Best player at every NHL Draft pick: Round 1
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 imaging 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 pick 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 the big names and the highly touted prospects taken in Round 1.
1. Mario Lemieux
Also Considered: Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin
You know you’re looking at an elite crop of players to choose from when players like Joe Thornton, Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon aren’t even thought of right away, but it’s the first overall selection for a reason. The other considerations would be the easy choice in any other selection, but it’s hard not to go with Lemieux here. He’s the only player along with Bobby Orr to truly challenge Wayne Gretzky for the title of best player in NHL history, and maybe Lemieux would have gotten there if not for his various health issues in his career.
2. Marcel Dionne
Also Considered: Evgeni Malkin, Chris Pronger
While Dionne never won a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings, he did become the first superstar in the franchise’s history. Through 12 seasons in Los Angeles, he was their first player to average at least a point-per-game over a full season, and he holds six of the franchise’s 13-highest scoring seasons from a player. He also holds the franchise record for points in a season and finished his career sixth all-time in scoring.
3. Scott Neidermayer
Also Considered: Denis Savard, Pat LaFontaine
I was a bit indecisive between the three with this one, but I ultimately settled with Neidermayer because of the team success he achieved on the professional and international stage and the fact that he had distinct points in his career where he was easily one of the best at his position. In his earlier years he excelled with the New Jersey Devils and was solid offensively considering the system of that team, and then he showed us what he was capable offensively in his later years, including a career-high of 69 points with the Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07.
4. Steve Yzerman
Also Considered: Ron Francis, Roberto Luongo, Cale Makar, Larry Murphy
I was very close to going with Makar on this one just because of how good he’s already been so early on in his career, but I’d be projecting a lot of his career to truly go with that pick. Instead, it’s Yzerman, the face of the Red Wings in a super-competitive era for the team that had so many players that could have been the face of the team too. He’s one of six players to score 150 points in a season, he finished his career seventh all-time in points, and he was only 95 points back of Gordie Howe for the Wings franchise record despite playing 253 fewer games.
5. Jaromir Jagr
Also Considered: Scott Stevens
This one wasn’t even close. Jagr finished his career with 1,921 points, and the next closest player drafted fifth overall was nearly 1,000 points behind (Phil Kessel with 992). Stevens was a feared force on blueline over his career, but Jagr just clears every player at that selection, as no one had the peak success or the longevity that Jagr had. He finished his NHL career second all-time in scoring, and while that comes from playing the fourth most games over the course of almost 30 seasons, he still finished nearly 200 points above a point-per-game, and playing that late into your 40s in the top hockey league is also impressive. Plus, he’s still playing games as recently as this season, although not quite at the same frequency.
6. Paul Coffey
Also Considered: Peter Forsberg, Phil Housley
Forsberg and Coffey were neck-and-neck in this one, and Forsberg almost won with what he did in his injury-riddled career, but ultimately I went with Coffey at #6. Forsberg had a Hart Trophy and two Stanley Cups, but Coffey has four Cups and three Norris’, along with ranking second all-time for points by a defenseman. Forsberg probably has a similar legacy if his career lasts longer, but that’s like saying Lemieux would challenge Gretzky’s records if he stayed healthy.
7. Bernie Federko
Also Considered: Shane Doan, Quinn Hughes, Mark Scheifele
Pick #7 was a tough one mostly due to how much weaker the selection pool was compared to other picks in this range. Obviously there are still some great players to pick from, but not nearly as many franchise-altering players like what we’ve seen so far, as proven by the fact that I considered both Hughes and Scheifele for the spot when there’s a lot more uncertainty with their careers. Ultimately I went with Federko, the lone player in the draft to play at least 1,000 games and be above a point-per-game.
8. Ray Bourque
Also Considered: Jeremy Roenick, Darryl Sittler, Grant Fuhr
Roenick, Sittler and Fuhr had their fair share of success in the NHL, but they’re up against one of the more decorated NHL defensemen in the league’s history in Bourque. On top of a Calder trophy, five Norris trophies, and a Cup in the twilight of his career, he also holds the NHL record for most points in a career from a defenseman with 1,579, one that we won’t see get broken again for a while. To put it in perspective, the highest-scoring active defenseman, Brent Burns, is only 55.79% of the way there after 1,415 career games.
9. Brian Leetch
Also Considered: Rod Brind’Amour
There weren’t a lot of strong candidates for the #9 spot, so it mostly came down to Brind’Amour and Leetch for the pick here. While Brind’Amour had a fantastic career, he never really had a point during it where he was one of the best players in the league, a critique that’s also kept him out of the Hockey Hall of Fame up to this point. With a Calder, a Conn Smythe trophy, and two Norrises to go with his Cup and place in the Hall of Fame, Leetch meets that threshold in this conversation.
10. Teemu Selanne
Also Considered: Mikko Rantanen, Evan Bouchard
This pick was so easy, there wasn’t even any player selected at #10 who had completed their career in the same stratosphere of Selanne. I had to resort to Rantanen and Bouchard as other “considerations” only because their current career trajectories are at least somewhat of a conversation. Selanne started out better than any rookie ever has with his 76-goal, 132-point debut season, and then carved out a pretty consistent career, especially with the Anaheim Ducks.
11. Jarome Iginla
Also Considered: Anze Kopitar
It was hard not to go with Iginla here. While he never could win that elusive Cup with the Flames (although some will dispute to their graves that he should have in 2004) or anywhere else in his career, Iginla is the face of Calgary hockey for his illustrious career there.
12. Marian Hossa
Also Considered: Gary Roberts, Alex Tanguay
Hossa takes the top pick here, largely in part to his strong-two way play to go along with his excellent offense throughout his career. It never got him a Selke trophy, but he won three Cups so I don’t think he minds. Also, I love the fact that he found himself on the losing side of both Red Wings/Penguins finals in back-to-back seasons.
13. Jean-Sebastien Gigure
Also Considered: No one
For a draft pick that is still relatively high in the order, the 13th overall class does not have a lot of options. The top players in games played are Dustin Brown and Ron Hainsey and no player has scored at above a point-per-game in their careers. Amongst the goalies, Giguere is the only one with more than 60 games played, but he becomes the easy choice considering he was nearly unbeatable at the top of his game and is the only player in the last 37 years to win the Conn Smythe on the losing team in the Stanley Cup Final.
14. Ken Dryden
Also Considered: Brian Propp, Sergei Gonchar
Dryden really doesn’t need an introduction, as even in only eight seasons and 397 games, he left a lasting legacy on the goaltending position and the game. He has six Cups, five Vezina trophies, a Calder and a Conn Smythe on his resume, and also had some goaltending numbers that would be impressive even in today’s game, never mind the higher-scoring era that he played in.
15. Mike Bossy
Also Considered: Joe Sakic, Erik Karlsson, Al MacInnis
After a few “lighter” groups, pick #15 has a strong top-end talent that made it really tough to pick from. Sakic and MacInnis all had lengthy and legendary careers, and Karlsson’s prime scoring peak is up there with Bobby Orr’s relative to era, but even with a shorter career due to injuries, very few players match peak Bossy. 573 goals in just 752 games is insane, the highest goals per game of any player with at least 200 goals. Throw in a Calder, Conn Smythe and four Cups, and it had to be him.
16. Dave Andreychuk
Also Considered: Marcus Naslund
Another weaker group to choose from here, with only four players even clearing 500 points, but Andreychuk is far from a bad option. He was never the best player in the league, but he could put up points in his prime with the Sabres and Leafs, and he managed to secure a Cup with the Lightning in 2004 as the captain.
17. Bobby Clarke
Also Considered: No one
Even if there was a stronger group to pick from, it’s hard to not go with the guy who basically defined Philadelphia Flyers hockey. Even without the two Cups, the three Hart Trophies and a Selke to his name, Clarke is probably the first player that comes to mind when you think of the Flyers and the style they’ve consistently held throughout the years.
18. Petr Sykora
Also Considered: Teuvo Teravainen, Thomas Harley
I nearly went with more of a projected prediction with this pick with Teravainen (and even more so with Harley), but up to this point, neither player has had seasons like Sykora has at his peak, nor have they had the championship success like Sykora’s two Cups.
19. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Also Considered: Keith Tkachuk, Ryan Getzlaf
Tkachuk and Getzlaf have both had excellent careers, but neither player was ever the best player in the league, even in their prime. Despite the fact that Andrei Vasilevskiy still has several years left in his career barring injuries, he’s already established a top tier resume for a goaltender with two Cups, a Conn Smythe and a Vezina, and has been the best goaltender for the past 5+ seasons, hold for any debate over Connor Hellebuyck.
20. Martin Brodeur
Also Considered: Larry Robinson, Michel Goulet
Say what you will about where Brodeur ranks among the best goalies in the league, but there’s no doubt that he has been one of, if not the most successful goalie of all time. Three Cups, four Vezinas, a Calder, he retired having lapped the field in career wins and shutouts, and even has three goals to his name.
21. Tuukka Rask
Also Considered: No one
Rask doesn’t boast the biggest trophy collection for goalies, with only one Vezina and a Cup that he was on the bench for, but he did have a run of remarkable consistency considering how volatile the position is. In his 12 seasons with at least 20 games played, his lowest save percentage in a season was .912. Most teams would definitely take that kind of career from a goalie.
22. Bryan Trottier
Also Considered: Claude Giroux
While Giroux has had an impressive career, especially for a late first-round draft pick, Trottier was one of the key centerpieces of the Islanders’ four-peat dynasty, also winning a Calder, Hart, Art Ross and Conn Smythe in his time in Long Island. And for good measure, he won a couple more Cups with the Penguins as well.
23. Ray Whitney
Also Considered: No one
Whitney was never an elite player, only surpassing 80 points just once in his career, but he was always consistently really good, only really seeing his play drop off in his final season before retirement.
24. Danny Briere
Also Considered: Sean Burke, Alex Steen, T.J. Oshie
Much like Whitney, Briere didn’t have a lot of high peaks in his career outside of his 95-point season in 2006-07, but he was always consistently very good. Well, at least in the regular season. Come playoff time, he was a whole different player, and it’s a crime that he never played for a team good enough to win a Cup.
25. Mark Howe
Also Considered: David Pastrnak
Pastrnak is already making a career for himself, and came pretty close to nabbing this spot, and Howe wasn’t quite as good as his father, but he was still incredible in his time in the league. Even without anything in his trophy case (at the NHL level), he had multiple 80-point seasons as a defenseman and was a strong offensive weapon from the back end.
26. Claude Lemieux
Also Considered: Cory Schneider, Tage Thompson, Jake Oettinger, Shea Theodore
There were a lot of players at #26 that I could make a case due to having really high peaks, or having the potential to be better than Lemieux, but none of them has the resume (yet) that Lemieux brings. He’s the kind of pesky, scoring agitator type that teams are still drooling over to this day, so it’s hard to deny him this spot for now.
27. Joe Nieuwendyk
Also Considered: No One
With three Cups, a Conn Smythe, a Calder and more than 1,000 points to his name, Nieuwendyk easily takes the top spot at #27. It’s admittedly a weaker class, so it certainly made it an easier choice, but I’m sure a lot of teams would have taken Nieuwendyk on their roster during his prime.
28. Corey Perry
Also Considered: Justin Williams, Mike Richter
Williams had plenty of great playoff moments, and Richter was the Rangers’ most successful goaltender pre-Henrik Lundqvist and has their only Cup since 1940, but it’s hard not to pick Corey Perry here. The Hart trophy alone puts him above the rest, but you have to respect his run of five Cup Final appearances with five different teams as well.
29. Stephane Richer
Also Considered: Teppo Numminen
This wasn’t exactly an elite crop of players like we’ve seen so far in the first round, and I was quite torn picking between both Richer and Numminen. However, Richer had the higher peaks, especially with his 51-goal, 91-point season, and two Cups ultimately led to the decision swinging his way.
30. Randy Carlyle
Also Considered: Patrice Brisebois
Carlyle and Brisebois were the only players with more than 1,000 games played, and while Brisebois does have a Cup on Carlyle (as a player at least), Carlyle was much more productive in his career, especially with his Norris-winning season in 1980-81 where he had 83 points in 76 games.
31. Felix Potvin
Also Considered: No One
This is another one that wasn’t really close. Jacob Markstrom might be in the conversation depending on how his career ends, but there isn’t another goalie beyond that, and the most productive forward is Dave “Tiger” Williams with 513 points in 962 games. Potvin didn’t get a lot of accolades, but he had longevity in the league, and is one of the best goalies in the history of one of the most historic franchises in the Maple Leafs.
32. Ron Greschner
Also Considered: Tony McKegney, Jim Carey
I’ll admit, we’re getting into the territory where I won’t have heard of a lot of the pre-cap era players, so I almost picked Carey for winning a Vezina in an otherwise brief career. But, Greschner and McKegney were the most productive players at #32, and since Greschner did it as a blueliner, he wins out here.
_____
_____
Hey, hockey heads! Get ready for The Daily Faceoff Playoff Parlay Challenge! Each game day, answer four playoff prediction questions like who will win the first game, will points be over or under or what will be the highest-scoring period? Daily winners snag gift cards, while each round’s champs pocket cash! Play now at games.dailyfaceoff.com and prove your puck prowess! It’s fast, it’s fun, and it’s all about hockey! Let’s go!