Entry draft into the NHL is more or less a lottery. You can have the best statistics, detailed analysis of the young players, or even interviews face-to-face, but you have no guarantees that the chosen player will fulfill his potential. It also works the other way.
Sometimes you draft a young guy in the fourth or fifth round, and he'll explode after a few seasons in the lower leagues. Continue reading and find out the biggest flops, surprises, and steals in the history of the NHL draft.
NHL Draft History: The Biggest Steals
Pavel Datsyuk from 171st place, Pekka Rinne from 258th place, and Pavol Demitra from 227th place? It can sound crazy, but these players really came through the NHL Draft in such places, which practically means that your chance to play in the best hockey league in the world is almost impossible. They did it and fought against all the odds. In the chart below, you will find some huge hockey legends, including Bure, Pavelski, Zetterberg, and Hašek.
| Name | Team | Draft Position | Year |
| Pavel Datsyuk | Detroit Red Wings | 171 | 1998 |
| Henrik Zetterberg | Detroit Red Wings | 210 | 1999 |
| Daniel Alfredsson | Ottawa Senators | 133 | 1993 |
| Henrik Lundqvist | New York Rangers | 205 | 2000 |
| Pekka Rinne | Nashville Predators | 258 | 2004 |
| Joe Pavelski | San Jose Sharks | 205 | 2003 |
| Luc Robitaille | Los Angeles Kings | 171 | 1984 |
| Jamie Benn | Dallas Stars | 129 | 2007 |
| Pavol Demitra | Ottawa Senators | 227 | 1993 |
| Pavel Bure | Vancouver Canucks | 113 | 1989 |
| Dominik Hašek | Chicago Blackhawks | 199 | 1983 |
| Peter Bondra | Washington Capitals | 156 | 1990 |
| Theo Fleury | Calgary Flames | 166 | 1987 |
NHL Draft History: The Biggest Flops
As we mentioned above, the NHL draft is a lottery. You can have a first overall pick, but you can still pick the wrong player. Well, he doesn't have to be bad or less talented, but he just won't fulfill his potential. Patrik Štefan, Nail Yakupov, or Morris Titanic (what a name) could tell. In the chart below, you will find the biggest flops in the history of the NHL draft.
| Name | Team | Draft Position | Year |
| Brian Lawton | Minnesota North Stars | 1 | 1983 |
| Patrik Štefan | Atlanta Trashers | 1 | 1999 |
| Daniel Dore | Quebec Nordiques | 5 | 1988 |
| Alexandre Daigle | Ottawa Senators | 1 | 1993 |
| Pavel Brendl | New York Rangers | 4 | 1999 |
| Scott Scissons | New York Islanders | 6 | 1990 |
| Nail Yakupov | Edmonton Oilers | 1 | 2012 |
| Wayne McBean | Los Angeles Kings | 4 | 1987 |
| Morris Titanic | Buffalo Sabres | 12 | 1973 |
| Nikita Filatov | Columbus Blue Jackets | 6 | 2008 |
| Rico Fata | Calgary Flames | 6 | 1998 |
| Brett Lindros | New York Islanders | 9 | 1994 |
NHL Draft History: The Best Picks Ever
Who is the best draft pick in NHL history? It's hard to tell. Several players became legends on the teams they were drafted by. Many of them won multiple Stanley Cups and changed hockey as we know it. Is Mark Messier a better pick than Jaromír Jágr, or is Mario Lemieux a better pick than Connor McDavid? It's up to your opinion and hockey preferences. In the chart below, you'll find the names that showed the hockey world that believing in them was the right decision.
| Name | Team | Draft Position | Year |
| Nicklas Lidström | Detroit Red Wings | 53 | 1989 |
| Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | 48 | 1979 |
| Patrick Roy | Montreal Canadiens | 51 | 1984 |
| Martin Brodeur | New Jersey Devils | 20 | 1990 |
| Jaromír Jágr | Pittsburgh Penguins | 5 | 1990 |
| Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1 | 1984 |
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 15 | 1977 |
| Steve Yzerman | Detroit Red Wings | 4 | 1983 |
| Jari Kurri | Edmonton Oilers | 69 | 1980 |
| Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1 | 2005 |
| Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers | 1 | 2015 |
| Ray Bourque | Boston Bruins | 8 | 1979 |
| Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | 1 | 2004 |
NHL Draft History: The Recent Years
IIt's not just a question of history, the draft surprises are still here. For example, no one expected that Juraj Slafkovský would become the overall number one pick for the Montreal Canadiens in 2022 and another Slovak talent, Šimon Nemec, would come for the New Jersey Devils in second place. A few years from now, we will discuss whether Slafkovský, Kakko, Hischier, Hughes, Nemec, Power, and others fulfilled their potential. And what about Macklin Celebrini, the most recent number one pick from the San Jose Sharks?
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