Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
Now we move forward to the 16th pick, which was held by the Atlanta Thrashers (now the Winnipeg Jets).
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Thrashers selected right winger Alex Bourret out of Lewiston of the QMJHL in a selection that certainly didn’t pan out. Bourret was an undersized power forward and despite some strong junior numbers (he had 114 points in his final ’Q’ season), his game never really translated to the pro ranks. He spent parts of four seasons in the AHL but never got into a single NHL game. He has spent the last several years in the Quebec LNAH.
Two years after picking him, Atlanta moved Bourret to the Rangers for Pascal Dupuis and a third round pick (which was later flipped for center Chris Thorburn who still remains with the organization) so while the draft pick didn’t pan out, the Thrashers at least got some value from Bourret’s selection.
With the 16th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Thrashers (Jets) select? Cast your vote below!
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