How much does good scouting and drafting mean to the success of an NHL franchise? Well, it helps to have a high draft choice, judging by recent Stanley Cup champions. The Chicago Black Hawks picked Patrick Kane first overall in 2007, got Jonathan Toews third overall in 2006 and defenseman Brent Seabrook 14th in 2003. The Pittsburgh Penguins used top 3 picks to get goaltender Marc Andre Fleury, Evgeny Malkin, Jordan Staal and Sidney Crosby. The Anaheim Ducks hit on Ryan Getzlaff and Corey Perry in the same draft (2003), and picked Bobby Ryan second overall. The Washington Capitals haven’t won a title yet but have built a strong competitive team using high draft picks on Alexander Ovechkin, Mike Green, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom. Here are some of the Philadelphia Flyers recent top picks: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux and James VanRiemsdyk (2nd overall), all major contributors to their long playoff run this year. The biggest winner in this year’s draft may be the Boston Bruins. Already a strong playoff contender, the Bruins added a potential superstar in second overall pick Tyler Seguin. The pick was courtesy of the generosity of the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs, who grossly overpaid for Phil Kessel in a trade. History shows that other than the first few picks in a draft, it takes 2-3 years for prospects to develop, so any surprise teams next season will probably be teams who drafted well from 2006 to 2009.
NHL Draft – Hit or Miss
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