his pokecheck banked off patrick o'sullivan and into his net, he emerged as a major major star. i think he jumped from a late first rounder if he's lucky to a top ten guy and the hype just kept building until he was in the top five.

i actually don't remember eric staal at all before draft day. i'd heard nothing about him and he didn't play in the world juniors. according to his scouting report, he wasn't expected to be a 100 point scorer and was more of a "safe" two-way mike ricci type.

it was the second time in two years that florida had the #1 pick and traded down to #3, both times still getting the guy who was considered the consensus #1 prospect for most of the year. both times, there was a late riser (rick nash, staal) and a goalie who threw things off (lehtonen, fleury). i'm guessing that florida got some assurances both times that the team that needed a goalie was definitely going with the goalie, and that the guy they wanted would still be available at #3.

 

[ncm7772]

Teams at the time we much more willing to take goalies in the first round especially in the top 5 or 10. Its just not done any more.

2002 Kari Lehtonen 2nd overall
2001 Pascal Leclaire 8th, Dan Blackburn 10th
2000 Rick DiPietro 1st overall, Brent Krahn 9th overall
1999 Brian Finley 5th overall
1997 Roberto Luongo 4th overall

Really other than Luongo, none of these players have been as good as their draft position suggested they might be.

Oh man, that's a rough looking list with the exception of Luongo! Lehtonen has had his success to an extent, but at 2OA....

 

[SniperOnTheWing]

I'm a Cape Bretoner who watched Fleury a ton in junior with the Screaming Eagles. I went to more games during the Fleury years than I ever have since, he was a rare goalie that drew crowds to home games more than the rest of the team did. I was only a teenager then so I wasn't following the draft class and I didn't know how he stacked up against the other picks but I know there was a lot of buzz and pride around Cape Breton when he played for us and got drafted 1st overall.

He did have a rough draft year though. The whole team had a bad season. I was at Fleury's final junior game - it was game six in the second round of the playoffs I believe - and Fleury was having a bad series so he was riding the pine as backup that game. The Eagles lost and were eliminated. It was sad to see Fleury go out that way but obviously he went on to a very successful career. You still see Fleury jerseys at Centre 200 after all these years too.

 

[Birko19]

His WJC performance that year was probably the main reason that put him on top of the draft, prior to that it was guys like Zherdev, Staal, and Horton that were being considered for the 1st overall spot.

 

[Sundance]

Teams at the time we much more willing to take goalies in the first round especially in the top 5 or 10. Its just not done any more.

2002 Kari Lehtonen 2nd overall
2001 Pascal Leclaire 8th, Dan Blackburn 10th
2000 Rick DiPietro 1st overall, Brent Krahn 9th overall
1999 Brian Finley 5th overall
1997 Roberto Luongo 4th overall

Really other than Luongo, none of these players have been as good as their draft position suggested they might be.

DiPietro before the injuries still had a lot of potential.

 

[NoMessi]

DiPietro before the injuries still had a lot of potential.

The same can be said about Blackburn and Lehtonen as well. (maybe the others as well)

Lehtonen put up historical numbers in the FEL and has shown his talents in spurts over the years. His groin injuries aside, he had a lot of talent. Blackburn was showing promise but had a serious injury that made him play with two blockers at one time. I don't remember that but I've been told by Rangers fans on here.

 

[cptjeff]

DiPietro before the injuries still had a lot of potential.

Yeah, in the couple years before DiPietro blew up his groin (mic'ed up on the live broadcast at the ASG), he was one of the top goalies in the league. It's not really fair to call him a flop- he did live up to the hype until his career was cut short.

 

[madinsomniac]

As said before, the Pens really botched Fluery's development bad... moreover that moron Dan Bylsma hung him out to dry with his ill planned run and gun system with no defensive support... like most of Fluery's meltdowns were directly because the defense was allowing non stop oddman rushes and passes across the crease

 

[Shwag33]

As said before, the Pens really botched Fluery's development bad... moreover that moron Dan Bylsma hung him out to dry with his ill planned run and gun system with no defensive support... like most of Fluery's meltdowns were directly because the defense was allowing non stop oddman rushes and passes across the crease

This is just not true... most of his meltdowns were self inflicted. The super shot theory has been disproved several times on this board.

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

As said before, the Pens really botched Fluery's development bad... moreover that moron Dan Bylsma hung him out to dry with his ill planned run and gun system with no defensive support... like most of Fluery's meltdowns were directly because the defense was allowing non stop oddman rushes and passes across the crease

so why did vokoun play so well when he replaced him in the 2013 playoffs?

 

[Old Gregg]

so why did vokoun play so well when he replaced him in the 2013 playoffs?

Probably because vokoun had a goalie coach from the start of his NHL career that taught him fundamentals and helped him with the positioning etc Instead of someone who blamed things on puck luck and would just pay him on the back and not teach him anything at all.

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

Probably because vokoun had a goalie coach from the start of his NHL career that taught him fundamentals and helped him with the positioning etc Instead of someone who blamed things on puck luck and would just pay him on the back and not teach him anything at all.

it's never fleury's fault...

 

[ScaredStreit]

3 cups and 4 finals appearances later...I think it's safe to say the Penguins would do the same exact thing again if given the chance.

 

[ScaredStreit]

The same can be said about Blackburn and Lehtonen as well. (maybe the others as well)

Lehtonen put up historical numbers in the FEL and has shown his talents in spurts over the years. His groin injuries aside, he had a lot of talent. Blackburn was showing promise but had a serious injury that made him play with two blockers at one time. I don't remember that but I've been told by Rangers fans on here.

Dipietro was clearly better than Lehtonen or Blackburn though...not sure if you ever saw him play? People forget that it was his injury in the All-Star game (skills comp really) that started his downfall due to injuries. Before that he was carrying the Islanders to playoff series that they no business being in, was an all-star caliber goaltender, and goalie for team US.

Dipietro was an extremely talented and athletic goaltender (before his many injuries), anybody who says otherwise didn't see him play.

 

[SenzZen]

Strong tank pick.

 

[93LEAFS]

It was a different era on how goaltending we perceived, especially at the draft. In the mid to late 90's the gap between an average starting goalie and an elite starting goalie was much larger with Roy, Hasek, Brodeur, and Belfour at the top of the league compared to the modern NHL. That combined with the influx of trap and left-wing lock hockey made teams heavily emphasize defensive play, especially ones that couldn't compete financially with the Detroits of the league. Outside of Detroit, pretty much all teams that won from 1995 to 2003 were built around HHOF caliber goaltenders in Roy, Brodeur, and Belfour, with Hasek carrying his team single handily to the finals in an ultra defensive system.

In the current NHL, Chicago has shown you can win with average to good goaltending and it hasn't taken elite goalies getting hot in the playoffs to carry teams. Ward had a great run but he's not a legend. Fluery and Osgood were quality goalies but weren't either. We are yet to see what Matt Murray really is.

Also, how erratic some of these goalies were and how they flamed out after being taken in the top 10, has led to teams being a lot more reluctant to use a high pick on a goalie.

As for the 2003 draft, I remember Staal being the front runner most of the year with a lot of crazy hype about Zherdev. It really was up in the air.

 

[Cold Medicine]

This is a no-brainer. He has never been worth the first overall. Fleury has a career +28.12 GSAA (Goals Saved Above Average) in 691 regular season games. His best season was in 2007-08, when he had +10.58 GSAA and z-score of 1.2. That was his only time posting a z-score above 1, something that Lundqvist has done 8 times. For comparison, Carey Price had +36.70 GSAA in the 2014-15 season alone. In the playoffs, Fleury has -23.06 GSAA in 115 games. It's funny how the Penguins' two victories over two of the weakest teams to come out of the West in recent memory has changed opinions about him.

 

[Old Gregg]

it's never fleury's fault...

Some of it is Fleury's fault but the Penguins did the worse possible job developing him.

 

[Shwag33]

Some of it is Fleury's fault but the Penguins did the worse possible job developing him.

I'm sure some small amount is on the penguins. Most of fleurys problem is mental, I believe that's not something to easily change. You don't go from being a flake to the most mentally strong person in the league.

 

[lawrence]

I remember following this draft. Number 1 was staal or Horton. M a fleury was ranked like 6 or 7 or something. Back then there wasn't as much scouting sources. Back in the day as I recall it was just iss and NHL central scouting as the go to ones.

I remember reading somewhere that m a fleury was compared to Martin broudeur.

 

[Old Gregg]

I'm sure some small amount is on the penguins. Most of fleurys problem is mental, I believe that's not something to easily change. You don't go from being a flake to the most mentally strong person in the league.

Ya... Just a small amount....I mean it's not like they threw an 18yr old goalie into the NHL without a legit goalie coach or proper development and than dicked him around because they couldn't afford his bonuses. Most goalies coming out of junior no longer need goalie coaches or time in the AHL to develop. Like look at Matt Murray.... He's never had a goalie coach. He also wasn't given time to develop in the AHL and work on his game.