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2nd Overall Picks- the 90s |
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2nd Round Pick History-the 90s
The 90s started off with a bang for the NHL when it came to the entry draft. The 1990 NHL Entry draft was one of legends or for some near-legends and is one of the greatest draft classes in NHL history. It was one that might not be rivalled until 2003 or ever.
1990
The draft was hosted in Vancouver and the Canucks had the 2nd overall pick that year too. The first pick went to the Nordiques and they took Owen Nolan. When the Canucks stepped up it was believed they had interest in a few players but no one knew for certain which way there were leaning. It certainly was not surprising when they took Petr Nedved. He had a decent career that did not pan out in Vancouver but managed 717 points in 982 games. However the depth of that class was enormous as the next picks were Primeau, Mike Ricci, Jagr, Scissons (ooops), Sydor, Hatcher. The Jets that year had the 19th pick but it was the Canucks who had the 18th pick. The home team took tough guy Shawn Antoski at 18th the and Jets grabbed this American kid by the name of Keith Tkachuk. Right after Tkachuk was taken the Devils took Martin Brodeur.
1991
Even though the Penguins were a rising power with Jagr joining Lemiuex and having just won their first Stanley Cup all the talk in 1991 was about the sensation that was Eric Lindros. We all know about the drama before and after the draft and how it ultimately worked out okay for the team that would become the Avalanche but who remembers the second pick? That went to the expansion San Jose Sharks and they took Pat Falloon. He managed a decent career with 575 game and 322 points but he could never live up to being such a high pick and the guy after Lindros. Interesting that the guy who went right after Falloon was another future hall of fame player and to the Devils too; Scott Niedermayer. The Jets had 5th pick and they took Aaron Ward. I wonder if he broke the selection but thought the were taking the next player- Peter Forsberg instead of him? Oh how things might have changed had that happened. Other notables in that class were Rolston, Kovalev, Naslund, Murrayand Ray Whitney.
1992
After two very strong classes in 90 and 91 the class of 92 was no nearly as hyped but perhaps noted because it featured two new expansion franchises in Tampa Bay and Ottawa drafting 1-2. The Bolts had the first pick and took defence man Roman Hamrlik. The Senators when for offense and took gifted Russian centre Alexei Yashin. Yashin was far from a bad pick but he certainly set the tone and stereotyping for many future Russian players with his contract hold out. We know how this story ends with the biggest buyout in NHL history after a huge deal was signed with the Islanders courtesy of Mad Mike Milbury. The Jets had the 17th pick that year and took Sergei Bautin who managed just 132 games in the NHL. The next pick was New Jersey again and they took a defence man like the Jets in Jason Smith who managed 1008 NHL games in his career.
1993
The Ottawa Senators had a miserable first year and had the first overall pick and opted to go with a promising young player from the QMJHL in Alexander Daigle. They gave him a monster contract too and while he managed 616 NHL games and 327 points he could never live up to his hype or the contract. However there was one team that was happy the Sens took Daigle and that was the Whalers who were able to take Chris Pronger. Too bad they could not keep him as the future hall of famer did not seem to fit in Hartford and eventually traded for Brendan Shanahan. That year the Jets had the 15th pick and took a player named Mats Lindgren, a centre who mustered 387 NHL games. Had they looked a bit deeper they could have had Saku Koivu or Todd Bertuzzi, or even Jason Allison who went 17th overall.
1994
This was a bittersweet year for me with having to deal with the draft after that crushing loss to the Rangers in SCF. The Florida Panthers had the the first overall pick and they took Ed Jovanovski with that pick. He would lead them to their first SCF the following spring as a rookie. The second pick belonged to the Anaheim and they picked another defensemen who should be familiar to Jets fans: Oleg Tverdovsky, who would be part of the trade return for Teemu Selanne. As for the Jets, they did not have a first round pick that year and took Deron Quint in the second round who managed 463 NHL games. This draft class was not really noted for any true super stars in the top but more for the talent that rose from many different rounds such as: JEff O’Neill and Ryan Smyth in the first round, Patrick Elian in the 2nd, Chri Drury in the 3rd, Milan Hejduk in the 4th, Alfredsson in the 6th, and Tomas Holmstrom in the 10th round.
1995
This year was another defence heavy draft at the top and the Senators had the first pick taking Bryan Berard. The sad thing about Berard is the eye injury that stopped what should have been a much better and longer career than his 619 games. The Islanders had the second pick and they took another defence man in Wade Redden. While Redden did manage 1023 NHL games he will be remembered more for his final deal that was so cost prohibitive compared to return that it was better for him to be in the AHL than on the Rangers. This draft was solid in terms of players who would have league longevity with two still playing today, one being the Jets first round pick Shane Doan. The other player is Jarome Iginla. Other notables from the first round are: Langkow, Dvorak, Sykora, Giguerre, Biron and McKee.
1996
Again Ottawa was at or near the top of the order but this time had the first pick. Their choice was Chris Phillips a defence man from the Prince Albert Raiders. The second overall pick was a defence man too when San Jose took Andrei Zyuzin. While he was a notable name he did only manage 496 games in the NHL. In terms of high picks though it was the Capitals who were the big losers when with the 4th overall Alexandre Volchkov who managed just 3 games in the NHL. The team that was born out of the Jets, the Pheonix Coyotes would have a bust pick too at number eleven when they took Dan Focht who managed just 82 games in the NHL. Other notables that year were Dumont, Salei, Morris, Sturm and Briere. Again this was another draft where a future hall of fame player was missed for 2 rounds in Zdeno Chara taken in the 3rd round.
1997
This year marked a top heavy draft and another deep one and while not as good as 1990 it has some players that are still making their marks today. The first pick was held by the Bruins and they took Joe Thornton. Now by coincidence it seems, the Sharks who had the second pick and took Patrick Marleau second overall and now the two are long time team mates battling to make their first SCF. The Kings took Olli Jokinen third and the Islanders took Luongo 4th. That’s not a bad top 4 at all and Eric Brewer went 5th. Interesting this draft marks the beggining of the series of some stupendous busts the Flames drafted with Daniel Tkaczuk. Other players the Flames could have taken? Well let’s see: Mara (who went next) Samsonov, Hossa, Cleary, Hannan, Morrow, and Brian Campbell who went way down in the 6th round.
1998
There was a clear number one this year in a young man named Vincent Lecavailer who went to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was the expansion Nashville Predators who had the second overall pick and they took David Legwand and clearly a solid pick. San Jose had the third pick and then Vancouver as two defence went in Brad Stuart and Bryan Allen. But noting the Calgary series of bad picks in the year before, they took Rico Fata at 6th overall. Manny Malhotra went next and Mark Bell after, either of whom were vast improvements on Fata. Three other notable players who had decent duration to their careers when that year too in Tanguay, Regher and Gomez. All the teams whiffed on Brad Richards who went in the 3rd round that year.
1999
As we round out the 90s we have come full circle for the Jets as their lineage stopped but a new one came when the Atlanta Thrasher picked first overall. This draft is mainly considered one of the weakest in NHL history and for good reason there’s not much to it. It’s also one where the first pick is much worse than what happened after. In this case the Thrasher took who they hoped would be a franchise player in Patrik Stefan. While he managed 455 NHL games he only had 188 points and would be some what of a poster child for the inept Atlanta drafting record. The biggest news that day was the Canucks moving up to grab the second and third picks that year to take the Sedin twins. Even Brian Burke haters have to admit that was one of the best moves he ever made in his career.
In the end though theres not much here and thus the Flames did not take another first round blunder alone, many teams did. Although Oleg Saprykin hardly had much of a career. Other than the Sedins the next two best players in that 1999 class came in the 7th round back-to-back in Zetterberg and Vrbata.
One thing with the 90s when compared to the 80s is there are fewer obvious busts at the top. Money, serious money, was coming into player salaries now near the middle to end of the decade and the league was expanding. Also franchises were moving and GMs felt the pinch due to the declining Canadian dollar too- they had to get better at drafting and developing players even if they had none of the data and evidence that exists today. There were two labour disruptions in the 90s too and it also marked the beginning of Gary Bettman’s run as commissioner of the NHL and how the league would change because of his vision and iron fisted approach. In the next decade is when players and fans would really feel the changes Bettman brought to the league, those that were intended and not.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
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