Prospects presumed to be passengers who turned out better

[vadim sharifijanov]

inspired by the bump of the eric perrin thread. this thread is about the inverse of guys like mike craig or rob pearson or marc-antoine pouliot, who were disappointing first round picks that turned out not to be nearly as good as they looked with a generational talent centering them in juniors.

which guys were thought to be the second wheel, or rob pearson-esque passenger, that turned out to be better than the can't-miss talent?

my favourite example is ray whitney, who led the CHL in scoring en route to the memorial cup on a line with 2nd overall pick pat falloon. he probably shouldn't have been drafted as high as he was (at the top of the 2nd round) but SJ grabbed him for his chemistry with falloon. ray whitney of course eventually became a multiple-time all-star and scored more than 1,000 points and lasted more than 1,300 games. he got his name on the cup too. falloon, we sometimes forget, made it almost to 600 games and scored more than a point every other game on the way, so he wasn't as bad as we tend to remember. but man he was not ray whitney.

ethan moreau (jason bonsignore's linemate) also comes to mind, and i still think ondrej palat is a better player than sean couturier. any other examples/stories?

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[LeProspector]

Mark Stone was thought to be a passenger to Brayden Schenn and Scott Glennie when he played for the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2010/2011.
Alex DeBrincat was thought to be a passenger to McDavid and then Dylan Strome for Erie. Turns out that is not true.... AT ALL

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

and for something mostly unrelated on ray whitney, this is the fascinating and expertly researched story of whitney refusing to go back to the WHL after his huge scoring title/mem cup year and finding himself eventually in a rights squabble between the sharks, their IHL affiliate in kansas city, the independent IHL team in san diego, and the spokane chiefs.

Don Waddell and the Curious Case of Ray Whitney

 

[ESH]

Is Brad Richards a good example? I’m too young to really remember what the thoughts were about him and Lecavalier at the time, but there must be a reason (however bad it might be) that Richards didn’t go until the 3rd round.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Is Brad Richards a good example? I’m too young to really remember what the thoughts were about him and Lecavalier at the time, but there must be a reason (however bad it might be) that Richards didn’t go until the 3rd round.

they weren't linemates afaik so i don't think richards was thought to be a product of lecavalier, per se, but definitely a great example where there were two guys and the lesser one turned out to be better.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

I'm not sure how Mike Hoffman was viewed in juniors but he might fit the bill here.

 

[McRpro]

ethan moreau (jason bonsignore's linemate) also comes to mind, and i still think ondrej palat is a better player than sean couturier. any other examples/stories?

Was going to post this. I remember Mckenzie speculating whether the Oilers would take Bonsignore's linemate or future star goalie Jamie Storr at 6th. I was a little disappointed when they took Ryan Smyth.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

Weren't Hugh Jessiman and Lee Stempniak linemates in college? Stempniak was a year older but he was taken much later than Jessiman which leads me to believe people though Stempniak was a passenger to Jessiman?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Was going to post this. I remember Mckenzie speculating whether the Oilers would take Bonsignore's linemate or future star goalie Jamie Storr at 6th. I was a little disappointed when they took Ryan Smyth.

and then twelve years later, ryan smyth gets traded to new york so moreau becomes the oilers captain

 

[MXD]

I'm not sure how Mike Hoffman was viewed in juniors but he might fit the bill here.

I'm not quite sure I can use the appropriate word.
... So, let's just say that what plagues him now is pretty much the exact same thing that plagued him then. Let's also say that MUCH better players didn't want anything to do with him then, and apparently don't want anything to do with him now.

(This is somewhat public knowledge actually, though I didn't find an English-language source for this (... to be honest, I didn't look for one). If a mod has an issue with my publication, I'll be happy to oblige and provide a quick translation)

 

[Canadiens1958]

I'm not sure how Mike Hoffman was viewed in juniors but he might fit the bill here.

Serious leg injury in junior.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Everybody thought Jari Kerri would taper off after Gretzky got traded away from Edmonton, instead he led the team in scoring.

 

[JackSlater]

I may be wrong, but I believe that Fedorov was viewed as the worst prospect among Mogilny - Fedorov - Bure.

At the WJC Weber and Phaneuf were a pairing, and everyone except for Weber's mother thought that Phaneuf would end up better.

I believe that they didn't play on the same line, but Doan and Iginla were junior teammates and drafted in the same year. Doan was drafted earlier.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

I remember at the 2013 WJC during the lockout, Canada's top line was Huberdeau - RNH - Scheifele. Scheifele was described on this site as a 'goal poacher' who rode shotgun with two superior players. Didn't end up happening that way.

 

[MS]

In the 1976 draft, Blair Chapman of the Saskatoon Blades went #2 overall to Pittsburgh. His teammate and linemate Fred Williams went #4 to Detroit.

The third member of that line was Bernie Federko, who slipped to #7 despite leading that team in scoring.

 

[Big Phil]

Is Brad Richards a good example? I’m too young to really remember what the thoughts were about him and Lecavalier at the time, but there must be a reason (however bad it might be) that Richards didn’t go until the 3rd round.

The first name I thought of too. Yes they were both centers, but they were both on Rimouski. I remember following that draft year in 1998 and seeing this Richards guy on Rimouski too. Wow, he is keeping pace with Lecavalier pretty good. Ah, but I'll bet he's 20 years old. Nope. Same age as Lecavalier. Hmm.................then you look him up and he's 6'0" compared to Lecavalier's 6'4" and 1998 was a time when the league was obsessed with grabbing the next Lindros that they would shove aside players that were smaller.

I honestly have no idea how the guy dropped to 64th overall. He had 115 points in his draft year, the exact amount as Lecavalier. I believe it was Lecavalier who convinced the Lightning to draft him. But for some reason he was an afterthought. Even in 1999 when he is alone on Rimouski he put up 130 points but was ignored by the World Juniors. It took him putting up a season of 186 points before he finally got recognized.

In all honesty, this guy arguably has a career better than the guy people figured he was benefitting from.

 

[Big Phil]

Weren't Hugh Jessiman and Lee Stempniak linemates in college? Stempniak was a year older but he was taken much later than Jessiman which leads me to believe people though Stempniak was a passenger to Jessiman?

Hugh Jessiman is a player who I always associate being the only player in the excellent first round of the 2003 draft to never make it to the NHL. Okay, he played two games. Shawn Belle, drafted 30th, who I thought had excellent skill, only played 20 games as well.