As the NHL draft gets closers, it’s always interesting to look back and see where some of the top players were picked. Most of the time it gives fans and GM’s hope they can find a late round sleeper.
If we look back at past drafts, were all the best defenceman high picks?
These were the parameters I used for the sample, looking back as far as the 1999-2000 season.
- Nominated for the Norris trophy
- Conn Smythe winner
- Finished among the top five in scoring for defenceman in a season
- Finished among the top five in TOI for defenceman in a season
Obviously there are a lot of other ways to determine a defencemans worth, but if I’m drafting a defenceman with a high pick, I’m expecting someone who will eat a ton of minutes, produces offence or even better, both.
If a player showed up more than once in any category, their draft results were only used once, so repeat appearances lowered the sample size, but didn’t saturate it. If a player was undrafted, I gave them a dummy “200th overall” pick.
Here’s how it shook out.
Out of the 45 players in this sample, the average pick was 74th overall, so 3rd or 4th round depending on the draft year. (37% 1st rounders)
If we only look at the top 19 and eliminate the players who only showed up two times or less, the average pick was 46th overall, so a 2nd rounder today. (47%1st rounders)
I’m not sure I would put too much stock into these numbers, but at the very least, it displays how unbelievable Niklas Lidstrom was.
Rankings
Here is how the players ranked based how many times they show up in the sample and when they were drafted.
1. Lidstrom (26 times)- 3rd Round, 53rd Overall- 1989
2. Pronger (12 times)- 1st Round, 2nd Overall- 1993
3. Niedermayer (11 times )- 1st Round, 3rd Overall- 1991
4. Chara (9 times)- 3rd Round, 56th Overall- 1996
5. Gonchar (8 times)- 1st Round, 14th Overall- 1992
6. Zubov (6 times)- 5th Round, 85th Overall- 1990
6. Blake (6 times)- 4th Round, 70th Overall- 1988
8. Keith (5 times)- 2nd Round, 54th Overall- 2002
8. Bouwmeester (5 times)- 1st Round, 3rd Overall- 2002
8. Phaneuf (5 times)- 1st Round, 9th Overall- 2003
8. Campbell (5 times)- 6th Round, 156th Overall- 1997
12. Boyle (4 times)- Undrafted
12. Weber (4 times )- 2nd Round, 49th Overall- 2003
12. Green (4 times)- 1st Round, 29th Overall- 2004
15. Leetch (3 times)- 1st Round, 9th Overall- 1986
15. McCabe (3 times)- 2nd Round, 40th Overall- 1993
15. Desjardins (3 times)- 2nd Round, 38nd Overall- 1987
15. Ryan Suter (3 times)-1st Round, 7th Overall- 2003
15. Doughty (3 times)- 1st Round, 2nd Overall- 2008
20. Ozolinsh (2 times)- 2nd Round, 30th Overall- 1991
20. Rafalski (2 times)- Undrafted
20. Streit (2 times)- 9th Round, 262nd Overall- 2004
20. Kaberle (2 times)- 8th Round, 204th Overall- 1996
20. Subban (2 times)- 2nd Round, 43rd Overall- 2007
20. D. Hatcher (2 times)- 1st Round, 8th Overall- 1990
20. MacInnis (2 times)- 1st Round, 15th Overall- 1981
20. Markov (2 times)- 6th Round, 162nd Overall- 1998
20. Kris Letang (2 times)- 3rd Round, 62nd Overall- 2005
20. Yandle (2 times)- 4th Round, 105th Overall- 2005
20. Aucoin (2 times)- 5th Round, 117th Overall-1992
20. Stevens (2 times)- 1st Round, 5th Overall- 1982
20. Byfuglien (2 times)- 8th Round, 245th Overall- 2003
20. Beauchemin (2 times)- 3rd Round, 75th -1998
20. Visnovskly (2 times)- 4th Round, 118th- 2000
35. Souray (1 time)- 3rd Round, 71st Overall- 1994
35. Zidlicky (1 time)- 6th Round, 176th Overall- 2001
35. Pietrangelo (1 time)- 1st Round, 4th Overall-2008
35. Wisniewski (1 time)- 5th Round, 156th Overall- 2002
35. Housley (1 time)- 1st Round, 6th Overall- 1982
35. Girardi (1 time)- Undrafted
35. Corvo (1 time)- 4th Round, 83rd Overall- 1997
35. Ohlund (1 time)- 1st Round, 13th Overall- 1994
35. Svehla (1 time)- 4th Round, 78th Overall- 1992
35. Bourque (1 time)- 1st Round, 8th Overall- 1979
35. Karlsson (1 time)- 1st Round, 15th Overall- 2008
Sample
Conn Smythe Winner
2006-07 Scott Niedermayer
2001-02 Nicklas Lidstrom
1999-00 Scott Stevens
Norris Trophy Finalists
2013
Subban- *winner
Kris Letting
Ryan Suter
2012
Chara
Karlsson- *winner
Weber
2011
Lidstrom- *winner
Chara
Weber
2010
Doughty
Green
Keith- *winner
2009
Chara- *winner
Green
Lidstrom
2008
Chara
Lidstrom- *winner
Phaneuf
2007
Pronger
Neidermyer
Lidstrom – *winner
2006
Lidstrom- *winner
Neidermyer
Zubov
2005
Lockout
2004
Chara
Neidermyer- *winner
Pronger
2003
Lidstrom- *winner
Macinnis
Hatcher
2002
Lidstrom- *winner
Chelios
Blake
2001
Lidstrom- *winner
Bourque
Stevens
2000
Pronger- *winner
Lidstrom
Blake
Top Five Scoring
|
1 |
P.K. Subban |
42 |
11 |
27 |
38 |
|
2 |
Kris Letang |
35 |
5 |
33 |
38 |
|
3 |
Ryan Suter |
48 |
4 |
28 |
32 |
|
4 |
Andrei Markov |
48 |
10 |
20 |
30 |
|
5 |
Keith Yandle |
|
2012
|
1 |
Erik Karlsson |
OTT |
D |
81 |
19 |
59 |
78 |
|
2 |
Dustin Byfuglien |
WPG |
D |
66 |
12 |
41 |
53 |
|
3 |
Brian Campbell |
FLA |
D |
82 |
4 |
49 |
53 |
|
4 |
Zdeno Chara |
BOS |
D |
79 |
12 |
40 |
52 |
|
5 |
Alex Pietrangelo |
STL |
D |
81 |
12 |
39 |
51 |
2011
|
1 |
Lubomir Visnovsky |
D |
81 |
18 |
50 |
68 |
|
|
2 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
D |
82 |
16 |
46 |
62 |
|
|
3 |
Keith Yandle |
D |
82 |
11 |
48 |
59 |
|
|
4 |
Dustin Byfuglien |
ATL |
D |
81 |
20 |
33 |
53 |
|
5 |
James Wisniewski |
NYI, MTL |
D |
75 |
10 |
41 |
51 |
2010
|
1 |
Mike Green |
WSH |
D |
75 |
19 |
57 |
76 |
|
2 |
Duncan Keith |
CHI |
D |
82 |
14 |
55 |
69 |
|
3 |
Drew Doughty |
LAK |
D |
82 |
16 |
43 |
59 |
|
4 |
Dan Boyle |
SJS |
D |
76 |
15 |
43 |
58 |
|
5 |
Chris Pronger |
PHI |
D |
82 |
10 |
45 |
55 |
2009
|
1 |
Mike Green |
WSH |
D |
68 |
31 |
42 |
73 |
|
2 |
Andrei Markov |
MTL |
D |
78 |
12 |
52 |
64 |
|
3 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
DET |
D |
78 |
16 |
43 |
59 |
|
4 |
Scott Niedermayer |
ANA |
D |
82 |
14 |
45 |
59 |
|
5 |
Brian Rafalski |
DET |
D |
78 |
10 |
49 |
59 |
2008
|
1 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
D |
76 |
10 |
60 |
70 |
|
|
2 |
Sergei Gonchar |
D |
78 |
12 |
53 |
65 |
|
|
3 |
Mark Streit |
D |
81 |
13 |
49 |
62 |
|
|
4 |
Brian Campbell |
BUF, SJS |
D |
83 |
8 |
54 |
62 |
|
5 |
Dion Phaneuf |
D |
82 |
17 |
43 |
60 |
2007
|
1 |
Scott Niedermayer |
D |
79 |
15 |
54 |
69 |
|
|
2 |
Sergei Gonchar |
D |
82 |
13 |
54 |
67 |
|
|
3 |
Sheldon Souray |
D |
81 |
26 |
38 |
64 |
|
|
4 |
Dan Boyle |
D |
82 |
20 |
43 |
63 |
|
|
5 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
D |
80 |
13 |
49 |
62 |
2006
|
1 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
D |
80 |
16 |
64 |
80 |
|
|
2 |
Sergei Zubov |
D |
78 |
13 |
58 |
71 |
|
|
3 |
Bryan McCabe |
D |
73 |
19 |
49 |
68 |
|
|
4 |
Lubomir Visnovsky |
D |
80 |
17 |
50 |
67 |
|
|
5 |
Tomas Kaberle |
D |
82 |
9 |
58 |
67 |
2005
Lockout
2004
|
1 |
Sergei Gonchar |
WSH, BOS |
D |
71 |
11 |
47 |
58 |
|
2 |
Chris Pronger |
STL |
D |
80 |
14 |
40 |
54 |
|
3 |
Scott Niedermayer |
NJD |
D |
81 |
14 |
40 |
54 |
|
4 |
Bryan McCabe |
TOR |
D |
75 |
16 |
37 |
53 |
|
5 |
Marek Zidlicky |
NSH |
D |
82 |
14 |
39 |
53 |
2003
|
1 |
Al Macinnis |
D |
80 |
16 |
52 |
68 |
|
|
2 |
Sergei Gonchar |
D |
82 |
18 |
49 |
67 |
|
|
3 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
D |
82 |
18 |
44 |
62 |
|
|
4 |
Sergei Zubov |
D |
82 |
11 |
44 |
55 |
|
|
5 |
Dan Boyle |
D |
77 |
13 |
40 |
53 |
2002
|
1 |
Sergei Gonchar |
WSH |
D |
76 |
26 |
33 |
59 |
|
2 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
DET |
D |
78 |
9 |
50 |
59 |
|
3 |
Rob Blake |
COL |
D |
75 |
16 |
40 |
56 |
|
4 |
Brian Leetch |
NYR |
D |
82 |
10 |
45 |
55 |
|
5 |
Sandis Ozolinsh |
CAR, FLA |
D |
83 |
14 |
38 |
52 |
2001
|
1 |
Brian Leetch |
NYR |
D |
82 |
21 |
58 |
79 |
|
2 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
DET |
D |
82 |
15 |
56 |
71 |
|
3 |
Rob Blake |
LAK, COL |
D |
67 |
19 |
40 |
59 |
|
4 |
Ray Bourque |
COL |
D |
80 |
7 |
52 |
59 |
|
5 |
Sergei Gonchar |
WSH |
D |
76 |
19 |
38 |
57 |
2000
|
1 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
DET |
D |
81 |
20 |
53 |
73 |
|
2 |
Chris Pronger |
STL |
D |
79 |
14 |
48 |
62 |
|
3 |
Rob Blake |
LAK |
D |
77 |
18 |
39 |
57 |
|
4 |
Eric Desjardins |
PHI |
D |
81 |
14 |
41 |
55 |
|
5 |
Phil Housley |
CGY |
D |
78 |
11 |
44 |
55 |
Time on Ice Leaders
2013
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Ryan Suter |
1,309:25 |
27:16 |
|
2 |
Brian Campbell |
1,268:00 |
26:25 |
|
3 |
Drew Doughty |
1,266:56 |
26:23 |
|
4 |
Shea Weber |
1,244:14 |
25:55 |
|
5 |
Dion Phaneuf |
1,208:33 |
25:10 |
2012
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Brian Campbell |
2,205:31 |
26:53 |
|
2 |
Dan Girardi |
2,152:20 |
26:14 |
|
3 |
Jay Bouwmeester |
2,128:31 |
25:57 |
|
4 |
Francois Beauchemin |
2,095:23 |
25:33 |
|
5 |
Ryan Suter |
2,093:55 |
26:30 |
2011
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Duncan Keith |
2,204:33 |
26:53 |
|
2 |
Jay Bouwmeester |
2,130:56 |
25:59 |
|
3 |
Shea Weber |
2,076:09 |
25:19 |
|
4 |
Zdeno Chara |
2,060:13 |
25:26 |
|
5 |
Joe Corvo |
2,031:50 |
24:46 |
2010
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Duncan Keith |
2,180:34 |
26:35 |
|
2 |
Chris Pronger |
2,125:58 |
25:55 |
|
3 |
Jay Bouwmeester |
2,125:27 |
25:55 |
|
4 |
Scott Niedermayer |
2,120:18 |
26:30 |
|
5 |
Mark Streit |
2,107:14 |
25:41 |
2009
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Jay Bouwmeester |
2,213:01 |
26:59 |
|
2 |
Chris Pronger |
2,209:11 |
26:56 |
|
3 |
Scott Niedermayer |
2,207:29 |
26:55 |
|
4 |
Dion Phaneuf |
2,122:18 |
26:31 |
|
5 |
Zdeno Chara |
2,085:28 |
26:04 |
2008
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Jay Bouwmeester |
2,252:28 |
27:28 |
|
2 |
Dion Phaneuf |
2,166:35 |
26:25 |
|
3 |
Duncan Keith |
2,096:02 |
25:33 |
|
4 |
Francois Beauchemin |
2,093:23 |
25:31 |
|
5 |
Brian Campbell |
2,083:52 |
25:06 |
2007
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Zdeno Chara |
2,237:19 |
27:57 |
|
2 |
Dan Boyle |
2,218:07 |
27:03 |
|
3 |
Bryan McCabe |
2,200:01 |
26:49 |
|
4 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
2,199:06 |
27:29 |
|
5 |
Sergei Gonchar |
2,178:08 |
26:33 |
2006
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Tomas Kaberle |
2,310:14 |
28:10 |
|
2 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
2,248:42 |
28:06 |
|
3 |
Chris Pronger |
2,239:12 |
27:59 |
|
4 |
Brian Rafalski |
2,093:07 |
25:31 |
|
5 |
Scott Niedermayer |
2,091:32 |
25:30 |
2005
lockout
2004
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
2,240:02 |
27:39 |
|
2 |
Chris Pronger |
2,197:13 |
27:27 |
|
3 |
Adrian Aucoin |
2,157:05 |
26:37 |
|
4 |
Mattias Ohlund |
2,114:41 |
25:47 |
|
5 |
Scott Niedermayer |
2,100:27 |
25:55 |
2003
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
2,405:57 |
29:20 |
|
2 |
Sergei Gonchar |
2,179:18 |
26:34 |
|
3 |
Al Macinnis |
2,153:13 |
26:54 |
|
4 |
Sandis Ozolinsh |
2,133:24 |
26:01 |
|
5 |
Derian Hatcher |
2,119:51 |
25:51 |
2002
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Adrian Aucoin |
2,340:25 |
28:53 |
|
2 |
Chris Pronger |
2,298:58 |
29:28 |
|
3 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
2,247:07 |
28:48 |
|
4 |
Sergei Zubov |
2,141:49 |
26:46 |
|
5 |
Derian Hatcher |
2,133:33 |
26:40 |
2001
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Brian Leetch |
2,407:16 |
29:21 |
|
2 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
2,332:38 |
28:26 |
|
3 |
Sergei Zubov |
2,102:27 |
26:36 |
|
4 |
Robert Svehla |
2,097:01 |
25:34 |
|
5 |
Eric Desjardins |
2,089:11 |
26:26 |
2000
|
|
Player |
TOI |
|
|
1 |
Chris Pronger |
2,389:03 |
30:14 |
|
2 |
Nicklas Lidstrom |
2,328:19 |
28:44 |
|
3 |
Sergei Zubov |
2,220:25 |
28:50 |
|
4 |
Rob Blake |
2,193:52 |
28:29 |
|
5 |
Eric Desjardins |
2,187:50 |
27:00 |
