McDavid? MacKinnon? 10 NHL stars who were drafted to the KHL

Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Since the WHA folded in the 1970s, the NHL hasn’t had a true challenger at the top of the hockey ladder.

But if the Kontinental Hockey League had its way in the late 2000s, it would have been. The idea was to build the strongest league in Europe, with Russia being the base. From there, teams would be recruited from all across the continent, including Belarus, China, Croatia, Finland, Latvia and Kazakhstan. The money was solid, the hockey was good and many high-end players elected to join the league while still being solid NHL stars. Most notably, Jaromir Jagr and Ilya Kovalchuk jumped ship early.

In 2009, the KHL held its first junior draft. The rules were simple: players had to be 17-21 years old. They also couldn’t have an active contract in the KHL, its second-tier VHL, or the junior MHL. Most European programs develop kids from a young age and keep their rights all the way up. The KHL is no different. But this draft format allowed for more players to get an opportunity to get selected or even switch allegiances.

Going through the archives, some of the draft picks were absolutely wild. The NHL has a set seven-round draft with each team typically using their allotted picks, or trading away what they don’t want. But in the KHL, teams would just skip their picks if they didn’t have anyone they wanted – that’s why you saw 91 players taken in 2009, 208 in 2014 and 147 in 2016, just list a few.

Here’s the thing: teenagers can play in the KHL before they’re drafted to the NHL. So, in theory, a 17-year-old Connor McDavid could have spent a season tearing it up with Zagreb instead of punishing OHL goaltenders in 2014-15.

For these 10 players – and many more – there was never a real chance of them going to the KHL. It’s crazy to think these guys could have, though. The draft hasn’t existed since 2016, so let’s have some fun looking back at the biggest names who were taken:

Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames

Drafted: Fifth overall in 2011 by Vityaz Chekhov

Surprise! Chekhov is back, and with the gutsiest pick of them all. For the most part, players on this list were taken a year before they were drafted to the NHL. But a month before Huberdeau was taken third overall by the Florida Panthers, Vityaz Chekhov figured they’d try to convince Huberdeau to give up on his NHL dreams to play in the KHL instead (keep the name Vityaz in your head for the next few minutes). Using a top-five pick was remarkably bold – especially with Andrei Vasilevskiy taken two spots later by Ufa, his youth team.

Huberdeau remained in Canada to finish his junior career and would split his 2012-13 season between Saint John and Florida. He’s been an NHLer ever since, and while he hasn’t been close to putting up the 115 points in Calgary that he did in Florida back in 2021-22, he’s on pace for 31 goals and 62 points this year, which would be the best output of his tenure in Alberta.

Taylor Hall, Carolina Hurricanes

Drafted: 89th overall in 2009 by Ak Bars Kazan

The 2010 NHL Draft battle between Hall and Tyler Seguin was one of the most exciting in league history. But the year prior, Kazan made just one selection in the KHL Draft – Hall at No. 89. It was the first draft the league had, and many teams didn’t utilize it too much. By throwing a pick out for Hall, they must have thought they could hit gold if things went south for Hall back home.

Hall ultimately made the right choice and committed to Edmonton after going No. 1 overall the following June. And while present-day Taylor Hall isn’t as impressive as 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall, he’s still a serviceable player. But playoff success has alluded him, and had he instead committed to Kazan, he could have won the 2018 KHL championship while playing for a perennial top-five team ever since.

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

Drafted: 114th overall in 2012 by Vityaz Chekhov

From an early age, it was clear MacKinnon was going to be able to physically handle the rigors the NHL threw his way. He was never huge, but he was built strong and had the speed and hockey IQ to dominate just about any game he played in. His 140-point campaign in 2023-24 was easily one of the most incredible in the 21st Century. He won’t reach that this year, but he’s on track to blast past 120 points again.

But before he went first overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, MacKinnon did something very few top picks out of the CHL get to do: he won the Memorial Cup. The Halifax Mooseheads star had 13 points in just four games in 2013. At the time, it was the best production the tournament had ever had in the 21st Century (Mitch Marner had 14 points two years later).

Could MacKinnon have handled the challenge the KHL offered at the time? You’d have to think so, although the team missed the playoffs by a mile. The organization still exists today (as Vityaz Moscow Region), but they have yet to make it out of the conference quarterfinal since.

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings

Drafted: 132nd overall in 2013 by Vityaz Chekhov

Larkin is one of the NHL’s most explosive skaters and is a staple of the Red Wings roster. He grew up in Michigan, played all his junior and college hockey in the state and has become one of the best players to suit up for the boys in red and white for his entire career. But before he was taken 15th overall by the Red Wings in 2014, Vityaz once again used their connections in North America, selecting Larkin 132nd in 2013.

Given he had already told the Erie Otters no – missing out on the chance to play alongside McDavid – Vityaz had no chance of making that happen. Larkin instead played with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program to play alongside Eichel, Alex Tuch, Sonny Milano and, for a little bit, Matthews. The USNTDP won gold at the U-18s, and Larkin would win bronze with the senior men’s national team the following year. With more than 550 points and 700 games played, Larkin has done quite alright for himself.

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Drafted: 77th overall in 2014 by Medvescak Zagreb

Injuries impacted McDavid’s 2015 NHL Draft season after he injured his hand in a fight. Still, he managed to put up an absolutely mind-boggling 44 goals and 120 points in just 44 games before putting up a further 49 points in 20 post-season games with the Erie Otters. Tack on a gold medal at the World Juniors and a spot on the tournament all-star team, and it was like he was playing on easy mode.

But what if he took a year to explore Europe and instead spent the 2014-15 season with Medvescak Zagreb? The club drafted him in the second round that year – and had he made the move, he would have joined a team with 28 players with NHL experience. Zagreb came 23rd out of 28 teams that season, so McDavid would have given them a nice boost of speed and skill – and perhaps it would have made him even stronger, too. We did see Auston Matthews go the Europe route the year after, but he instead took his talents to the National League in Switzerland. We haven’t seen a star North American player follow in his footsteps ever since.

Financial issues resulted in the Croatian-based Medvescak Zagreb team moving to the Austrian league for 2017 – but could you imagine if McDavid became a star there?

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers

Drafted: 171st overall in 2013 by Vityaz Chekhov

Ekblad earned exceptional status into the OHL in 2011, and it was easy to see why. He was already 6-foot-4 and already looked and played like an NHL veteran. While injuries have limited his true big-league potential, he has been a high-end defenseman throughout his career. When he’s healthy, he’s good for at least 40 points while playing a leading role for the Panthers.

After taking Jack Eichel 52nd and Larkin 132nd, Vityaz decided to just go all-in and take Ekblad at 171. He’d go 170 spots higher in the NHL Draft the following year before immediately making the jump to the NHL a few months later. To date, the 29-year-old has spent his entire NHL career with the Panthers. But could that change? He’s set to become a UFA for the first time this summer. It’ll be interesting to see if he sticks around to keep the team’s Stanley Cup window alive or if he’ll instead chase bigger money elsewhere. But one thing is for sure: he’s definitely not heading to Vityaz.

Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers

Drafted: 137th overall in 2012 by Vityaz Chekhov

Trocheck was always a skilled forward who could kill penalties. But compared to others on here, he wasn’t as highly rated. Trocheck was taken 64th overall by the Panthers in 2011, a month after going 137th to Vityaz. Trocheck decided sticking in the OHL was the right move for him, and he took home MVP honors in 2012-13 after putting up 109 points.

It took Trocheck a few years to establish himself, but he’s now a two-time 70-point player in the NHL, with his career-best coming 77 a year ago. While Trocheck might not be as productive as many others on this list, he’s still a good penalty killer and recently played a depth role with USA’s 4 Nations team en route to a second-place finish.

Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers

Drafted: 25th in 2014 by Dinamo Riga

People who don’t follow the Flyers closely might not realize how good Konecny can be. He’s on pace for a career-best 88 points this year and was one of Canada’s extra forwards at the recent 4 Nations Face-Off. The energetic forward is great with the puck, and he’s typically one of Philadelphia’s top players most nights.

The Flyers took Konecny 24th overall in 2015 – one spot higher than Dinamo Riga took him the year prior. Riga then took another Canadian, Jeremy Roy, with the next pick. Roy was selected 31st overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2015, but never made it to the NHL. Ironically enough, he’s in his third season with… Vityaz. Kocnecy decided that serving as captain of the Ottawa 67’s was a better idea than rerouting his entire life and potentially hurting his draft stock. In 2016, he became a full-time NHLer, and he has played all nine of his NHL seasons in Philadelphia.

Dinamo Riga – which housed many of Latvia’s top players – never went on to qualify for the playoffs after the 2013-14 season and pulled out of the KHL in 2022 in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They spent one year in the Latvian league before folding altogether in 2023.

Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning

Drafted: 167th overall in 2013 by Traktor Chelyabinsk

Despite being a high draft pick in the WHL, Point was never a sure thing. He was undersized, and scouts wondered if his skill would translate well to the NHL. But just in case it didn’t, Traktor Chelyabinsk took a flier on him in 2013, a year before the Lightning selected him at 79th overall. At the time, they were one of the hottest teams in the KHL – they finished first in the standings two years prior and fell in the championship final in 2013. The team would see some major roster overhauls occur during the summer. but Point would have brought a nice mix of speed and skill to a team that had Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andrei Kostitsyn, Jan Bulis and Ian White.

Instead, Point would register an impressive 91 points with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors before winning World Junior gold as Canada’s 13th forward in 2015. In 2016, he was team captain. By 2021, he had two Stanley Cups, and most recently, he played a big role as Canada won gold at the 4 Nations Face-Off. So it’s safe to say things worked out for Point in the end – but Chelyabinsk does sit first in the KHL right now.

Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights

Drafted: 52nd overall in 2013 by Vityaz Chekhov

Before the Buffalo Sabres took him second overall in 2015, Eichel embarked on one of the most impressive NCAA seasons of all time at Boston College. The USA Hockey National Team Development Program alum had put up some incredible numbers in junior, and most scouts expected him to become a star in college. With 71 points in 40 games – and just about every award you could possibly dream of – Eichel established himself as one of the best prospects in hockey, and a No. 1 pick in most other years when Connor McDavid wasn’t in the picture.

But just one year after Vityaz took a chance on MacKinnon, they decided to use a draft pick on Eichel. It was a crazy draft for the team that year, actually, given they also selected Dylan Larkin and Aaron Ekblad in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. Eichel clearly didn’t give it much thought because he stuck with his NCAA commitment and later became an NHL star, winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. But just think – Eichel, MacKinnon, Larkin, Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck… Vityaz wasn’t messing around.

Other notables: Ryan Strome, Anaheim Ducks (Amur Khabarovsk); Erik Gudbranson, Columbus Blue Jackets (Dynamo Moskva, 2009); Matt Dumba, Dallas Stars (Vityaz Chekhov); Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers (Salavat Yuleaev Ufa, 2011); Tyler Toffoli, San Jose Sharks (Traktor Chelyabinsk, 2010), Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals (Metallurg Magnitogorsk, 2014)

SPONSORED BY BET365