Looking back...

[Roger's Pancreas*]

Philadelphia Flyers

I know I'm breaking the tempo of this thread but as a Flyers fan I think this one move could have changed the face of the Flyers. In 1982 The Flyers drafted Ron Sutter with their 4th overall pick. At the time that may have been the best move but the player behind him left on the board is the one that would set this franchise back ten years. Scott Stevens could have ended up in Orange and Black but was left behind to be drafted by Washington and later move to Jersey. If Scott Stevens were playing for the Flyers the Lindros trade still would have went down but he most likely would have still been playing for the Flyers and that hit never would have happened. I think Stevens would have been given the Captaincy ahead of Lindros and this could have been the toughest, hardest-hitting franchise to step on the ice since the original Broad Street Bullies. More importantly, the Flyers would have had the franchise defenseman that they never really had and a playoff wizard at that. Would they have won the Cup ahead of the Red Wings? Probably not, but they would have showed up next year and the year after.

 

[Rand]

Toronto

1998:
Leafs Select: Nik Antropov
Who I would have selected: Jeff Heerema
Who I would have selected now: Brad Richards

1999:
Leafs Select: Luca Cereda
Me: Martin Havlat/Luca Cereda (I was pretty evenly split)
Now: Martin Havlat

2000:
Toronto: Brad Boyes
Me: Justin Williams
Now: Niklas Kronwall

2001:
Toronto: Carlo Colaiacovo
Me: Carlo Colaiacovo
Now: Carlo Colaiacovo

2002:
Toronto: Alexander Steen
Me: Alexander Steen
Now: Hannu Toivonen

2005:
Toronto: Tuukka Rask
Me: Andrew Cogliano (I had very mixed feelings about whom was best however)
Now: Andrew Cogliano

In hindsight my biggest miss was liking Heerema in 1998, the Leafs choice of Antropov was clearly better.
On a side note, I have never ever hated a Leafs draft choice as much as I disliked the pick of Jeff Ware in 1995.... unsurprisingly he was a complete bust.

 

[Doomsday Device]

Fun idea. I can't remember who I wanted before 2001.

Edmonton Oilers

2001 Draft
Edmonton drafted: Ales Hemsky
I would have drafted at the time: Ales Hemsky
I would draft now: Ales Hemsky

2002 Draft
Edmonton drafted: Jesse Niinimaki
I would have drafted at the time: Anton Babchuk
I would draft now: Hannu Toivonen

2003 Draft
Edmonton drafted: Marc-Antoine Pouliot
I would have drafted at the time: Anthony Stewart
I would draft now: Patrice Bergeron

2004 Draft
Edmonton drafted: Devan Dubnyk
I would have drafted at the time: Alexander Radulov
I would draft now: Alexander Radulov

Edmonton drafted: Rob Scremp
I would have drafted at the time: Rob Schremp
I would draft now: Rob Schremp

2005 Draft
Edmonton drafted: Andrew Cogliano
I would have drafted at the time: Guillaume Latendresse
I would draft now: Guillaume Latendresse

 

[Drake1588]

2000
#26: Washington drafts Brian Sutherby
Who I wanted: Jeff Taffe
Who I'd want now: Brian Sutherby
Comments: It's taken him a while, but Sutherby is starting to look really, really strong this year.

2001
First Rounder traded at deadline

2002
#12: Washington drafts Steve Eminger
Who I wanted: Anton Babchuk
Who I'd want now: Steve Eminger
Comments: Quite simply on track to mature into a top-four guy on this club for a long time.

#13: Washington drafts Alexander Semin
Who I wanted: Jakub Klepis
Who I'd want now: Don't Know
Comments: If this guy ever comes over, he'll be a heck of a player. Looks like he might be in the NHL next season, but he's staying in Lada this year. Anyway, the Caps later picked up Klepis for Grier (!?) so it's all good. Klepis will be getting top-line center ice time this year in Hershey and should make the jump in 2006-07. He's showed tons of skill thus far.

#17: Washington drafts Boyd Gordon
Who I wanted: Jakub Koreis
Who I'd want now: Boyd Gordon
Comments: They expected Gordon to play a while in the AHL, but they just can't cut him. Gordon will be a third liner in the NHL this year.

2003
#18: Washington drafts Eric Fehr
Who I wanted: Ryan Getzlaf
Who I'd want now: Eric Fehr
Comments: There are tons of good players available out of that draft, but in two seasons since his draft, Fehr has scored 109 goals in the WHL. Can't argue with that. Will spend the year in Hershey then try to make the Caps next Fall.

2004
#1: Washington drafts Alexander Ovechkin
Who I wanted: Alexander Ovechkin
Who I'd want now: Alexander Ovechkin

#27: Washington drafts Jeff Schultz
Who I wanted: Mike Green
Who I'd want now: Jeff Schultz
Comments: Was really ticked off (for a total of about 15 minutes) that the Caps took a huge project instead of Green with their pick. Lo and behold, Schultz was tremendous at this year's training camp. Big surprise for me, one of the worst reads I've had on a Caps pick since I've been keeping track. A lot better than I expected.

#29: Washington drafts Mike Green
Who I wanted: Mike Green
Who I'd want now: Mike Green
Comments: A huge Caps cheering section in Raleigh erupted when this pick was made. This kid is about to make the Caps team out of pre-season. He still might end up in Hershey, but they can't bring themselves to cut him. Poised, positionally sound, no glaring weaknesses. Just a great pick for so late.

2005
#14: Washington drafts Sasha Pokulok
Who I wanted: Kendal McArdle
Comments: Had no idea who this was on draft day, like everyone else watching. It's early... but the more I read, the more I like of Pokulok.

#27: Washington drafts Joe Finley
Who I wanted: ?
Comments: Too early, except to say that I didn't know who he was at the time. We'll see.

 

[Habsfan 32]

2001:
Montreal: M.Komisarek
I wanted: T.Ruutu
I'd take now: T.Ruutu

2002:
Montreal Draft: C.Higgins
I wanted: A.Steen
I'd take now: C.Higgins

2003:
Montreal drafts. A.Kostitsyn
I wanted: J.Carter
I'd take now: P.Bergeron

2004:
Montreal Drafts: K.Chipchura
I wanted: R.Schremp
I'd take now: K.Chipchura

2005:
Montreal drafts: C.Price
I wanted: A.Kopitar
I'd take now: C.Price

 

[Flin Flon]

Wild

2000:
Wild Select: Gaborik
Wanted: Gaborik
Now: Gaborik

2001:
Wild Select: Koivo
Wanted: Blackburn
Now: Koivu or Ruutu

2002:
Wild Select: PM Bouchard
Wanted: Eminger
Now: PM Bouchard (He'll have a big year in 05/06)

2003:
Wild Select: Brent Burns
Wanted: O'Sullivan
Now: Since we got Sully in the 2nd, Richards

2004:
Wild Select: Thelen
Wanted: Thelen
Now: Thelen (too early to count him out)

2005:
Wild Select: Pouliot
Wanted: Pouliot
Now: Pouliot

 

[Seph]

2000
NYI: Dipietro and Torres
Me: Gaborik and can't remember
Now: Gaborik and Frolov

2001
NYI: Yashin
Me: Spezza
Now: Spezza, or maybe Ruutu

2002
NYI: Bergenheim
Me: meh
Now: Toivonen, maybe. Even if it doesn't make sense, best player available and all that. Or Stajan, though I do like the Bergie pick also.

2003
NYI: Nilsson
Me: Nilsson
Now: Richards

2004
NYI: Nokelainen
Me: Shremp or Chipchura
Now: Nokelainen

2005
NYI: O'Marra
Me: O'Marra

Man, those first two were painful at the time.

 

[Birko19]

Detroit Red Wings:

2001 Draft
Detroit Redwings Draft Igor Grigorenko
I would have drafted at the time: Fedor Fedorov
Who I'd Draft now: Igor Grigorenko

2002 Draft
Detroit Redwings Draft Jiri Hudler
I would have drafted at the time: Jiri Hudler
Who I'd Draft now: Jiri Hudler

2003 Draft
Detroit Redwings Drafted Jimmy Howard
I would have drafted at the time: Mikhail Zhukov
Who I'd Draft now: Jimmy Howard

2004 Draft
Detroit Redwings Drafted Johan Franzen
I would have drafted at the time: Wes O'Neill
Who I'd Draft now: Johan Franzen

2005 Draft
Detroit Redwings Drafted Jakub Kindl
I would have drafted at the time: Guillaume Latendresse
Who I'd Draft now: Guillaume Latendresse

 

[Dallas]

Oilers:

2001:
Oilers select: Ales Hemsky
Wanted: Ales Hemsky
Now: Ales Hemsky

2002:
Oilers select: Jesse Niinimaki
Wanted: Jakub Klepis
Now: Cam Ward

2003:
Oilers select: Marc-Antoine Pouliot
Wanted: Anthony Stewart
Now: Patrice Bergeron

2004:
Oilers select: Robbie Schremp
Wanted: Robbie Schremp
Now: Robbie Schremp

 

[Buffalo Stylee]

Buffalo Sabres

2002:
Sabres selected: Keith Ballard
Who I wanted: Keith Ballard
Who I'd want now: Steve Eminger

2003:
Sabres selected: Thomas Vanek
Who I wanted: Thomas Vanek
Who I'd want now: Thomas Vanek

2004:
Sabres selected: Drew Stafford
Who I wanted: Andrej Meszaros
Who I'd want now: Andrej Meszaros

2005:
Sabres selected: Marek Zagrapan
Who I wanted: Alex Bourret
Who I'd want now: Alex Bourret

 

[weaponomega]

Boston Bruins

1999
Bruins select: Nick Boynton
Who I Wanted: Martin Havlat
Who I'd Want Now: Hmm, toss up for me between Havlat and Boynton, but I'll go with Havlat.

2000
Bruins select: Lars Jonsson
Who I Wanted: Brooks Orpik
Who I'd Want Now: Alexander Frolov

Bruins select: Martin Samuelsson
Who I Wanted: Martin Samuelsson
Who I'd Want Now: Niklas Kronwall

2001
Bruins select: Shaone Morrisonn
Who I Wanted: Lukas Krajicek
Who I'd Want Now: Goc, or Morrisonn

2002
Bruins select: Hannu Toivonen
Who I Wanted: Jeff Deslauriers
Who I'd Want Now: Hannu Toivonen

2003
Bruins select: Mark Stuart
Who I Wanted: Zach Parise (Bruins traded down)
Who I'd Want Now: Mark Stuart

2005
Bruins select: Matt Lashoff
Who I Wanted: Guillaume Latendresse

 

[weaponomega]

1999
We had the first pick overall but we traded down. I would have made the same trade as the Lightning since Brendl or Stefan didn't impress me.

2000
Lightning selected: Nikita Alexeev
Who I wanted: Brent Krahn
Who I would pick now: Alexander Frolov

2001
Lightning selected: Alexander Svitov
Who I wanted: Tuomo Ruutu
Who I would pick now: Tuomo Ruutu

2002
Lightning selected: Adam Henrich
Who I wanted: I was happy with the trade down
Who I would pick now: Henrich

2003
Lightning selected: Mike Egener
Who I wanted: Patrick O'Sullivan
Who I would pick now: Patrick O'Sullivan

2004
Lightning selected: Andy Rogers
Who I wanted: Adam Pineault
Who I would pick now: Patrice Bergeron

Bergeron was taken in 03

 

[OrrNumber4]

San Jose:

1998:
Sharks select: Brad Stuart
Wanted: Brad Stuart and Simon Gagne
Now: I guess Brad Stuart is slightly better

1999:
Sharks select: Jeff Jillson
Wanted: I liked the Sedin twins, but at that position I wanted Jackman or Cereda
Now: Havlat, but Leopold/Boynton looks good

2000:
Sharks select: Tero Maatta (2nd round)
Wanted: Antoine Vermette
Now: John-Michael Liles

2001:
Sharks select: Marcel Goc
Wanted: Woywitka
Now: Woywitka/Cammalleri/Zidlicky/Tyutin depending on the team

2002:
Sharks select: Mike Morris
Wanted: Holtet and Toivonen
Now: Toivonen or Stajan

2003:
Sharks select: Milan Michalek
Wanted: I was very high on Vanek and Phaneuf, but Vanek was unavailable and the Sharks had too much depth on D. Its tough to say who I wanted, because I though Jessiman, Parise, Carter, would all have been good pick. I think only Seabrook and Nilsson were the only players I didn't actually like!
Now: Dion Phaneuf

Second pick Sharks select: Steve Bernier
Wanted: Zach Parise
Now: Zach Parise

2004:
Sharks select: Lukas Kaspar
Wanted: Robbie Schremp/Andrej Mezaros/Sami Lepisto
Now: Robbie Schremp

 

[Ruckus007]

Sabres


2001:

Sabres took: Jiri Novotny
I wanted then: Jiri Novotny
I want now: Fedor Tyutin

2002:

Sabres took: Keith Ballard
I wanted then: Steve Eminger
I want now: Anton Babchuk

Sabres took: Daniel Paille
I wanted then: Anton Babchuk
I want now: Anton Babchuk (though I really like Paille)

2003:

Sabres took: Thomas Vanek
I wanted then: Ryan Suter
I want now: Thomas Vanek

2004:

Sabres took: Drew Stafford
I wanted then: Andrej Meszaros
I want now: Andrej Meszaros

2005:

Sabres took: Marek Zagrapan
I wanted then: Marek Zagrapan
I wish I wanted: ???