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)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
Now we move forward to the 24th pick, which was held by the St. Louis Blues.
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 Blues selected T.J. Oshie out of Warroad High School in Minnesota. While a lot of first round high school picks haven’t panned out, this selection certainly has as he has turned into one of the best players in this draft class.
Oshie spent seven seasons with St. Louis, picking up 310 points (110-200-310) in 443 regular season games as well as nine points (5-4-9) in 30 postseason contests. In 2015, the Blues dealt him to Washington in exchange for Troy Brouwer, goalie prospect Pheonix Copley, and a 2016 3rd round pick. Brouwer only spent one year in St. Louis but was a big part of their playoff run last season with 13 points in 20 games.
With the Capitals, Oshie continues to thrive in this, his second season with the team. This year, he has nine goals and five assists through 20 games after a 51 point season in 2015-16. He also had his best playoff performance last year with 10 points (6-4-10) in 12 games.
Oshie has also made a mark on the international stage, playing in a World Juniors tournament, three World Championships, the 2014 Olympics (where he’s famous for his shootout performance), and the most recent World Cup of Hockey.
With the 24th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Blues select? Cast your vote below!
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