Worst draft year of all time

[Albatros]

In terms of an actual year of first-time eligible players, 1989 was terrible. The class of players born between September 16, 1970 and September 15, 1971 rates among the worst ever. If not for the growing optimism surrounding the USSR, this draft tanks hard. The first round still causes nightmares for scouts, with only four top-end players: Sundin, Guerin, Holik and Kolzig. After Foote, the second round was completely forgettable (Dafoe was a one-year wonder).

Draper won the Selke as well as four cups and international medals.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

Id argue that most of the late 90s drafts dont count, as the factors that made them bad drafts in hindsight have more to do with events that happened later to significantly Pejorative Slur the progress of most players in that class than their absolute quality.

Saying the 99 draft class sucks is like saying the Tyrannosaurus was a poorly adapted species because it couldnt survive the Chicxulub Crater extinction.

And conversely when discussing all-time best draft classes, 2003 and 1979 dont really count as they are more about the situational advantages those players had than their merits in a vacuum

 

[ResearchFlatEarth]

With the Caps actually.

Thanks, that's right, Jarvis won the Selke with the Caps, not the Habs, my bad.

 

[seventieslord]

I'd take the 1996 Draft's defense core any day of the week.

Chara-Kaberle
Phillips-Salo
Kubina-Lydman
Morris-Salei
White-Sarich
Mitchell-Zyuzin

Sorry to quote you 14 years later, but I don't know that this top-12 on defense is all that special.

Sure, Chara is going to be better than most years' best drafted defenseman.

But Kaberle, as the 2nd best of an entire draft year? Sounds weak. Most drafts should have a few better than him. Same with Phillips, Salo, Kubina and so on. And If Zyuzin did indeed turn out to be the 12th best of that draft, that is awful. He barely made it as an NHL player and possibly only because of his draft pedigree. There has to be 12 defensemen significantly better than him in every draft, right?

 

[Jumptheshark]

1975, 1996 or 1999?

this is where we ask what is the measuring stick. 1996 was not a standout year but it did have 5 players play 1000 or more games and it was the year of the D--while not many good forwards were in that draft--there were several D men who could be called legit number 1s

and again where is the line--1999 will end up producing 3 hall of famers--the twins and zetterberg

 

[Jumptheshark]

I know it is early but 2012 is shaping up to be a bad one overall

 

[seventieslord]

I know it is early but 2012 is shaping up to be a bad one overall

You're absolutely right. The 2nd highest scoring player from that draft is a guy who no one wants and has practically played his way out of the NHL. The fourth highest.... a defenseman. And not even an extremely high-scoring one!

There are no HHOF skaters. There's one player - Filip Forsberg - who we might say is HOVG one day, if everything goes remarkably well for him the rest of the way. There are three #1 defensemen in the whole draft, and they're all sorta-maybe-if-you-squint #1 guys. Players like Tom Wilson, Tanner Pearson and Chris Tierney are in the top-10 in career points for the draft.

If it wasn't super strong in net it would be a slam dunk.

 

[VanIslander]

1999 was crazy.

The Sedins went thanks to the genius of Brian Burke. Only one other 1st rounder and ZERO 2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th rounders had 500 career NHL points. Yet three 7th rounders did: Zetterberg, Vrbata, Erat.

All European.

The next two career totals were American. Mike Comrie was the best Canadian that year. Ugh.

 

[seventieslord]

1999 was crazy.

The Sedins went thanks to the genius of Brian Burke. Only one other 1st rounder and ZERO 2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th rounders had 500 career NHL points. Yet three 7th rounders did: Zetterberg, Vrbata, Erat.

All European.

The next two career totals were American. Mike Comrie was the best Canadian that year. Ugh.

Mike Comrie was THE HIGHEST SCORING CANADIAN FORWARD IN AN ENTIRE DRAFT YEAR?

I don't know what to say. That's insane. How close is the next-lowest?

 

[seventieslord]

To answer the above...

I took a quick look at every draft from 1969 through 2015 - some projections made for a few more recent drafts. 2016-2020 are too early to project.

Here are the years where the highest scoring canadian has the lowest career points total:

1999 - Mike Comrie - 365
2012 - Morgan Rielly - 323 (~550 career)*
2004 - Travis Zajac - 552 (~600 career)
1989 - Stu Barnes - 597
1985 - Derek King - 612 (ALMOST - if not for Joe Nieuwendyk this would have been piss poor)
1996 - Daniel Briere - 696
1990 - Geoff Sanderson - 700
1992 - Cory Stillman - 727
2000 - Justin Williams - 797
2002 - Rick Nash - 805
1972 - Bill Barber - 883 (noteworthy as the only draft year from 1969-1988 that did not produce a 1000 point canadian forward)
2007 - Jamie Benn - 723 (~900)

* 2012 is the only year where the highest scoring Canadian is a defenseman so the above list almost doubles as a list of the lowest scoring "top canadian forwards" of any draft. Only thing is you'd need to replace Rielly with.... I'm gonna predict Tom Wilson, who's just behind Tanner Pearson but has bloomed offensively the last few seasons, and whom I predict will get ~425 career points - still leaving this season 2nd on the list - actually, whether Wilson, Pearson or Tierney ends up on top, the total will almost certainly still leave 2012 2nd on this list(more than 365, less than 600)

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

One pretty good candidate year I havent heard discussed is 1976:

1976 NHL Amateur Draft Picks at hockeydb.com

Your options for BPA are Bernie Federko, Reed Larson, Brian Sutter...?

Next tier is players like Rick Green, Liut, Carlyle, Gradin, Lukowich, Kent Nilsson, Ken Morrow

A couple of project players like Murdoch, McEwen, Cloutier, and a nice grit story in Ron Wilson (I only just realized there are like 4 Ron Wilsons with similar sounding careers, and this one is not the guy with the extensive NHL coaching career that youre probably thinking of. To make it even worse, theyre born a year apart, and the more NHL successful guy taken in 1976 also had a long coaching career in the AHL and Junior hockey)

And thats pretty much it for the worthwhile names at 14. Thats not even out of the first round yet

 

[Garbageyuk]

I think I'll go with 1979.. psht, seven future 1000-point careers in that class... what a disaster

But yeah, I was going to say 1975, that's the one I had in mind when I made the thread up. The best player from that draft was picked in round 15 (Dave Taylor)*, and suffice to say I've never seen another group of first round picks that so severely lacked NHL success.

*Honorable mention goes to Denis Maruk, a 2nd round pick

Apparently Anton Chiguhr was drafted 1st overall that year, if you go by the profile pic on db. It says Mel Bridgman, but that's not fooling me.

 

[ES]

Mike Comrie was THE HIGHEST SCORING CANADIAN FORWARD IN AN ENTIRE DRAFT YEAR?

I don't know what to say. That's insane. How close is the next-lowest?

Not only forward but player overall
Mike Comrie 365
Chris Kelly 291
Taylor Pyatt 280 (best first-rounder)
Barret Jackman 186 (D)
Tom Kostopoulos 157
Nick Boynton 144 (D)
Derek MacKenzie 125
Mike Commodore 106 (D)

 

[Wackster]

Check out '99s second round. Absolutely brutal. Out of all those players, probably only Hall and Leopold will break 100 points in their careers. The only decent goalie there is Auld; possibly the best player out of the group.

You forgot all time great and Mike Babcock biggest fan, Mike Commodore

 

[Wackster]

Not only forward but player overall
Mike Comrie 365
Chris Kelly 291
Taylor Pyatt 280 (best first-rounder)
Barret Jackman 186 (D)
Tom Kostopoulos 157
Nick Boynton 144 (D)
Derek MacKenzie 125
Mike Commodore 106 (D)

Look at those WJC canadian team... pedestrian at best

 

[Wackster]

I remember people hyping Alexander Burtulin as much as Alexander Avstin... those 2nd superstar that never panned out are brutal

 

[Wackster]

96 or 2012.

If you take out the goalie of the draft this might be the worst ever

 

[Wackster]

I know it is early but 2012 is shaping up to be a bad one overall

I don't know if 9 years after is still early... I know you will feel older

 

[MarkusKetterer]

15 year bump. That's something.

It’s actually more impressive than the Mike Comrie fact that appears later on