Top 10 draft picks of every draft year

[Ernie McCracken]

In my spare time at work over the past few months I have devised a list of the top 10 draft picks to come out of every draft from 2006 to 1969. I have chosen to start with the 2006 draft because a lot of players drafted in 07 haven't gotten the chance to prove themselves yet. I have ranked the players based on their performance on the NHL level thus far in their careers. For instance, I'm not saying that Byan Little is a better player then Erik Johnson, just that he has accomplished more in his short NHL career thus far in my opinion then Johnson. I'd love to hear feedback from people regarding my lists but keep in mind this is just an opinion list ok guys. The players are ranked from 1 to 10 with the number in which they were drafted in brackets to the right. Here's 2006 to 2000 to start with.



2006

1. Niklas Backstrom C (4)
2. Jonathan Toews C (3)
3. Jordan Staal C (2)
4. Phil Kessel RW (5)
5. Bryan Little C (12)
6. Peter Mueller C (8)
7. Erik Johnson D (1)
8. Claude Giroux RW (22)
9. Kyle Okposo RW (7)
10.Patrik Berglund C (25)


2005


1. Sydney Crosby C (1)
2. Anže Kopitar C (11)
3. Devin Setoguchi RW (8)
4. Marc Staal D (12)
5. Bobby Ryan RW (2)
6. Carey Price G (5)
7. T.J. Oshie C (24)
8. Andrew Cogliano C (25)
9. Matt Niskanen D (28)
10.Jack Johnson D (3)



2004


1. Alexander Ovechkin LW (1)
2. Evgeni Malkin C (2)
3. Mike Green D (29)
4. Travis Zajac C (20)
5. Alexander Radulov RW (15)
6. Wojtek Wolski LW (21)
7. Andrej Meszároš D (23)
8. Drew Stafford RW (13)
9. Blake Wheeler RW (5)
10.Andrew Ladd LW (4)



2003


1. Eric Staal C (2)
2. Ryan Getzlaf C (19)
3. Mike Richards C (24)
4. Zach Parise LW (17)
5. Marc-André Fleury G (1)
6. Jeff Carter C (11)
7. Dion Phaneuf D (9)
8. Thomas Vanek LW (5)
9. Brent Seabrook D (14)
10.Corey Perry RW (28)



2002


1. Rick Nash LW (1)
2. Cam Ward G (25)
3. Jay Bouwmeester D (3)
4. Alexander Semin LW (13)
5. Joni Pitkanen D (4)
6. Pierre-Marc Bouchard C (8)
7. Keith Ballard D (11)
8. Ryan Whitney D (5)
9. Joffrey Lupul RW (7)
10.Christopher Higgins LW (14)



2001



1. Ilya Kovalchuk LW (1)
2. Jason Spezza C (2)
3. Ales Hemsky RW (13)
4. Mikko Koivu C (6)
5. Mike Komisarek D (7)
6. Tuomo Ruutu LW (9)
7. Stephen Weiss C (4)
8. Dan Hamhuis D (12)
9. R.J. Umberger C (16)
10.Pascal Leclaire G (8)



2000



1. Dany Heatley RW (2)
2. Marian Gaborick LW (3)
3. Brad Boys C (24)
4. Anton Volchenkov D (21)
5. Alexander Frolov LW (20)
6. Niklas Kronwal D (29)
7. Scott Hartnell RW (6)
8. Rick Dipietro G (1)
9. Justin Williams RW (28)
10.Brooks Orpik D (18)

[Michael Scofield]

Great effort there bud, nice work. Only thing I'd say is maybe Niklas Kronwall a bit higher, and Getzlaf I'd give top spot in '03.

[Nathan311]

Intersting to see. I'm just slightly confused by your ranking system. Is your opinion that Mike Green is the 29th most acomplished player from his draft year or am I missing something?


EDIT: was reading wrong, my bad. Reading comprehension ftw

[Stjonnypopo]

Thats a pretty good list... I'm sure some people are going to have problems with it cause a lot of people think their opinion means more than other's

Next time make a list of most accomplished late round picks from every year!

[jaems]

With hindsight, in 2005, I think that Paul Stastny would've got picked in the top 10. I mean, the kid is almost a point per game player (201 in 210), has great chemistry with Hejduk, and has the potential to be captain of the team.

[Jim Morrison]

Lundqvist should be #1 in 2000 draft and he's not even top 10?

[kingpest19]

Originally Posted by jaems

With hindsight, in 2005, I think that Paul Stastny would've got picked in the top 10. I mean, the kid is almost a point per game player (201 in 210), has great chemistry with Hejduk, and has the potential to be captain of the team.

Could very well slot him in at 3 behind Crosby and Kopitar. Also in 2004 no Booth, Krejci or Dubinsky?

[Ernie McCracken]

So sorry...forgot to mention in my first post, these lists are from people drafted in the first round ONLY.

[Pure]

I disagree about 2006, I would pick Erik Johnson 3rd overall even with hindsight.

[Flashspec]

Originally Posted by Pure

I disagree about 2006, I would pick Erik Johnson 3rd overall even with hindsight.

Why is that?

[growne]

Is this just first round draft picks?

Because if not I think Mark Streit definitely should be on the 2004 list somewhere after Zajac.

[Tumsh]

Originally Posted by Jim Morrison

Lundqvist should be #1 in 2000 draft and he's not even top 10?

Probably just an omission, but I agree. At least no less than #3.

[HNJB*]

Where is Shea Weber? He is 100x the player that Phaneuf is

And Oshie>>>>>>Price

And you missed Lundqvist somehow.

[HNJB*]

It looks to me like you only looked in the first round of each draft...big mistake

[redcard]

Originally Posted by HarryNealesJokebook

Where is Shea Weber? He is 100x the player that Phaneuf is

And Oshie>>>>>>Price

And you missed Lundqvist somehow.

Your questions were answered in the posts before yours.

Selected by Nashville Predators round 2 #49 overall 2003 NHL Entry Draft

Originally Posted by MilkHarvey

So sorry...forgot to mention in my first post, these lists are from people drafted in the first round ONLY.

[BigT2002]

Originally Posted by HarryNealesJokebook

It looks to me like you only looked in the first round of each draft...big mistake

If he's going back to 1969 and 7 round drafts thats a list of around 8k names. I'll give him credit for even doing the 1st round that far back