Joined: May 2017
Posts: 134
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Chicago drafts really nice players later on in the draft. They've gotten guys like Kruger and Shaw in the 5th round and they get really nice depth pieces like Tyler Motte and Hinostroza. It would be nice to see them keep some of those picks like a Teravainen. But they tend to either get a lot of strong players like in 2011 where 7 of their 11 picks are playing somewhere in the NHL or at very least have had little stints at being in the NHL. Or they have drafts where all you get out of the draft is Ben Smith. They aren’t my first pick, but they are consistent in finding good players.
Surprisingly Buffalo has done very good recently, we just don't realize this because they traded everyone. But they have had players that are at least serviceable Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste, Grigorenko, Girgensons. The problem is they just have such a revolving door. This is a list of players drafted since 2007 who are playing on a team in the NHL other than the Sabers. Paul Byron, Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis, Marcus Folingo, Zack Kassian, Brayden Mcnabb, Mark Pysyk, Joel Armia, Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Zadorov, JT Compher. And if we go further back since 2000 add 8 more active players to that list.
Teams that do the worst:
Montreal: Only 4 players in their last 5 drafts have made the team. Currently they only have one in their lineup. (Lehkonen). There are two drafts that really stick out for success for Montreal 2007 (McDonagh, Pacioretty, Subban, Yannick Weber all NHL Caliber.) They had a success rate of 44%. That is a good draft especially since three of those names you can sell to fans. The other draft that stick out had a success rate of 40%. 2011 Jarred Tinordi (who at very least has played in the NHL) and Brendan Gallagher, who is Montreal's one "steal" of the draft as he was drafted in the 5th round at 147. I get that Montreal has some highly touted prospects--as few and far in between--but they do not historically draft well (in our conversation of the last 10 years) out of the second round. I also get that they don’t really like playing young kids but they have not developed well at all. They are really competitive because players grow up wanting to play for them and sign there. They also make some smart trades.
Boston, not great either. If we are going on success rate of draft picks Boston does not historically really well in later rounds like a certain person with yellow tinted glasses might have you believe. They have gotten good players like Marchand in the 3rd round but the rest of the picks are pretty bad. In the first and second round they get absolute studs like Pastrnak and Hamilton. In the second round they pick up guys like Lucic, Spooner and Carlo. The last player that has played several NHL games who was picked 3rd round or later? Seth Griffith.
Edmonton is the final team bad drafting team I have over the last ten years. Their problem was not missing with the picks they had in the first round...it was most picks after that. That being said they have gotten better. But they have had some pretty bad picks who have gone on to greener pastures and have played okay.
Some interesting notes as I was looking at some draft records
Ottawa has snagged some really nice pieces in the later rounds by focusing on the WHL and USHL, however they primarily lean on the OHL and SHL.
Anaheim really good at drafting defense...not so much on the forwards since 2007. they've had guys like Rakell who is really their last homegrown forward that they've kept.
And Finally, Toronto and the main reason I have kept them off the best drafting list...they have really only gotten good at drafting since 2014 but more realistically they got to another level in 2015. They have had some good players like Kadri and Rielly. It is not like they couldn't draft in 2006 all but one of their picks made it to the NHL--they all had varying levels of success, but they made and only one is still with the team and that is Komarov. The following year two players out of a possible six ever made the show. They have had a couple steals like Connor Brown in the 6th round. Komarov in the 7th round. They just have not been on their A game since then.