Top five late-round steals from the 2019 NHL Draft so far

Apr 28, 2025, 09:00 EDT

Top five late-round steals from the 2019 NHL Draft so far

Credit: NHLI via Getty Images

Over the past few months, we’ve looked at the best late-round picks from the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 NHL Drafts.

Today, we’re going all the way back to the ancient year of 2019. You know, the last draft before the world changed for a bit. A total of 23 players have skated in at least 200 games, led by Seattle Kraken forward Kaapo Kakko (who was taken second overall by the New York Rangers). We’ve seen many become household names in the NHL already, and a few – including Jack Hughes and Matt Boldy – have represented their countries in best-on-best competition.

For today’s retrospective, we’re changing it up a bit. Since we have a lot more data to go off, we’re changing the “late-round” designation from being selected after pick No. 100 to taken in the fifth round or later. Those are true late-round picks, selected after more than half the players already had their names called.

So, let’s take a look at what we’ve got:

Mark Kastelic, RW (Boston Bruins via Ottawa Senators)

Drafted: No. 125th overall, fifth round

Kastelic was part of the Linus Ullmark trade last summer, and it felt more like a throw-in piece than anything. But Sens fans liked him for the way he laid everything on the line in a depth role. He quickly became a fan favorite this year, throwing his body around just about every time he could. He had a career-high 14 points and 106 penalty minutes this season while finishing 21st in the NHL in hits.

Away from the scoresheet, he’s as competitive as they come, and he’s always willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win. The Bruins missed out on the playoffs, and an upper-body injury caused him to miss the final 12 games of the season. But he was a true heart-and-soul piece for a team that had very little going for them this year, and that’s all you can ask for sometimes from a fourth-liner.

Dustin Wolf, G (Calgary Flames)

Drafted: 214th overall, seventh round

It’s still wild that Wolf fell as far as he did. Sure, pundits pointed to his six-foot frame and said he was too small. But his stats in Everett were absolutely too good to let him fall that far, and he always had the pure, raw ability. He led the WHL with a .936 save percentage in his draft year. He did the same the next year but also took home the WHL and CHL’s top goalie awards. In 2020-21, he helped USA win gold at the World Juniors and yet again took home the Del Wilson Trophy as the WHL’s top keeper.

The move to the pro game was always going to be the big challenge for Wolf, but he delivered. He won the top AHL goaltender award not once, but twice. It’s rare for a rookie to do it, but Wolf managed to lead the AHL in wins in back-to-back years. Heck, had he not spent so much time in the NHL last year, he would have probably won it again. That’s a four-year stretch where he was the best goaltender in any league he played in, which is a stupid-crazy run. Wolf will earn serious consideration for the Calder Trophy this year, and will definitely get some votes for the Vezina, too. Calgary has its goalie of the future – and, somehow, they got him with the fourth-last pick in 2019.

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, RW (Montreal Canadiens)

Drafted: 201st overall, seventh round

The Canadiens’ scouting department did an excellent job of finding hidden gems in the latter rounds during the 2000s. While the 2010s were hit or miss, they have to be happy with how RHP turned out. The 26-year-old was already a double overager when they took the undersized 5-foot-9 winger. But he was productive, energetic, and good in all three zones. Injuries sort of derailed his most recent season, but he made a big impact with 14 goals and 20 points in 34 games in 2022-23.

Since then, he has become more of a depth forward, but one who is competent enough to earn the odd call-up and not look out of place. He’s set to become an RFA this summer and likely won’t cost too much. But given he had to overcome the odds of being a smaller player passed over twice to get to where he is, there’s a lot to like. hopefully, he can get back on track, stay healthy and remain a fixture in the organization. Montreal is deeper than when he first cracked through, so his NHL days might be limited in Quebec. But given where they took him, RHP turned out to be a decent find for the Canadiens.

Juuso Pärssinen, LW (New York Rangers via Nashville Predators)

Drafted: 210th overall, seventh round

Pärssinen was a busy guy this season, playing for three NHL teams. He struggled to produce across the board, but he played his best hockey with the Rangers to close out the season. Pärssinen is a skilled winger who put up excellent numbers in his final two years with TPS in Finland. Consistency issues plagued him in the NHL, but he can still be a decent depth contributor in the right situation.

Pärssinen has never been a stout skater, which has hurt his NHL potential. In his draft year, he was more of a depth player who could produce in spurts in the Finnish U-20 league, but there weren’t signs of him ever being a real NHL target. But after putting up great numbers in Finland and playing a decent role at the 2021 World Juniors, the hype started to grow. Pärssinen, by all accounts, was a true late bloomer, and one who didn’t need to rely on a big 6-foot-3 frame to push him to the pro ranks.

Artūrs Šilovs, G (Vancouver Canucks)

Drafted: 156th overall, sixth round

The highs have been high – and none more so than when he took home top goaltender honors at the 2023 World Championship. Šilovs put up solid numbers this year while sharing the crease with Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young, so there’s still that going for him. But you have to wonder if the Canucks think Šilovs actually has a long-term future with the club. He has another year left on his deal – but if he gets another call-up, he needs to make the most of it. Still, getting 10 playoff games last year out of a sixth-round pick is nothing to squawk at.

The Latvian goaltender has seen his stock drop a little bit this season after struggling in the NHL. But we can’t ignore the fact that the’s had some splendid moments in the NHL. He played well during the 2023-24 playoffs when forced into a starter’s role after Thatcher Demko got injured. Many wondered if he’d get more playing time in 2024-25, only for the club to bring in veteran Kevin Lankinen. At 24, Šilovs isn’t young, but he still has some runway left.

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