Often times, a team's success can depend on how well they have drafted over the years. We have to look no further than over the last two and a half seasons and see teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Washington Capitals dominate to prove this exact point.
While the Wings did it by finding late-round gems like Tomas Holmstrom at 247th overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Pavel Datsyuk at 171st overall in 1998, and Henrik Zetterberg at 210th overall in 1999, teams like Pittsburgh and Washington stockpiled first-rounders after years of shoddy finishes.
The Calgary Flames, incredibly, have managed to stay amidst the playoff race for the last few seasons despite having drafted poorly over the years.
In fact, because the Flames have consistently iced decent clubs over their 30-year history, they have never had a first-round pick in the top five.
Out of those 28 first-rounders selected, only Al Macinnis, Gary Roberts, Cory Stillman, Derek Morris, Trevor Kidd, Dan Quinn, Denis Gauthier, and Dion Phaneuf have made any sort of significant impact in the NHL. And the term "significant impact" can be used very loosely w ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Daniel Sallows
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