Who are the best undrafted NHL players of all time?

[Regal]

I don't think MJ was a reference point at the time

I dunno, Marques Johnson was pretty good at the time.

 

[abo9]

Adam Oates. How damn crazy. is that?
Panarin. Also absurdly crazy. Prob. under developed and russian factors too.
Martin St Louis
Dino Ciccarelli

I dont thinl Gretzky would count, there was a buzz around him already at 15.
But he was heaveily questioned of size matters. Wich id weird cause LeFleur was having succes in that time, and he was a small stature.

Daniel Alfredsson was passed on in miliple draft, ubtil he was 20.

Yeah while Gretzky is the technically right answer, it's not like he went undrafted because nhl teams passed on him.

St. Louis is the more fun answer because size was the reason he was passed...

Would Tim Thomas kinda count since we don't do 9 rounds anymore?

 

[EddieTheEagle]

Without a doubt, the correct answer is me.

 

[Deam78]

Lol do you know what the WHA was?

You should maybe research things before ranting.

Look at his account and his number of messages.

He's clearly a NBA fan getting initiated to hockey and trying to find similarities between the sports to be able to connect more with the NHL.

"You should maybe research things before ranting." He's asking a question to a huge amount of hockey fans on a hockey forum, I would think that's a good way to "research" and get your answer.

Hate that in hockey there seems to be a trend that you should not ask questions because people will ridicule you for not knowing what they know. Comments like yours contribute to this problem and is part of the reason hockey is still considered as conservative and closed to a lot of casual fans.

 

[Dust]

Kunitz put together a respectable career despite being undrafted and not playing at a major div 1 school. Not on the level as St. Louis or Oates, but over 1000 games and 600 points is nothing to scoff at.

 

[Jeune Poulet]

While not technically undrafted, fatty Brett Hull was passed over entirely in two drafts for being fat. Finally he was selected in the 6th round by the Flames in his third year of eligibility. Ended up with nearly 750 goals, pretty good for the fattie.

Kessel's room as a kid must have been plastered with Brett Hull posters.

 

[Fourier]

You’re probably new to hockey, so I can give you a brief recap.

In the 70s, there was another pro league called the WHA that was trying to compete against the NHL.

Gretzky signed his first pro contract with the Indianapolis Racers before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers, who were part of the WHA in the 70s. Three other NHL franchises used to be part of the WHA as well (Quebec Nordiques who became the Colorado Avalanche, old Winnipeg Jets that became the Arizona Coyotes and the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes).

Gretzky was never eligible to the draft, due to strange legal circumstances surrounding him. He was also considered to be a pro player coming from the WHA and was never eligible for the Calder trophy either (award for best rookie in the NHL)

The NHL wanted Gretzky to go back into the draft. In fact the agreement they made with the WHA would have seen this happen becuase of Gretzky's age but Gretzky had signed a personal services contract with Peter Pocklington rather than a standard players contract. This gave Pocklington control over where Gretzky played.

 

[Kingfan1967]

Yeah while Gretzky is the technically right answer, it's not like he went undrafted because nhl teams passed on him.

St. Louis is the more fun answer because size was the reason he was passed...

Would Tim Thomas kinda count since we don't do 9 rounds anymore?

Luc Robitaille

- round 9 #171 overall 1984 NHL Entry Draft

NHL Totals

1431

668

726

1394

1177

[TFOOT] [/TFOOT]

seems like a better 9th round pick

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

#ZUB

 

[abo9]

Luc Robitaille

- round 9 #171 overall 1984 NHL Entry Draft

NHL Totals

1431

668

726

1394

1177

[TFOOT] [/TFOOT]

seems like a better 9th round pick

Good catch! I had no idea Robitaille was a 9th :O

I said thomas bc I thought he was undrafted then looked him up and wow 9th round by Quebec? Far cry from when he started his career in the nhl ahha

 

[AndyWozniewski]

Tyler Bozak

 

[kingpest19]

Good catch! I had no idea Robitaille was a 9th :O

I said thomas bc I thought he was undrafted then looked him up and wow 9th round by Quebec? Far cry from when he started his career in the nhl ahha

Interesting fact about that draft for Kings. They drafted a HOF pitcher in the 4th round in Tom Glavine.

 

[lawrence]

American legend brian rafalski is a great undrafted player.

Alex burrows for the Canucks.

 

[fahad203]

Oates > St. Louis

Hull and Neely both went 50 goals in 50 games with him as their #1C. He didn't win individual trophies because he played in the same era as Gretzky and Lemieux.

Oates is so under appreciated around here. Dude was a magician with passing

Probably he wasn't flashy has St.louis and also noting there weren't many trophies to win back then

Richard trophy introduced late 90s
He was never going to win MVP when Lemiuex Hull Messier Jagr Gretzky was around

 

[CanadienShark]

A GOAT-level player being undrafted? Seriously? How the fk does that happen? Did every team pass up on Gretzky and not think he could've been the MJ of the NHL? Jesus christ. That's extremely absurd not gonna lie. Imagine if this happened in the NBA where every team passed Lebron and out of nowhere he dominated the league. Though it's sorta happening to Jokic but still. A GOAT level player being passed by EVERY DAMN team?

You for real?

 

[CanadienShark]

Panarin and MSL are the two that jump to mind. That's probably a dead giveaway for my age range.

 

[Garthinater]

Bozak has been a solid player for someone who went un drafted.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

The NHL wanted Gretzky to go back into the draft. In fact the agreement they made with the WHA would have seen this happen becuase of Gretzky's age but Gretzky had signed a personal services contract with Peter Pocklington rather than a standard players contract. This gave Pocklington control over where Gretzky played.

Yeah that's what I was referring to. You'd never see something like this ever happen again in the NHL, and it had to happen to the best player of all time. Pocklington realized that Gretzky was a once in a lifetime player and fortunately had enough legal grounds to retain him for the Oilers.

 

[NYR94]

Curtis Joseph, Steve Thomas, Joe Mullen, Geoff Courtnall are a few others

 

[SwedishFire]

Kessel's room as a kid must have been plastered with Brett Hull posters.

Kessel was seen ss a the next superstar in the league as 15-16 year.

 

[SwedishFire]

Luc Robitaille

- round 9 #171 overall 1984 NHL Entry Draft

NHL Totals

1431

668

726

1394

1177

[TFOOT] [/TFOOT]

seems like a better 9th round pick

Even if Luc was a 9th rounder, its still pick 171. In todays draft its 5th round.

H Lundqvist, H Zetterberg had higher draftnumbers

 

[HolyGhost]

Ha ... that was easy.

Pretty much yeah

 

[Edenjung]

Yeah that's what I was referring to. You'd never see something like this ever happen again in the NHL, and it had to happen to the best player of all time. Pocklington realized that Gretzky was a once in a lifetime player and fortunately had enough legal grounds to retain him for the Oilers.

A 20 year long contract to be precise.

@Rapsfan

If you want to know more about the WHA.
i can recommend the Videos of TheHockeyGuy on it.

Same goes for all of his other videos. Really nice guy, down to earth.
He has a history series where he recaps the seasons from the beginning of the league from 1917-18 till the 2019-20 season.

And everything else you might be interested in.
Have fun

 

[Leaf Fans]

Pretty sure it was created by the same guys

It was Dennis Murphy and Gary Davidson. For the same purpose too.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

One day Jiri Dopita will be mentioned...