Predsanddead24
Registered User
- Mar 7, 2019
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Rinne went undrafted three times before we took him in the 8th round in 2004.
Our fans (myself included) were livid at the pick too. Shows how little us fans actually know about prospects most of the time.Tyler Bertuzzi for Detroit
We have so many threads about draft busts or players who never reached their potential. I decided to make one celebrating the guys we never saw coming or the guys that we believed in when nobody else did.
Nobody expected anything from Tomas Kaberle when he was drafted in the eighth round, but he became a great blue-line passer for the Leafs under Pat Quinn.
Who else is there?
Teams didn’t know if he was choosing football or hockey, I believe that’s why he lasted so long in the draft.Anders Lee, I think was a 6th round pick, now Islanders captain and a top powerforward.
Is there anything more satisfying than a late pick turning into a star?
Heh. Let's not talk about Detroit.....It gets even worse if you go back in time.Datsyuk and Zetterberg were fun for sure
123rd pick Conor Garland is the Coyotes' best player. I'm afraid the little shrimp is going to get squashed and that will be the end of it, though.
This is gonna take some time to get used to.How about Jared Spurgeon? 5’9 dman drafted 156th overall in 2008. Now captain of the Minnesota Wild consistently averaging over 22+ minutes a season. Whether it’s his height, draft position, or just playing in Minnesota (no offense Wild fans) he still tends to get overlooked a ton but just a very good all around player.
Detroit 1998 picked Jiri Fisher 1st round and Datsyuk in the 6th. Went on to pick Zetterberg in the 7th round the next year. Always felt that was the biggest part of them having such a long run of playoff appearancesNice catch. I bet there are even more extreme examples.
For sure. That's an extreme example but even now we can see teams that only hit on first round picks that tend to languish in bubbleland despite having top end guys.Detroit 1998 picked Jiri Fisher 1st round and Datsyuk in the 6th. Went on to pick Zetterberg in the 7th round the next year. Always felt that was the biggest part of them having such a long run of playoff appearances
Yeah, unless they’re home run first round picks most years, just having adequate first round picks won’t be enough. Even a late first isn’t anywhere near a sure thingFor sure. That's an extreme example but even now we can see teams that only hit on first round picks that tend to languish in bubbleland despite having top end guys.
Agreed.Yeah, unless they’re home run first round picks most years, just having adequate first round picks won’t be enough. Even a late first isn’t anywhere near a sure thing