Best player at every NHL Draft pick: #97-128
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 4, where players are mostly picked for putting together a lengthy NHL career, never mind a decorated one.
As a disclaimer: “Round 4” means picks 97-128. So you’ll find some “fourth-rounders” here who were fifth-rounders and sixth-rounders in their actual draft years.
97. Johan Franzen
Also Considered: Richard Smehlik
Franzen was still a complementary top-six forward for Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and had some Selke Trophy votes in his earlier seasons. He was a crucial cog on their 2007-08 Stanley Cup champion team, burying 13 goals in 16 games, including five game-winners.
98. Craig Smith
Also Considered: Ted Donato
At this stage of the draft, you aren’t always likely to get big impact players, so you want to go for longevity at this point. Enter Craig Smith, who has the most games (853) and points (414) out of anyone at pick #98, and just for good measure, he got some Calder Trophy votes in his rookie year in 2012.
99. Juuse Saros
Also Considered: Shawn Horcoff
Horcoff hit 1,000 games in the league, and had a few really productive years and some Selke votes, but he hasn’t quite been as prominent in his position like Juuse Saros has been. From 2021 to 2023, he finished sixth, third, and four in Vezina Trophy voting. He on the All-Rookie team in 2018 got some votes for the Hart Trophy and some All-Star teams, and he is arguably one of the top five goalies in the league right now.
100. Garry Galley
Also Considered: No one
Galley is the only real player of note at pick #100, being the only player to play more than 500 games and score more than 150 points, and he finished with 599 points in 1,149 games as a defenseman. He also got some votes for the All-Star team, particularly in his 70-point season in 1993-94.
101. Michal Handzus
Also Considered: No one
Handzus is another example of being the only player in a draft slot to hit 1,000 games, and while he wasn’t super productive outside of a couple of 50 points seasons, he was a finalist for the Selke in just his second season, and he secured a Stanley Cup in his second-last season with the Blackhawks.
102. Mattias Ekholm
Also Considered: Greg Millen
Mattias Ekholm has never really been in the spotlight in his career, as he’s always played with bigger names on defense whether it’s Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, P.K. Subban or Shea Weber in Nashville or Evan Bouchard in Edmonton, but he’s about as steady as they come for defensive defenseman, and has unfortunately only been recognized for that once with Norris votes in 2019.
103. Thomas Steen
Also Considered: Keith Acton
Not only was Steen the most productive player at pick #103 with 817 points in 950 games, including two 80-point seasons, he also was recognized for his defensive game on several occasions with Selke votes, particularly when he finished eighth in voting in 1989.
104. Johnny Gaudreau
Also Considered: No one
Finally, some elite talent again. Johnny Gaudreau was a member of the All-Rookie team in 2015 and the All-Star team in 2022, won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2017, and has twice found himself just outside of the Hart finalists, finishing fourth in voting in 2019 and 2022. At his best, he’s one of the top wingers in the game today, even if he hasn’t hit that form since joining the Blue Jackets.
105. Keith Yandle
Also Considered: Michal Rozsival
Uncovering one defenseman this deep in the draft that had a lengthy stay in the NHL is impressive, never mind two, so I’m sure you’ll take either Rozsival or Yandle here. Rozsival has two Cups, but Yandle had the higher peak with Norris votes in several seasons with the Coyotes, and he also briefly held the iron man streak before Phil Kessel claimed it the season after his retirement.
106. Christian Ehrhoff
Also Considered: Aaron Broten, Sami Vatanen
At his peak, Ehrhoff was an excellent defensive defenseman, and he even once had a 50-point season, earning him Norris votes three times and All-Star votes three times. He also played the most games out of anyone at pick #106, so he gets some bonus points for longevity here.
107. Kirk McLean
Also Considered: Gerard Gallant
McLean and Gallant were the only players to play more than 600 games at pick #107, and with both having good, but not exceptional careers, it came down to what they got recognized for. Both were named to All-Star teams, and Gallant got Selke votes twice, but McLean was twice a Vezina finalist in his career, and once finished just outside of the Hart finalists in fourth in 1992.
108. Kevin Stevens
Also Considered: Devon Toews, Niklas Hjalmarsson
I almost went with Toews here for the success that he’s had already, including his Cup win in 2022 and Norris votes in three straight seasons. But Stevens also had his fair share of recognition in his career making three consecutive All-Star teams from 1991 to 1993, and also finishing eighth in Hart voting in 1992.
109. Paul MacLean
Also Considered: No one
While MacLean didn’t get anything in his trophy case until he won a Jack Adams Award as a head coach with the Senators, he did have a relatively productive career as a player with 673 points in 719 games played. He did get votes to the All-Star Team in 1985 when he had 101 points, so he did get some recognition for his accomplishments.
110. Shawn McEachern
Also Considered: Dave Lowry
McEachern and Lowry are the two standouts at pick #110, but McEachern definitely has Lowry beat in terms of accomplishments. He had the better production of the two, won a Cup, and had more votes for awards, although neither player ever actually won one.
111. Miroslav Satan
Also Considered: Steve Smith, Jeremy Swayman
Satan had a strong career in the NHL, rarely as the top forward but as an excellent secondary scoring option for his team, and he produced quite well during the Dead Puck Era. The greatest crime is that a man with the last name of Satan never played for the Devils. At least he got his Cup with the Penguins.
112. Viktor Arvidsson
Also Considered: Philipp Grubauer, Doug Crossman
I probably would have gone with Grubauer since he was a Vezina finalist in 2021 and won a Cup (albeit as a backup), but his past three years in Seattle have really given his reputation a hit. Instead, I’ll go with Viktor Arvidsson, who when not injured is a strong two-way winger that can produce in the 50-60 point range.
113. Pavel Bure
Also Considered: No one
It was slim pickings at pick #113 anyways with only 11 players ever making it to the NHL, but Bure would have been an easy pick regardless. With 779 points in just 702 games, a Calder, three league goal-scoring crowns, three All-Star Teams, and a spot in the Hall of Fame, very few players had the speed and skill that he brought to the game during his time in the league.
114. T.J. Brodie
Also Considered: Darren Turcotte, Garth Snow
While T.J. Brodie didn’t get a ton of recognition for his steady defensive game outside of Norris votes in 2015, he had some consistency and reliability to his game that made him the perfect defensive complement to some great defensemen like Mark Giordano and Morgan Rielly.
115. Ryan Malone
Also Considered: Ted Bulley
Malone and Bulley were the only players at pick #115 to get more than 100 points in their careers, and Malone takes this one considering he had more points in a lower scoring era and more longevity in the league, along with some Calder votes in his rookie season.
116. Miikka Kiprusoff
Also Considered: Dallas Drake
Drake provides some intrigue hitting the 1,000 game mark, but it’s hard to not go with Kiprusoff here. He was a consistently great goaltender for the Flames in the 2000s, highlighted by his Vezina win in 2006 and his play during their run to the Cup Final in 2004.
117. Brett Hull
Also Considered: No one
There were a couple other decent names that had long careers like Adrian Aucoin and Jaroslav Spacek, but this is no contest. Hull is one of the best goal-scorers in the game, and along with two Cups and a Hart, he has two 70-goal seasons and one other with 86, the most by any player not named Wayne Gretzky. In fact, that 86-goal season is considered the best goal-scoring season when adjusting for era. Even with hindsight, it’s a surprise that the son of Bobby Hull went as late as what was the sixth round when he was drafted in 1984.
118. Igor Shesterkin
Also Considered: Tommy Salo, Lubomir Visnovsky
Salo and Visnovsky have had more longevity in the league, but what Igor Shesterkin has already done in just 158 games is very impressive. It took just his second season as a starting goalie to capture his first Vezina, and he’s twice played a big part in helping a Rangers team punching slightly above its weight reach the Conference Final.
119. Ron Hextall
Also Considered: Reijo Ruotsalainen, Magnus Arvedson
Hextall’s career started off with a bang, winning the Vezina in his rookie season (but not the Calder), and then becoming one of five players up to this point to win a Conn Smythe Trophy on the losing team in the playoffs. He didn’t win any awards after that, but he did have a great career, mostly with the Flyers to become their franchise’s leader in wins and games played among goalies, and he’s also one of just two goalies to score multiple goals in their careers.
120. Steve Larmer
Also Considered: Jaccob Slavin
Slavin got some heavy consideration considering that he’s been regarded as one of, if not the best defensive defenseman in the league since joining in 2015 and getting plenty of Norris votes over it, but I opted to go with Larmer for his production longevity, Cup win and Calder, as well as some votes over the years for the Selke and the Hart.
121. Rick Tocchet
Also Considered: Gustav Nyquist
It was actually quite close between Tocchet and Nyquist, especially with Nyquist getting Lady Byng votes over the years, and surprisingly, both players have been voted for the Hart at one point in their careers. However, I ultimately went with Tocchet, not so just for the production, but for how long he stuck around in the league. With Nyquist already at age 34, the 360 games he’d need to catch up to Tocchet feels like a longshot.
122. Chris Mason
Also Considered: Dmitry Yushkevich, Tim Sweeney
Despite only being a true starting goalie for four seasons, Mason managed to put together an interesting resume, mostly just by getting votes for the Vezina and Hart during his career. Oh, and he’s one of 14 different goalies to score a goal (even if it was an own goal).
123. Craig Conroy
Also Considered: Zach Hyman, Sean O’Donnell
On top of Conroy being one of the two players at pick #123 to reach 1,000 games and also being the highest scoring player despite spending some of his career in the Dead Puck Era, he also is the easy choice here because of his consistent Selke votes over the years.
124. Marty Turco
Also Considered: Mike McPhee
McPhee got his fair share of Selke votes over the years, but Turco’s peak as a goalie tops McPhee here. On top of being on the second All-Star team in 2003, Turco was in the top five in Vezina votes from 2003 to 2006, and also got Hart votes in that same span.
125. Rejean Lemelin
Also Considered: No one
To put the dire straits of pick #125, Lemelin is not only the games played leader as a goalie, he’s also fourth among all players in points. That’s not a slight on Lemelin, who had a respectable career with a Jennings trophy on his resume, along with votes for the Hart and Vezina.
126. Gustav Forsling
Also Considered: Torrey Mitchell
Mitchell has had the longer career up to this point, largely in part to Gustav Forsling being a late bloomer, but the past few seasons has seen the Panthers defenseman blossom into one of the best shutdown defenders in the league. We’ll see where that takes him over the remainder of his career, but it makes him an easy pick for the time being.
127. Ryan Callahan
Also Considered: Matt Calvert
At his best, Callahan was one of the better power forwards in the league, and a valuable player and leader to both the Rangers and the Lightning. The latter stages of his career were a bit more inconsistent, but when you’re this late in the draft, you’ll gladly take a few really good seasons out of a player.
128. Brian Mullen
Also Considered: Greg Stefan, Jan Hrdina
It’s slim pickings for the final pick of the “fourth round,” but Mullen has a 200+ gap on the next best player in games played and a 300+ gap in points, so he seems like the best choice for putting together the best career here.
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More entries in the Best Player by Draft Pick series
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