Biggest Draft Bust in NHL History

[mikko1995]

I don't like to say this but Lauri Tukonen.
11th Overall Pick to Los Angeles Kings in 2004.
Players like Mike Green, Travis Zajac, Cory Schneider, Kyle Chipchura and Wojtek Wolski were taken behind him, he hasn't recorded any NHL points. Currently he plays with Rauman Lukko in Finnish SM-Liiga, he has been invited to Finland's national teams camp so he might be in the WC.

And another Finn: Jesse Niinimaki
15th Overall to Edmonton Oilers in 2002.
Denis Grebeshkov, Sean Bergenheim, Cam Ward, Alex Steen, Jiri Hudler, Jeff Deslauries, Matt Stajan and Tom Gilbert were taken after him. He had the hands, but not the head, he went to a bar when others were in a practice. He is one of the fewest Finnish players that has got some problems with his motivation.

And how about this guy: Alexander Svitov
3rd Overall to Tampa Bay Lightning in 2001.
Stephen Weiss, Mikko Koivu, Tuomo Ruutu, Mike Komisarek, R.J. Umberger, Pascal Leclaire and Derek Roy went behind him.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by mikko1995

I don't like to say this but Lauri Tukonen. 11th Overall Pick to Los Angeles Kings in 2004. Players like Mike Green, Travis Zajac, Cory Schneider, Kyle Chipchura and Wojtek Wolski were taken behind him, he hasn't recorded any NHL points. Currently he plays with Rauman Lukko in Finnish SM-Liiga, he has been invited to Finland's national teams camp so he might be in the WC. And another Finn: Jesse Niinimaki 15th Overall to Edmonton Oilers in 2002. Denis Grebeshkov, Sean Bergenheim, Cam Ward, Alex Steen, Jiri Hudler, Jeff Deslauries, Matt Stajan and Tom Gilbert were taken after him. He had the hands, but not the head, he went to a bar when others were in a practice. He is one of the fewest Finnish players that has got some problems with his motivation. And how about this guy: Alexander Svitov 3rd Overall to Tampa Bay Lightning in 2001. Stephen Weiss, Mikko Koivu, Tuomo Ruutu, Mike Komisarek, R.J. Umberger, Pascal Leclaire and Derek Roy went behind him.

I remember all of those guys. Especially Svitov. What a giant bust he was.

[tyler289]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

Notable players taken after Hugh in the first-round: Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Robert Nilsson, Zach Parise, Eric Fehr, Ryan Getzlaf, Brent Burns, Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards and Corey Perry. This doesn't even include serviceable NHLers such as Patrick Eaves and Steve Bernier.

When the Caps passed on Getzlaf for Fehr, I was furious, just like most Caps fans. For years, there were cries of "We could have had Getzlaf!!"

And until this year, everyone considered Fehr pretty much a bust (mostly due to his back injuries) and we were, of course, one of the few teams who missed on their first round pick in 2003. Luckily, Fehr has come up huge for this team and has had a great year...and while Getzlaf would be nice, we made out pretty well with Fehr.

[Qb]

Tyler's avatar reminded me of the biggest bust IMO -- Alexander Volchkov. Huge hype... grand total of 3 NHL games.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Qb

Tyler's avatar reminded me of the biggest bust IMO -- Alexander Volchkov. Huge hype... grand total of 3 NHL games.

I don't remember him.
What was the hype about him?

[DrJones]

I think you'd have to be a #1 overall pick to qualify as "the biggest draft bust ever". If we're just talking about terrible first-round picks, the Canucks alone would qualify for a 10-page thread.

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

I don't remember him. What was the hype about him?

He was talked up as the next great Russian scorer leading up to the 1996 draft. Remember that was right around the prime years of Bure/Fedorov/Mogilny for some context. If memory serves, he slipped a few spots to #4 based on concerns regarding his make-up after a lot of talk about going first, which eventually appeared to be true.

Quote:

Alexander Volchkov (1996) -- The Russian-born center was picked No. 4 in 1996 after a 37-goal season with Barrie of the OHL. He had 29 goals and 82 points for the Colts in 1996-97, then turned pro -- and saw his scoring touch completely disappear. He never scored more than 11 goals in the minors and played only three games with the Capitals. He returned to Russia in 2000 and was out of hockey a season later.

In the end, probably a case of a guy being hyped based on a loose correlation to a great player -- hey, Bure/Fedorov/Mogilny are Russian and great, this guy is Russian... -- but when you see 82 points in the OHL, that doesn't scream "superstar" to me.

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

I think you'd have to be a #1 overall pick to qualify as "the biggest draft bust ever". If we're just talking about terrible first-round picks, the Canucks alone would qualify for a 10-page thread.

Fair enough. Although that means I can't throw another great bust out there... Jason Bonsignore.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Qb

He was talked up as the next great Russian scorer leading up to the 1996 draft. Remember that was right around the prime years of Bure/Fedorov/Mogilny for some context. If memory serves, he slipped a few spots to #4 based on concerns regarding his make-up after a lot of talk about going first, which eventually appeared to be true. In the end, probably a case of a guy being hyped based on a loose correlation to a great player -- hey, Bure/Fedorov/Mogilny are Russian and great, this guy is Russian... -- but when you see 82 points in the OHL, that doesn't scream "superstar" to me. Fair enough. Although that means I can't throw another great bust out there... Jason Bonsignore.

Hahaha! I remember Bonsignore well. What a colossal bust he was!

Thanks for the info on Volchkov. Crazy that he was out of hockey entirely by 2001.
Reminds me a bit of Alex Stojanov. Drafted very high by the Canucks and figured to be the next Neely. Then nothing.
A friend of mine went to school with him briefly when getting his MCSE. He said he was a nice guy but very bitter about his dismissal from hockey. He admitted to not even putting on skates for years after his last season and blamed a lot of people for mishandling his training and giving mixed signals on his expectations.