5 best and worst draft picks of the decade

Not going to argue that Benoit is on the list for "worst" (as if you needed me to mention that.) But I like how he mentioned our other "great" draft picks. Makes you really start to think that DR & co just got lucky on a few picks and had no clue what to look for when drafting.

I remember Krahn from his Hitmen days, he was big but he was terrible, and was playing on an elite team which severely inflated his stats, as seen by his huge dropoff the year after. Because he played for the junior team in the same city did not warrant overpicking him by about 4 rounds.

Pouliot is the only guy on the 5 "worst" who has a chance to turn things around, Svitov was a huge disappointment, I'd probably put him at #1 if I was doing a list, all that size and skill gone to waste. I got a shitload of his rookie cards and such, what a waste of money those were......

Not much of a surprise to see of the 5 "best" to consist of 4 Euro-league players, as it is much harder to grade a player over there as in the CHL. The one CHLer was in arguably the deepest draft of all-time and was still a top-50 pick.

the hitmen still owned/affiliated with Bret?

00Xtremeninja wrote:

the hitmen still owned/affiliated with Bret?

Flames own them.

ah ok. weren't they somehow tied to Bret Hart at one point though?

I love the picture at the top...with Vanek, Parise, Dustin Brown, Marc-Andre Fleury?

Vanek is an extremely weird looking person.

00Xtremeninja wrote:

ah ok. weren't they somehow tied to Bret Hart at one point though?

Yeah at the start. Wiki is your friend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Hitmen

Quote :

Graham James left his position as coach and general manager of the Swift Current Broncos to found the Hitmen in 1994.[1] James organized a group of eighteen investors in the club, including star National Hockey League players Theoren Fleury and Joe Sakic along with Bret Hart.

The club selected its name and logo as an homage to local wrestler and patron Bret "The Hitman" Hart. The team's distinctive pink, grey and black jerseys were also modeled after Hart's ring attire.

yeah i looked it up. I thought I remember him being more/sill involved in the club.

ah well, end derailment!

Dee Oh Cee wrote:

I love the picture at the top...with Vanek, Parise, Dustin Brown, Marc-Andre Fleury?

Vanek is an extremely weird looking person.

Pretty sweet pic, no doubt.

Horton, Staal, Kostitsyn Fleury. Michalek, Parise, Suter, Vanek, Brown. All have done well in the NHL. Not to mention the other good players to come from that draft.

The only one I really disagree with on that list is Shea Weber. A second round pick, despite how good it was and his justification, doesn't catapult him that high, IMO. Looking at the same draft, Wisconsin product Joe Pavelski is more worthy, IMO.

Hahaha...Puck Daddy missed the worst pick of the bunch for his criteria...

It has to be Patrik Stefan. A 1st Overall pick did little to nothing for the Thrashers and Stars; except live in infamy as that guy who choked on an open net allowing the Edmonton Oilers to tie the game and then win it in overtime.

The other selections are not too bad...but Stefan should still win, 1st Overall picks should be great. He was barely mediocre.

No way should puls be on that list, he has gotten to the nhl and still has a chance as well as shepp too, Theilen yes he should be here never even sniffed the nhl.

Agree on Shea Webber, but Hank Zetterberg is faaaar more deserving, should be #1, how often do you get an amazing 2 way player who puts up a 40g season.

KillerCarlson wrote:

Hahaha...Puck Daddy missed the worst pick of the bunch for his criteria...

It has to be Patrik Stefan. A 1st Overall pick did little to nothing for the Thrashers and Stars; except live in infamy as that guy who choked on an open net allowing the Edmonton Oilers to tie the game and then win it in overtime.

The other selections are not too bad...but Stefan should still win, 1st Overall picks should be great. He was barely mediocre.

forthewild wrote:

No way should puls be on that list, he has gotten to the nhl and still has a chance as well as shepp too, Theilen yes he should be here never even sniffed the nhl.

Agree on Shea Webber, but Hank Zetterberg is faaaar more deserving, should be #1, how often do you get an amazing 2 way player who puts up a 40g season.

Both Stefan and Zetterberg were drafted in 1999, which he says was the year before he started counting.

Fine, how did Dan Blackburn turn out? Poor kid had some issues but he ended up being a huge bust. Andrew Ladd hasn't quite tore it up like some thought he would. He was a top 3 pick.