Kucherov: biggest draft steal of all-time?

[Ol' Jase]

Wasn't the Great one never drafted? That's a pretty good steal if you ask me. LOL

Such a weird situation.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Datsyuk

 

[Machinehead]

Getting a player of that ilk in the 2nd round is not unheard of at all.

Messier was a 3rd rounder.

 

[Ol' Jase]

Kucherov is currently 13th of all-time, Hull 33rd. How is that not far ahead?

You also cherry picked by rounding up/down. Kucherov is 1.194 and likely to be better by year's end since he's scoring at more than a ppg clip. Hull is 1.096. Get real.

Maybe because Kucherov has played half the games Hull did in his career? That may have something to do with it.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

I'm sure he's up there, but if you want to argue for all-time draft steals, the Red Wings alone had these examples of pretty good players drafted low.

Sergei Federov: Round 4, #74
Niklas Lidstrom: Round 3, #53
Pavel Datsyuk: Round 6, #171
Henrik Zetterberg: Round 7, #210

Oilers have some doozies as well:

1979:
- Messier, 43rd OV (3rd rnd)
- Anderson, 69th OV (4th rnd)
1980:
- Kurri, 69th OV (4th rnd)
- Moog, 132nd OV (7th rnd)

Moog is obviously not on the same level as most guys mentioned in this thread but he had 15 consecutive seasons as a 1A/1B as figured he was worth a mention given that he was another late-rounder from those two drafts who became a very good NHLer.

Lowe & Coffey were their first rounders those two years, respectively, picked 21st OV & 6th OV.

 

[zizbuka]

I feel Kucherov's peak will be better than Z/Dats/Fedorov, but it's debateable. Those Wings draft steals are unbeliveable. Good point!

Kucherov's having a great career, but Fedorov was great at everything. He'd have to be high on any all around player list.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Some other names:
- Dave Taylor, 210 OV in 1975
- Theo Fleury, 166th OV in 1987
- Petr Bondra, 156 OV in 1990

 

[Paper]

I think you could include Bure in the conversation at 113th overall/6th round, especially considering his draft circumstances. Every other team thought that he was ineligible to be drafted, due to a lack of games played, but the Canucks/Mike Penny did their due diligence and recognized that he actually did meet the threshold. When Vancouver drafted him, everyone else was blown away that he was even available.

The definition of a draft day "steal".

Detroit tried, imagine a draft year with Lidstrom, Fedorov, Bure, Konstantinov, Sillinger, Drake and Bougher.

 

[easton117]

Think Pavelski at #205 deserves a mention.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I'm sure he's up there, but if you want to argue for all-time draft steals, the Red Wings alone had these examples of pretty good players drafted low.

Sergei Federov: Round 4, #74
Niklas Lidstrom: Round 3, #53
Pavel Datsyuk: Round 6, #171
Henrik Zetterberg: Round 7, #210

Lidstrom at 53rd is insane in retrospect. A 3rd round pick winning a single Norris would be seen as a nice steal, let alone 7.

 

[amnesiac]

Unfortunately they traded him for Stephane Beauregard and a 4th round pick (Eric Daze)

 

[T REX]

Yzerman loves his russians.

You think Yzreman didn't have Kuch scouted out?

Seems like too much coincidence...especially with Vasy too.

View attachment 844574

View attachment 844575

This is probably your winner

 

[FMichael]

 

[BLNY]

Luc Robitaille, 9th round pick, has entered the chat.

Luc Robitaille Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

 

[JoeSakic13]

Yeah he’s up there, but as many people already stated there’s several others I’d take over him.

I didn’t see him mentioned, but Adam Oates deserves a mention.

 

[DaveG]

Probably not even top 5 all time. I haven't gone and checked but I'd have Lidstrom, Hasek, Datsyuk and Bure higher without looking. Still a crazy good find for this era of heavily scouted drafts.

Bingo, you can get some absolutely crazy ones in the 80s like Robitaille and Gary Suter both going in the 9th round in 84, and Gilmour going in the 7th in 82.

 

[amnesiac]

Luc Robitaille, 9th round pick, has entered the chat.

Luc Robitaille Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

hes up there, but Kuch has already surpassed him.

Lucky Luc never even had a Hart vote.

 

[klefbombs shoulder]

Its a great draft steal for sure. Oilers had several all time steals at their entrance into the NHL to solidify a dynasty.

1979 Messier in the 3rd round. Anderson in the 4th round.

1980 Kurri in the 4th round.

 

[ijuka]

Panarin was a pretty big steal, didn't even have to spend a pick.

 

[Ol' Jase]

Exactly. Hull was drafted in 1984. Did teams even had scouting departments back then? Come on.

This isn’t a serious comment, is it?

 

[Brodeur]

Lidstrom at 53rd is insane in retrospect. A 3rd round pick winning a single Norris would be seen as a massive steal, let alone 7.

Reading an Athletic article now and Ken Holland mentioned that NHL teams generally didn't have multiple scouts patrolling Europe back then. And then there was a quirky rule about certain Europeans only being eligible to be taken in the first rounds of the draft. I believe that got removed for the 1992 Draft.

By age Lidstrom would have been eligible for the 1988 Draft. An NHL.com article said he was available (but would have had to be taken in the first three rounds).

But as others pointed out, drafting Europeans was much different in the late 80's. A few teams were ahead of the curve and benefited greatly.

 

[HFpapi]

Lidstrom for me.

You draft a Dman in the 3rd round and you end up getting 20 years of consistent excellence, 4 cups (one playoff MVP) 7 Norris, captain and leader.

The only constant in Detroits cups 1997-2008.

 

[Number 57]

My guess is lack of scouting in his draft year. He played 8 games in the KHL and had 2 assist. Now he did have 58 points in 41 games played in the Russian MHL (junior league). He didn’t play in the World Juniors until after he was drafted also.

Probably lack of exposure had him slip in the draft.

Kucherov had a record for points in the MHL for a 17 years old until beaten recently by Michkov. Also had one of the best PPG season for a U19 player.

It's not like he was some unknown. He was right there for the taking.

 

[BLNY]

hes up there, but Kuch has already surpassed him.

Lucky Luc never even had a Hart vote.

But Kuch was a 2nd and Luc was a 9th. As far as draft steals go, which is what this thread is about, I think Luc - a HoFer in his own right - wins it.

 

[Number 57]

Getting a player of that ilk in the 2nd round is not unheard of at all.

Messier was a 3rd rounder.

In 1979.

Maybe because Kucherov has played half the games Hull did in his career? That may have something to do with it.

That's not the trump card you think it is. Kucherov is likely to be above PPG for the next 3-4 years, maybe more. He will still end up better than Hull even if he regresses a little at the end of his career.