Patrik Stefan- 1999 NHL Draft

[@rylandawe93]

Clearly him and hockey in the city of Atlanta are going to go onto great things.

[@AftComet]

All I can think of right now is: "Stefan steals and he'll ice it. Oh! At least I thought he was until he blew it! Here come the Oilers the other way, and Hemsky's loose, Hemsky, HE SCORES!!! CAN. YOU. BELIEVE. WHAT. WE. JUST. SAW? Patrick Stefan you should be ashamed of yourself, that does not belong in the National Hockey League."

[@robrick9361]

Patrik "Empty Net" Stefan.

[@ryanbelger998]

the sedin's were the best players in this draft. period

[@Xicedragonnx]

Zetterberg

[@ryanbelger998]

him too

[@MGOBLUE902]

+Ryan belger actually just him

[@dftmmwgitd]

miller

[@itsthizzbaby]

no shit, really? you're probably the only person on earth who knows this information!

[@rickgrimes5441]

"I think this team has a great future." LMAO, just like your career.

[@trendmonkey403]

how good was your career

[@TheErcinator]

Apparently "Empty Net Scoring" was not on his resume.

[@sinisterone4673]

In an alternate universe, Atlanta becomes a hockey hot bed and Patrik Stefan captains them to multiple Stanley Cups

[@aceventuraify]

is it too soon to label him a bust?

[@98higgs]

Absolutely

[@Cambergain]

bust

[@bobjones4892]

aceventuraify he's only 36, let the kid develop for gods sake

[@kwackfish]

Stefan did have 2 concussions the year he was drafted and I think that if he was chosen by another team other than Atlanta he would've had a better career. Now I'm not saying that he would have been a superstar if he was chosen by any other team but he certainly would've had a decent career if was drafted by a team like Detroit, Toronto, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, etc. . The fact that he had 2 concussions in his draft year and that he was injury prone his entire professional hockey career didn't help his cause that much. He missed 119 games over his 8 year NHL career,

[@philojudaeusofalexandria9556]

Too many head hits and seamless glass back then. Too bad we lost Lindros and Kariya and many other promising players like Stefan to concussions. The NHL didn't wake up and do something about it until Crosby was the victim.

[@philojudaeusofalexandria9556]

This scares the crap out of me. "A real gentleman. Mature beyond his years." "Just missed the last draft" "Big strong centreman" "Owned a league playing against men." "Can play right away"... Everything also said about Auston Matthews. PLEASE HOCKEY GODS! DON'T DO THIS TO US! In Auston I trust!

[@davidmccalla6799]

+jaajaalol N9 No he is not Laine is the better goal scorer but Matthews is the better all around player and was the best player available.

[@slimmychoo2878]

Matthews won't be a bust trust me.

[@philojudaeusofalexandria9556]

Yeah, I figured that out after the 1st world cup exhibition game against europe. As long as he can stay healthy he'll be a superstar.

[@slimmychoo2878]

Philo Judaeus of Alexandria and now he holds a record for scoring the most goals in an nhl debute.

[@philojudaeusofalexandria9556]

The Squeaky Roaster Yup. Stefan had 5 goals in 72 games in his rookie year. Matthews has 4 in 1 so far.

[@suomalaiset]

He probably got cursed by Gretzky for wearing that 99, lol

[@billydu9934]

dude, that was not 99. It had an apostrophe, meaning it was '99, which meant 1999, as in the 1999 draft. Even Henrik and Daniel's jersey they wore when drafted had '99.

[@billydu9934]

Matt Sutherland calm down man. I don't want to argue with you. I just wanted to tell you that this was a different 99. Still, either way, it still does say 99 ;)

[@ScaryRevenant]

Atlanta really does deserve another franchise with ownership that cares

[@10DeanYoungblood]

Henrik Zetterberg was picked as no 210 that same draft

[@CAlecN]

i named a glitch after him in NHL 12 if you miss an open net you call it the patrik stefan glitch

[@AEMoreira81]

If Patrik Stefan isn't the biggest #1 draft bust ever, he has to be #2 (after Greg Joly---career -163 in 365 games).

[@MrY3110w]

to think zetterberg was picked 210th overall that year...

[@UFC16]

Thank You Atlanta. Henrik and Daniel Sedin two of the top 5 players in the NHL.

[@JCMoney]

@ImKoolWithThis basically, it was because he was already playing in a Men's league, putting up a PPG pace as a 17 year old. he also had good size at his age. It was just a shame he could not put it all together.

[@lukas187x]

Over a decade later, it feels like only Vancouver, Detroit, Buffalo and (maybe) Ottawa struck gold. Vancouver got the Sedins, Detroit got their current captain in Zetterberg, Buffalo got another goalie gem in Ryan Miller, and Havlat had been a servicable player in his career. As for the rest ... sigh.

[@ihatemadmoe]

Crazy how astronomically bad 99 was for a draft year.

[@AndyStubblefield]

Barret Jackman for the Blues has had a serviceable career. He's no All-Star, but he just played in his 780th game as a Blue, good for 2nd All-Time.

[@philojudaeusofalexandria9556]

Barret Jackman was good enough to win a Calder over Zetterberg, Nash and Bouwmeester. A little better than 'serviceable' IMO. I'd call him "very good". Consistent top-4 D that can play top-2 minutes in case of emergency/injury. Now he's old so he's dropped to 'serviceable'.

[@SCP783]

you are right, if Daigle wouldn't have been lazy he would have been good, but got caught up in the money

[@Vorkosh7575]

they weren't allowed to. The reason they had the first pick was because the canucks traded it to them on the condition that they did not draft either sedin. The Canucks had 1st and 3rd overall, Atlanta had 2nd overall. Burke thought it made no sense to go up twice, so he offered Atlanta 1st overall to be the stars of the draft since it was their first year, on the condition that Atlanta not draft either twin

[@TAG037]

anyone else notice that when Patrik Stefan's name came up as first pick overall, the picture on the side was the Canucks not the Thrashers. 2:42

[@kitchensracing]

this makes me cry a little.

[@sabresman31]

They put a Canucks logo next to his name when they interviewed him.

[@romangagne5842]

sabresman31 Just a sign to how his career would go

[@prestonfontana8416]

The Canucks were THIRSTY for picks that year. They wanted the Sedin's. Both of them. They already had to trade up to make sure they got both second and third pick that draft.

[@rapideye97]

Only 6 from the first round that year are still active.

[@PocketPear79]

I recall him missing an empty net goal against edmonton that turned into a highlight reel blooper. that was pretty sweet.

[@hellonicetomeetyou]

Atlanta picked Stefan because the Sedins said they had to play on the same team, otherwise they'd stay in Sweden. Vancouver made a good move in getting both of them. Pavel Brendl was supposed to be a good player as well, too bad he became a bust like Stefan...I guess that pretty much sums up the '99 draft though, lots of players were supposed to be good but instead barely made the league.

[@pieistheworld]

the only possible reason he missed that net was the open net glitch- superbmen logic

[@prontoshadylane]

patrik stefan BLEW IT!

[@stashJ8]

@BobbleZilla I'd say Daigle because he put up scary numbers in juniors (45 goals in 53 games in one year) and it was maddening to see that he couldn't get more out of his talent. Patrik was more of a gamble in what was a weak draft class. He was kind of an unknown coming out of the IHL. Daigle was at least able to net 20 goals 3x but he was a massive underachiever.

[@jigsaw99]

@BobbleZilla Stefan. Daigle was actually the leading scorer on the Senators and Wilds for a couple of seasons.

[@puckcrazed35]

yea well he was drafted before both of them so plus he my coach, and he made it to the nhl, id like to see u guys do that and be first draft pick

[@EdgeHeadTubeV2]

I bet he watches this interview now and cries.

[@itsthizzbaby]

Doesn't seem like anyone noticed that it shows the Canucks logo when Stefan is being interviewed lol, wtf?

[@PENS68]

Atlanta Thrashers first overall pick Patrik Stefan- 1999 13 years later uhmm yeah

[@jefersonvasquez66]

A comment from Jim Hughson in the NHL08 game for PC about Zetterberg when he gets the puck : Here comes Henrik Zetterberg, in which Detroit used a low pick to get high grade talent. (Or something along those lines.)

[@lucrativelyrics2004]

(@2:36) vancouver canucks (orca) logo beside patrik stefan's name..WTF??

[@EdgeHeadTubeV2]

@smylzk Henrik Zetterberg, Ryan Miller, Martin Havlat, Nick Boynton, Tim Connolly, Ryan Malone and Martin Erat were all from this year too. All solid players, with the first two being superstars.

[@Slipppppers]

@JCMoney You could make a case for Doug Wickenheiser, Gord Kluzak, Greg Joly, or how about Rick Pagnutti and Claude Gauthier, who didn't even play a single game in the NHL?

[@vicdamon3551]

I don't understand how anyone was looking at him. He had no stats before the draft. They drafted him based on one season in Long Beach. What?

[@TheSkeletor612]

He was a ppg player in a pro league playing with players in their 30s at 17 how is that not amazing to you?

[@dylanpendergast6648]

funnniest thing is that this draft was supposed to be the "draft of the future" and a "strong draft" LOL

[@Splanch]

2:37 They have the Canucks logo instead of the Thrashers

[@jigsaw99]

best pick!

[@Vorkosh7575]

the thrashers were not allowed to get either sedin, as a condition of the trade that got them the first overall pick

[@AEMoreira81]

The reason why they didn't pick Henrik Sedin (the Thrashers) was because that was a condition of being traded the #1 overall pick. But the Thrashers diidn't have to do Greg Joly or Brian Lawton-style bad!

[@dumby88]

True that they made a mistake ...but he wasnt the worst 1st overall pick , Alexandre Daigle was by far.One other thing , Ryan miller (buffalo) was also in this year draft and i believe he did made an impact.Zetterberg also was in that year (pick#210)

[@goldygopher26]

what were they thinking when they came up with the colors and logo

[@22prince22billups1]

best player in this draft, drafted 210 overall was henrik zetterberg

[@hockeyboy1231]

At least Stefan actually gives a shit about the game. Daigle said that he only continued to play for the money and that he never liked playing and only did it cause he was good at it. And the Senators didnt give up on him, even the logo they have now is said to resemble Daigle's face. They even fired the coach when they demoted him to the 4th line. The Senators finally got smart and traded Daigle and they finally picked up the pace. ATL is starting to get on track but only time will tell.

[@thinkingjack]

Not only were the thrashers doomed from the start, but this guy plays beer league in california now

[@FFJabarr]

@jetsniper Haha yeah as soon as I posted it I thought of Datsyuk and then Z popped up in my head.

[@IVitaminWater]

as you've heard from other responses, atlanta wasn't allowed to pick one of the Sedins and Zetterberg was one of the seldomly scouted hidden prospects detroit had. No one would've expected miller at all so at that time it's completely retarded to think that anyone could see where ryan miller was going in 1999, and as for havlat, well ya, they could've gotten him but at the time stefan along with brendl (two huge busts) were just about the once choices for the thrashers

[@sakynesh]

@SOLIDSNAKEXXX360 dude, the sedin twins are art ross trophy winners and MVPs. how many can say that?

[@gohabs92]

@spacerangerchimp Does the name Patrick Kane ring a bell to you?

[@Ducksrule123]

RIP atl thrashers

[@sortman94]

@spacerangerchimp wow that must be pretty cool. we dont really have any stars from where im from, here in philly. the closest four i can think of would be jvr from middletown, bobby ryan from cherry hill, ryan malone and rj umberger both from pittsburgh

[@TAG037]

You know the Thrashers were doomed from the start when the commentary called them the Atlanta Flames

[@Vorkosh7575]

Thrashers were not allowed to draft a sedin. That's the whole reason they got 1st overall. That pick belonged to Vancouver. Vancouver had #1 and #3 overall. Traded #1 to Atlanta for #2 on the condition that Atlanta not draft a sedin since Burke was lazy and didn't want to go up to the podium twice.

[@atl236136]

Either way, they should have just held their original pick and drafted a Sedin and THEN talked deal. They could see how badly the Canucks wanted both of them (because I believe the Sedins wanted to stay together anyway, as memory serves), so I think dealing AFTERWARDS rather than BEFOREHAND would have made for better leverage. I guess there's no real reason to overanalyze it though since they probably would have ended up with Stefan one way or the other :-(

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Can't even call 1999 a shallow draft. There was just hardly anything there at all. The Atlanta Thrashers were a sad story. So many lacklustre seasons and draft busts, or good picks that were later traded away for nothing. Much like my Oilers in the 1990's. Bonsignore, Allison, Kelly...

[@Poliwrath250]

Destroyed by injury. Could have been better otherwise.

[@ChrisMac]

That's Jimmy Hughson - is this TSN? I thought he'd left in the mid 90s.

[@PaletFire]

I don't understand how this was a bust, yeah he didn't pan out...but have you looked at the draft rankings for that year? I don't see anything special outside of the Sedins. And that was impossible since they wanted to play together.

[@Pt_bar]

@sortman94 Basically, and yea lol. Its also cool cuz I live very close to where Patrick Marleau is from about 45 minutes. He has trophies with his name on them in our rink

[@Bbpagewolf]

This was definitely the worst draft ever and Patrik Stefan was definitely the worst 1st overall pick ever. However, the worst overall 1st round ever came in 1996. The only highlight player from that 1st round was Danny Briere. Everyone else from that 1st round was either just okay or disappointing.

[@SYLFan2008]

//Patrik Stefan was definitely the worst 1st overall pick ever.// Disagree. The worst ever 1st overall picks would be awarded to (in no particular order): -Claude Gauthier (1964, Det) -Andre Veilleux (1965, NYR) -Rick Pagnutti (1967, L.A.) *Neither of the three listed played a single NHL game*. Also, players like Greg Joly (1974, WSH) or Gord Kluzak (1982, Boston) were equally, if not more, disappointing as Stefan.

[@Cambergain]

rick dipietro

[@Jasper-Holland]

SYLFan2008 Back in those times there was little scouting, they did not have the tools to predict the potential ability of players. You can't compare the 1st overall picks on 1964, 1965 and 1967 to first picks in the 90's

[@Bbpagewolf]

Statitions always say that the most disappointing 1st overall picks are always between Patrik Stefan, Brian Lawton, and Alexandre Daigle. Rick Dipietro is thrown in there from time to time as well, but it's those 3 forwards that really disappointed in the most impactful ways. From there it's just a matter of opinion of who was the worst and in my opinion it's Stefan.

[@billydu9934]

+Brandon Barenfeld late reply, but Stefan only had 35 points in his draft year. Yet McDavid gets 120 in his draft year, and both played in somewhat different eras.

[@gun4hire]

Picking Stefan was as sure a thing as scoring an empty netter on a breakaway

[@sortman94]

@spacerangerchimp gotcha gotcha. i think i remember hearing his name as a pen because i have the top 10 flyers games box set and the 5 ot game was on there.

[@gmwdim]

And Hemsky's loose! Hemsky! He scores!

[@lucrativelyrics2004]

>nhl/nba teams doomed from the first pick: " atlanta thrashers select patrick stefan 1st overall '' '' vancouver grizzlies select bryant 'big country' reeves 6th overall ''

[@ScaryRevenant]

luke shaw LMFAO I forgot about him

[@Leetbeast]

why did this guy get picked before the sedins?!?!

[@MrTherater1]

He put that 99 on and it cursed his career

[@MacGovernor]

The Atlanta Trashers - 1st picks, Daniel Heatly, Ilya Kovalchuck. Now Dustin Byfuglien and no hope reaching the playoffs. I wonder if they have some sort of agreement with the Stars that they'll dump all their biggest draft busts (Patrik Stefan, Kari Lehtonen) there.

[@sortman94]

@MrWoodPencil yeah, its an arguable topic. but off the top of my head (im probably wrong) i think daigle lasted longer and had better stats

[@GabuNationalist]

In terms of overall bust and skills Stefan is easily a bigger bust compared to Daigle. Daigle had a good rookie season and had times where his points were decent. That being said Daigle's production in the NHL was terrible compared to his stats in other leagues, and he had a lazy attitude.

[@sortman94]

biggest #1 pick draft bust in nhl history

[@studentbrown]

Patrick unreal for them. Patrick Laine.

[@antropov80]

@MikeyTatts He was a concensus #1. The Thrashers never knew that would happen. Plus look at how many busts were in the '99 draft, it was just a terrible year

[@meds613]

@sortman94 what about daigle?

[@22prince22billups1]

@Tbagurdrumset94 Zetterberg was in the draft, he went 210 overall..

[@EternalSilence4ever]

@JCMoney Okay, I stand corrected. Why did this guy fall so much out of favour out of everyone? I noticed that teams HAD taken chances on him after Ottawa got rid of him, but what happened? Maybe Stefan was rushed into the NHL? But that makes no sense... he was playing in a men's league as an 18 year old. So what happened with PS? Obviously that empty net goal mis-hap shattered whatever confidence he had. I watched the replay. Unlucky guy.

[@atl236136]

Thrashers should have picked a Sedin & held him ransom for the Canucks to trade. If you're going to turn down ransom like that, be SURE about your #1 pick and even THEN, you couldn't have been sure enough about Stefan to not just go out, pick a Sedin and then build a foundation with the picks you get in a trade. Sad our whole franchise went down the shitter right from the beginning :-S If they'd hired Burke instead of Waddell..... URRGGGHHHHHHH, mustn't think of these things!....

[@HandsOfCinderblock]

@22prince22billups1 dont get me wrong there were good players... but only about 6 or 7. about 2 first rounders are nhl regulars today

[@knuckles1438]

this guy was my coach

[@simongagne33]

there was no one this draft other than the sedin

[@csb17brown]

This is considered the worst draft class in history and only 7 players that was selected to the all-star game and saddest thing about the 1999 NHL Draft was considered the deepest talent in years of it's time however in terms of players. They had pretential to turn their franchise around but the first overall pick was originally belonged to the Tampa Bay Lightning but the thrashers were not supposed to have the First Overall In the First place. That Was Big mistake the Thrashers made And that general manager of the time will totally regret of not picking one of the sedins twins he probably looking at mirror thinking WTF I was thinking picking him and this will haunt them for the rest of lives.

[@DrMcVictory]

and Carolina hired Atlantas old GM (the one who picked Stefan 1st overall btw) to be their new GM/puppet to Tom Dundon

[@antropov80]

@sortman94 actually that would be Daigle

[@Pt_bar]

@sortman94 The closest player that comes close was Patrick (Patty) Falloon but I think he was 3rd Overall

[@topnep548]

You missed the empty net

[@dumby88]

the year realy did suck . But still there was the Sedin twins + Ryan Miller (who was drafted #138)

[@AtlantaSportsFan]

Heatley was getting traded no matter what he wanted to start over after the Snyder incident. The Zhitnik trade was horrible but we dont need Coburn we have better defensmen now.

[@telet7543]

Maybe if he had played with the Sedins he would’ve been better, but at least he made to the NHL.

[@Zaidr0n]

what if Stefan wasn't a draft bust? History will be made.

[@sortman94]

@MrWoodPencil ohh, i didnt know he was injured. that would explain the retarded stat totals. he may have been able to compare to daigle a bit better, had he not been injured.

[@AEMoreira81]

#2, #3 (Sedins), and #24 (Martin Havlat) were the only decent players in the first round.

[@MOMOarabe]

what if they drafted one of the sedins.

[@fooldeth]

Atlanta flames.

[@sortman94]

@spacerangerchimp true. wasnt he a penguin? if im not mistaken.

[@OcarinaofKillingTime]

and the sedins were 2nd and 3rd

[@sortman94]

@spacerangerchimp gotcha. so he was like a journeyman with a lot of hype who basically did nothing? and i find it funny how marleau was drafted second (if i remember correctly) to joe thornton and now they play on the same team.

[@HandsOfCinderblock]

and then next came... the Sedins.