Best and Worst Draft Picks by Teams during the Past Decade -NHL Special Part 1
Over the years, some National Hockey League (NHL) franchises have demonstrated elite selecting capabilities when it comes to the annual entry drafts, but some have also made bad choices that hurt them in the longer run.
With the 2012 NHL Entry Draft fast approaching, scheduled for June 22-23 at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, clubs are gearing up for yet another year and hope for the best when it comes time to choosing from the pool of players.
Time has proved that having the first overall pick does not insure a team of getting a great long-term player and sometimes it certainly does.
With scouting reports and mock drafts going on like crazy at the moment, let’s take a look at some of the best and worst draft picks made over the past decade by teams around the league in alphabetical order:
Anaheim Ducks (Pacific Division)
Anaheim Ducks have had their ups and downs after the turn of the century as they won a Stanley Cup back in 2007 but have been struggling to make any significant impact for the past few season and failed to even make the playoffs in 2012.
Best Pick of the Past Decade: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry (2003)
Anaheim has been one of those teams that had some luck in a single year as they picked out top-level players such as Ryan Getzlaf, their current captain, and Corey Perry back in 2003. There are hardly any such clubs in the league that have had such luck
in a single year and the Ducks certainly are one of them.
Bobby Ryan is an honourable mention since he has also emerged as a elite forward player picked up in 2005, which is why Anaheim Ducks can barely ask for anymore. Now, all Anaheim Ducks need to do is figure out how to utilise all that talent in their favour.
Worst Pick of the Past Decade: Stanislav Chistov (2001)
The Ducks had good intentions with this one but picking Stanislav Chistov as the fifth overall back in 2001 certainly did not work out the way they had planned. He had 30 points in his opening NHL season but dropped down to a frustrating 18 points in 2003-2004
before being shipped off to the minor leagues and then back to his native land of Russia.
The Russian player attempted at making a comeback with the Boston Bruins but had just five goals and eight assists with them in 2006-2007, which was to be his last season in the league.
To be continued in Part 2....
(The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.)
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