No. 1 draft picks in NHL history: Bedard, Ovechkin, more

The Montreal Canadiens made history on June 5, 1963, selecting Garry Monahan with the No. 1 overall pick in the first-ever NHL draft.

Monahan scored 285 points (116 goals and 169 assists) over 12 seasons in the NHL, but only 14 of his 748 career games came in a Canadiens uniform. After spending just two seasons in Montreal, Monahan went on to play for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks.

As Monahan shows, not every No. 1 overall NHL draft pick goes on to have a standout career with the team that selected them. In fact, of the 61 first overall picks in the history of the NHL draft, only 12 have won a Stanley Cup with their drafted club.

Nathan MacKinnon is the last No. 1 overall pick to win the Stanley Cup with the team that drafted him. MacKinnon helped lead the Colorado Avalanche to the title in 2022 after the club selected him at No. 1 in the 2012 NHL draft.

Here’s a list of the No. 1 overall picks in the history of the NHL draft:

2023: Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks

2022: Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens

2021: Owen Power, Buffalo Sabres

2020: Alexis Lafrenière, New York Rangers

2019: Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils

2018: Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres

2017: Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils

2016: Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

2015: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

2014: Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers

2013: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

2012: Nail Yakupov, Edmonton Oilers

2011: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers

2010: Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers

2009: John Tavares, New York Islanders

2008: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

2007: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

2006: Erik Johnson, St. Louis Blues

2005: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

2004: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

2003: Marc-André Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins

2002: Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets

2001: Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers

2000: Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders

1999: Patrik Stefan, Atlanta Thrashers

1998: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay…

Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40270355/no-1-draft-picks-nhl-history-bedard-ovechkin-more

Author : Keith Jenkins

Publish date : 2024-06-03 21:27:44

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