Best player at every NHL Draft pick: #161-192

Credit: Pavel Datsyuk

The 2024 NHL Draft is just around the corner, and while a lot of the build-up to the event is looking toward the future and imagining the careers to come from the players selected, I thought it’d also be fun to take a look back at the best players to come out of the draft – or better yet, the best player taken with each selection.

Thanks to Hockey DB, we have the ability to look at all the players selected at each draft slot, so figured I’d try and identify the best player taken with each pick. Over the next seven days, we’re going to cover Rounds 1-7 and picks 1 all the way to 224. That means we’re following the current format; the Draft used to be longer, with as many as 293 players picked across nine rounds as recently as 2000.

Today, it’s Round 6, where we really start to look at players just for making a lengthy career in the NHL.

As a disclaimer: “Round 6” means picks 161-192. So you’ll find some “sixth-rounders” here who were seventh, eighth or even ninth-rounders in their actual draft years.

161. Darcy Kuemper

Also Considered: Mike Smith, Chris Neil, Pat Maroon

Neil and Maroon have been in the league for a while, with Maroon being known for his three straight Stanley Cup wins, but neither were truly a high-end impact player like Darcy Kuemper or Smith at their best. Smith had the best season between the two goalies in 2011-12, but Kuemper has been more consistent over his career, and also has the Cup win in 2022, which he did while dealing with an eye injury.

162. Andrei Markov

Also Considered: Jesper Bratt

I almost went with Bratt for the career he’s already carved out for himself at just 25 years old, and the potential that he has to be even better still. That could win out against mediocre players with longevity, but Markov wasn’t mediocre. He received votes for the Norris Trophy six times in his career, and was a consistently solid offensive defenseman for the Habs, and spending your 990-game career with one team is also quite impressive.

163. Linus Ullmark

Also Considered: Brad Richardson, Marty McInnis

Richardson and McInnis had lengthy careers in the NHL, but they never really had seasons where they were anywhere close to being one of the best at their positions. Linus Ullmark’s 2022-23 season saw him put up insane numbers to secure the Vezina Trophy, including a tie for the second-highest save percentage in a season among goalies with at least 40 games played.

164. Todd Marchant

Also Considered: Ales Kotalik, Stephane Robidas

Marchand was more of a middle-six forward that had a couple of seasons above that level, but he managed to make a consistent career for himself, playing nearly 1,200 games, capturing Selke Trophy votes on several occasions, and winning a Cup with the Ducks in 2007.

165. Michael Leighton

Also Considered: Byron Ritchie

Ritchie played in more games than Leighton, but he never really had any seasons that jump off the page at you. On the other hand, Leighton at least has the 2009-10 season with the Flyers to hang his hat on, managing a .918 SV% in the regular season before a .916 in the playoffs backstopped the team to the Cup Final.

166. Theoren Fleury

Also Considered: Don Sweeney, Andrew Mangiapane

Fleury had as ideal of a start to his career as you can ask for by winning a Cup with the Flames in 1989, and then went on to put together a really productive career over 1,084 games that earned him Selke votes once and Hart Trophy votes twice. Just make sure you pretend that after retiring in 2003, he went off to a cabin in the woods, never to be heard from again.

167. Sean Hill

Also Considered: Randy Cunneyworth

Both Hill and Cunneyworth had similar career outputs, finishing just 10 games apart in terms of games played, and also looking at somewhat similar production when you consider that Hill played defense and Cunneyworth was a forward. Considering that both had votes for an All-Star Team and another trophy (the Norris for Hill and the Selke for Cunneyworth), the main tiebreaker here was Hill’s Cup win with the Habs in 1993.

168. Carl Hagelin

Also Considered: Marc Methot

Hagelin had the longest career and the most productive career out of anyone at pick #168, seeing a large chunk of that production come from his earlier years with the Rangers before finding his way to Pittsburgh to win two Cups as part of a strong third line with Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino. He also got Calder Trophy votes in his rookie year and Selke votes on three occasions.

169. Vinnie Hinostroza

Also Considered: Ben Smith

You know it’s not a strong class when Smith and Hinostroza are your best options. Smith has a Cup from 2013, but he played a grand total of two games between the regular season and playoffs that year. Vinnie Hinostroza had a bit more longevity, was more productive, and had an underrated game, so he gets the pick.

170. Jim Paek

Also Considered: Darren Van Impe

While pick #170 didn’t exactly have great options, apparently the key to success here was drafting a defenseman. Of the 732 games played by players picked here, defensemen have played 715 of them. None really saw individual success, but at least Paek had two Cups with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992, becoming the first Korean-born player to do so.

171. Pavel Datsyuk

Also Considered: Luc Robitaille

Robitaille is easily the second-best player in this “sixth round” of players so far, and yet it’s his luck that he ends up behind Datsyuk. Both players had incredible careers, but I had to give it to Datsyuk for the trophy case that he has. He won three Selkes, was a finalist for three more, was also a Hart finalist one season, and has four Lady Byng trophies, on top of having two Cups to Robitaille’s one. Robitaille is a Hall of Famer right now, but Datsyuk will be joining him this fall after getting the call today.

172. Dennis Seidenberg

Also Considered: Dave McLlwain

Pick #172 actually features two players that have found their way to Daily Faceoff in the past few years in Mike McKenna and Luke Gazdic. But, Seidenberg certainly had the longest career of the bunch, with 859 games, 251 points, Norris votes in 2012-13, and won a Cup with the Bruins in 2011.

173. Nick Bonino

Also Considered: Risto Siltanen

Bonino is the second member of the famous HBK line for the Pens back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017 to make today’s list, and much like Hagelin, Bonino had a solid career with some productive years here and there. On top of the two Cups, he also received Selke votes in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

174. Andrew Brunette

Also Considered: Trevor Letowski

Getting a lengthy career out of anyone at this point of the draft is an accomplishment, never mind the 1,110 games that Brunette played. He had some great seasons mixed with some more average ones, finishing with 733 points, and even had some votes for the Lady Byng in the later stages of his career.

175. Patrik Sundstrom

Also Considered: Ryane Clowe

Sundstrom had some very productive years early on in his career, particularly his 91-point season in just his second season in the league, but he also got some recognition for his defensive play with votes for the Selke in three straight seasons when he joined the Devils.

176. Marek Zidlicky

Also Considered: Samuel Pahlsson

Pahlsson had the Cup win and some Selke votes over the years, but considering that Zidlicky nearly doubled Pahlsson’s production as a defenseman in a similar amount of games played in the same era of the game, and had some Norris votes early in his career, I’ll give Zidlicky the pick here.

177. P.J. Axelsson

Also Considered: Ladislav Nagy, Mathieu Perreault

While Nagy and Perreault were more productive over the years and had the higher peaks in terms of their point totals, Axelsson was more of a strong two-way forward, earning him votes for the Selke in six separate seasons.

178. Mark Stone

Also Considered: No one

Only Mike Santorelli and Zac Rinaldo were even close to matching Mark Stone in terms of the longevity of his career, and neither were close in terms of production. Stone has not only become one of the better scorers in the league, but he’s also one of the best defensive players in the league, and while that hasn’t gotten him a Selke yet, it did give him a Cup with Vegas last season.

179. Pavel Kubina

Also Considered: Darryl Sutter, Brian Noonan

While Kubina was never the best defenseman at any given point in his career, he was still a solid offensive defenseman, finishing with 386 points in 970 games. He did get some recognition for his play with Calder votes in 1999 and Norris votes in 2004, and of course also winning a Cup in the latter year with the Lightning.

180. Gary Suter

Also Considered: No one

While there were a few players at pick #180 that had solid NHL careers, no one had the longevity or production like Suter did, and it was more impressive that he did it as a defenseman. He won the Calder in 1986, the Cup in 1989 and was also a finalist for the Norris in 1988 with a 91-point season that earned him Hart votes as well.

181. Hakan Loob

Also Considered: Mike Hough

Despite only playing 450 games sandwiched between two lengthy stints in the SEL, Loob proved to be quite skilled in his time in the NHL with 429 points. Even though it was the 1980s, he was still recognized for his play by making an All-Rookie and All-Star team, and getting Lady Byng votes a couple of times, along with his Cup win with the Flames in 1989.

182. Erik Haula

Also Considered: Bruno Gervais, Mike Mottau

None of these names necessarily jump off the page, but they all managed to play for at least 300 games. Erik Haula wins out here though, as he has the most games played (690), most points (316), and also got Selke votes in 2022-23.

183. Kelly Miller

Also Considered: Donald Audette, Nate Thompson, Tyler Arnason

I nearly went with Audette for how productive his career was compared to the rest of this group, but Miller carved out a slightly more successful career in terms of the recognition he received, getting votes for the Selke in five separate seasons, including finishing as a finalist in 1991-92.

184. Len Hachborn

Also Considered: Iiro Pakarinen, Zach Redmond

There isn’t a lot of great options to choose from at pick #184, with only Hachborn, Pakarinen and Redmond playing more than 100 games (but no more than Pakarinen’s 134), and no accolades to come with their brief stints in their careers. So I’ll settle with Hachborn here for managing 59 points in 102 games, even if it did come in the 1980s.

185. Jim Thomson

Also Considered: Sasha Chmelevski

Okay, I take it back, this pick was much worse. Thomson sits as the lone player in this slot to play more than 100 games in his career, so while Chmelevski got some consideration for getting a solid 10 points in just 24 games in his career, I’ll give credit to Thomson for at least getting a bit more mileage out of his career.

186. Stephane Yelle

Also Considered: Drew Miller, Jason Demers

Yelle had by far the most successful career out of this group, not only for falling just nine games short of the 1,000 game mark and being the most productive, but also for being a solid two-way forward during his time in the league, earning him Selke votes on six occasions, and winning the Cup twice with the Avalanche.

187. Frederik Andersen

Also Considered: No One

I’m technically cheating with this pick, because Frederik Andersen was drafted by the Canes at this pick in 2010 and never signed, only to be drafted earlier on by the Ducks with the 87th pick in the 2012 draft. But, no other player at #187 even hit 100 games played, and with two Jennings Trophies and some Vezina votes over the years, he’s easily had the most successful career at this spot.

188. Kelly Buchberger

Also Considered: Manny Legace

It’s a bit of a toss-up here, considering that both players got votes for an award only once (the Selke for Buchberger and the Vezina for Legace). However, I went with Buchberger for having a much longer career and two Cup wins to Legace’s one (and that came in a backup role).

189. Gord Murphy

Also Considered: Derek Dorsett

Murphy and Dorsett were the only two players at #189 to play at least 500 games, but neither of them was ever considered for any awards, and neither won a Cup. So with that, I opted for Murphy, because he had the longer career and was the more productive player as a defenseman.

190. Shawn Thornton

Also Considered: Mike Peluso

Here we have another example of players that were never considered for any awards, although at least Thornton and Peluso have their names on the Cup. However, Thornton had a bit more mileage out of his career and won two Cups to Peluso’s one.

191. Vladimir Malakhov

Also Considered: Martin Erat, Ian White

Malakhov and Erat both got some consideration for awards at some point in their careers, but even though Erat had the longer career, Malakhov edges out slightly here for producing at a similar rate as a defenseman, and winning a Cup with the Devils. And no, being part of one of the worst trades in the salary cap era did not hinder Erat here.

192. Jussi Jokinen

Also Considered: Filip Kuba

Both Jokinen and Kuba had lengthy careers in the NHL, and were also the only players to have more than 100 games, never mind the respective 951 and 836 games that they had. I opted to go with Jokinen here, though, mostly he got votes for the Calder, Lady Byng and Selke over the course of his career.

More entries in the Best Player by Draft Pick series

_____

POST SPONSORED BY bet365