Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

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.

Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now.  Through the first nine picks, we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up and down the draft board.

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)
5th Overall: Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)
6th Overall: Jordan Staal (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Milan Lucic (New York Islanders)
8th Overall: Kyle Okposo (Phoenix Coyotes)
9th Overall: Erik Johnson (Minnesota Wild)

Finally the player who was actually selected first overall has been voted by our community, as Johnson edged out Derick Brassard to stay in the top ten. Back in 2006 the St. Louis Blues made the mistake of choosing the big American defenseman ahead of several players who could be in the Hall of Fame one day, but he is still providing value in the NHL. There’s a wide gap between Johnson and some of the real busts in NHL draft history, and the Minnesota Wild would likely actually have been happier to have him than the player they actually selected—James Sheppard.

Now we’ll move on to the tenth pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally held by the Florida Panthers.

Florida had recently experienced a nice stretch of results where they picked legitimate NHL players if not stars in consecutive drafts. Between 2001-2004, the Panthers had selected Stephen Weiss, Gregory Campbell, Jay Bouwmeester, Tanner Glass, Nathan Horton and David Booth, all of whom have played more than 500 games in the NHL. That streak came to an end in 2005 when the 20th overall pick was used on Kenndal McArdle, but the Panthers would climb right back on the horse in 2006 with another solid value pick. Michael Frolik never did become the star scoring forward that many projected him to be, but after putting up 21 goals in each of his first two seasons the Panthers were already getting good results.

After Dale Tallon took over as GM of the Panthers he decided that Frolik could net him some of his former prospects from the Chicago Blackhawks, sending him in exchange for Jack Skille and others. Skille, selected seventh overall in 2005 by Chicago, might be categorized as one of the aforementioned busts given that he scored just 84 points in 368 NHL games. Frolik has spent time in Winnipeg and Calgary since leaving Chicago, and established himself as a fine secondary scoring option that can record 15-20 goals and 40-45 points on a yearly basis.

Is that enough to get him into the top 10 though? He has played the ninth-most games of any player selected in 2006, ahead of other already voted players like Kyle Okposo and Erik Johnson. Does his lack of star quality though drop him out of contention to be replaced by a player who maybe has burned brighter at times? With the tenth pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Florida Panthers select? Cast your vote below!

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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.

Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now.  Through the first seven picks, we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up and down the draft board.

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)
5th Overall: Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)
6th Overall: Jordan Staal (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Milan Lucic (New York Islanders)

Lucic edged out original Islanders pick Kyle Okposo for the seventh slot, becoming the second player in our top 10 that was actually drafted outside of the first round entirely. The Bruins, who then selected Kessel with the fifth-overall selection, found both Lucic and Marchand in the later rounds. The big, bruising Vancouver Giants forward had scored just 19 points in his first full season of CHL hockey but would develop his offensive game at an incredible rate over the next few years. Lucic would score a career-high 30 goals with the Bruins in 2010-11, mixing a devastating physical game with underrated offensive skills to be one of the league’s most unique talents. Though his scoring dropped off last season, the Edmonton Oilers are hoping that he’ll be able to find some of that previous magic and earn his current contract.

Now we’ll move forward to the eighth pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, which was held by the then named Phoenix Coyotes.

Back in 2006 the Coyotes were coming off the first season with Wayne Gretzky behind the bench, and had finished with a respectable 38-39-5 record. Though they were still ten points out of playoff contention, a 29-year old Shane Doan and 25-year old Mike Comrie had both provided 30-goal seasons. An aging Curtis Joseph would be part of their regression the next season, but there was plenty of excitement around their selection of potential top-line center Peter Mueller. Mueller had already starred for USA Hockey at the development level and on the international stage, and would do so again after being drafted when he went toe-to-toe against Jonathan Toews in a wildly popular shootout.

Mueller exploded onto the NHL scene in 2007-08 with Phoenix, scoring 22 goals and 54 points as a teenaged-rookie and gave the franchise a lot of hope for the future. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be though for the big center, who flamed out quickly and would find himself in Switzerland by the 2013-14 season after failing to make an impression with both the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers. Mueller played in Austria last season, where he recorded 42 points in 38 games and was a point-per-game player in the playoffs.

As we look back, it’s unlikely that the Coyotes would choose Mueller again knowing what we know now. With several other talented players still on the board, will they still try to secure the center position? With the eighth pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Phoenix Coyotes select? Cast your vote below!

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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.

Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now.  Through the first five picks we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up the board.

Here are the results of the redraft so far:

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)
5th Overall: Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)

The Bruins didn’t change a thing about their 2006 draft, picking University of Minnesota standout Kessel with the fifth-overall pick. Our community overwhelmingly agreed that Kessel was the right pick, giving him over 77% of the vote. It’s hard to argue with that, especially when Kessel leads all 2006 draft picks with 914 regular season games, and trails only Backstrom in career points. With two Stanley Cups under his belt, and an iron man streak that has lasted more than eight seasons, Kessel is truly one of the best players of his class.

Now we’ll move forward to the sixth pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, which was held by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Back then, the Blue Jackets decided to go after another one of the top centers available, picking QMJHL offensive dynamo Derick Brassard. Brassard had just finished a season in junior that saw him score 116 points in 58 games, and had been named the top prospect in his league. Unfortunately the talented young forward would suffer a shoulder injury in the following preseason and miss all but 14 regular season games with Drummondville, and miss out on a chance to potentially lead the QMJHL in scoring. He’d jump to the NHL quickly after that though and has developed into a solid player with a long career.

Brassard now has 428 points in 716 games, but is he the best selection for the Blue Jackets with the benefit of hindsight? Is there someone else who would be more valuable given their career to date? With the sixth pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Columbus Blue Jackets select? Cast your vote below!

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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.

Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now.  Through the first four picks we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up the board.

Here are the results of the redraft so far:

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)

The Capitals were reeling when their target of Backstrom went off the board to the Blackhawks, but they still get an incredible talent in the fourth spot. Barely edging out Phil Kessel for the right to go to Washington is Marchand, who moves up 67 spots from where he was actually selected. The Boston Bruins pulled a rabbit out of their hats by selecting Marchand 71st-overall back in 2006, and he’s proven to be much more than a third-round selection in the year’s since.

Now we’ll move forward to the fifth pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, which was held by the Boston Bruins.

Incredibly, the Bruins may very well end up with the same player they chose more than a decade ago when they decided that Kessel was the best available. An outstanding scoring talent that had just put up 51 points in just 39 games as a freshman for the University of Minnesota, Kessel was once in contention for the first-overall pick. Though it wouldn’t work out in Boston, there isn’t much to argue with when you look at Kessel’s career numbers through 2018. With 914 games played he leads all 2006 draft picks, and his 741 points trail only Backstrom. Two Stanley Cup victories with the Penguins don’t hurt, though there are several other contenders for the fifth pick.

Will Boston choose the same player in Kessel all these years later, or could top picks Erik Johnson and Jordan Staal make it a race? With the fifth pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Boston Bruins select? Cast your vote below!

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Over the last few weeks the NHL Network has been releasing their lists of the best players in the league, detailing the Top 20 Centers, Top 20 Defensemen and Top 20 Wingers in separate polls. In response, we’ve polled the PHR community to give our own thoughts on the very best talents around the NHL and have come up with significantly different lists. Among centers, Sidney Crosby edged out Connor McDavid for the top spot here at PHR, while Erik Karlsson overcame his down 2017-18 to take the spot on the blue line.

On the wings, NHL Network had Nikita Kucherov as the very best in the league after his 100-point campaign alongside Steven Stamkos. That didn’t impress the PHR readers though, who have Kucherov at #4 behind three more veteran options. Alex Ovechkin takes home the trophy to place on his overburdened shelf alongside his recent Conn Smythe award for playoff MVP and seventh Maurice Richard trophy. It’s difficult to overcome 607 goals and more than 1,100 points now that Ovechkin has a Stanley Cup to go with them. Our PHR community-voted Top 20 Wingers currently looks like this:

1. Alex Ovechkin (632 votes)
2. Taylor Hall (532 votes)
3. Patrick Kane (531 votes)
4. Nikita Kucherov (521 votes)
5. Patrik Laine (510 votes)
6. Vladimir Tarasenko (476 votes)
7. Brad Marchand (425 votes)
8. Artemi Panarin (392 votes)
9. Jamie Benn (371 votes)
10. Claude Giroux (370 votes)
11. Johnny Gaudreau (345 votes)
12. David Pastrnak (329 votes)
13. Phil Kessel (323 votes)
14. Blake Wheeler (320 votes)
15. Filip Forsberg (263 votes)
16. Mitch Marner (195 votes)
17. Brock Boeser (175 votes)
18. Logan Couture (166 votes)
19. Jakub Voracek (156 votes)
20. T.J. Oshie (132 votes)

Continuing the series, the NHL Network today released their ranking of the Top 10 Goaltenders, sparking quite a bit of debate among the hockey world. Sergei Bobrovsky takes home their top spot after collecting Vezina votes again last season. The Columbus Blue Jackets netminder has won the trophy twice and consistently puts up some of the most impressive numbers in the league. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer, giving the Blue Jackets a very tough decision on whether to make him the most expensive goaltender in the league or watch him walk away.

Stanley Cup Champion Braden Holtby is second, despite being benched at the beginning of the playoffs by his club in favor of Philipp Grubauer. Holtby would eventually regain the net and carry the Capitals to the promised land, but not without at least some doubt in his ability down the stretch.

Incredibly, Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist, the two highest-paid goaltenders in the NHL don’t appear on the list making their contracts seem quite excessive. Lundqvist at least has a long history of success during his current deal, something that Price will have to prove as he starts in on his eight-year $84MM extension.

Like all of the other polls, we’ll ask the PHR community to give their own thoughts on who deserves at the top of the list. We’ve included a huge number of NHL goaltenders and ask you to cast your vote by selecting 10 names. Make sure to leave a comment below on who you think deserves to be recognized, or on how the Top 20 Wingers list turned out.

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