Redrafting Round One of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft

[@Skynertia]

The Oilers' 1980 draft was like a team drafting Makar, Draisaitl, and Hellebuyck all at the same time. Honestly wild.

[@ShaunBowm]

They had a lot of good role players late in the drafts that helped Of course 79 & 80 draft got Lowe, Anderson, messier, kurri, Coffey, moog And of course Gretzky as a protected player

[@chrisonydotcom2317]

Like Dallas' 2017 draft to a lesser extent. They got Oettinger, Robertson and Heiskinen (a stud in all 3 areas) in one go! Outstanding!!!

[@Sean-YEG]

As an Oilers fan I'm much happier things went the way they actually did thanks.

[@kj6446]

ditto

[@gocanuckurself1]

😂😂😂😂

[@thomasjefferson6]

Thank you, Shannon for this much needed and very interesting video! The Oilers had the best back-to-back drafts in NHL history: Mark Messier (1979), Glenn Anderson (1979), Kevin Lowe (1979), Paul Coffey (1980), Jari Kurri (1980), and Andy Moog (1980), five of whom ended up in the Hall of Fame, and this doesn't count Wayne Gretzky, who was never drafted.

[@mazukakai]

Kurri is my all time favorite. I'd be fine with him on the Jets, as long as Hawerchuk is centering that line.

[@Biggskye]

As a Bruins' fan, I remember the 1980 draft because the team drafted their top 3 future Centers (Pederson/Fergus/Kasper) with their first 3 picks.

[@LatinxGoyslop1994]

Redrafts are some of my favorite of your videos, even if I wasn't alive to know the players

[@andrewparish625]

Love these re-drafts!!

[@rickyaz8640]

Missed Hakan Loob #8. Had a short but productive NHL career. Cup winner. 9th round!

[@father042]

He decided to return to Sweden for the rest opf his career

[@shadowdog200]

6 seasons and 450 games? sure 429 points but only 6 seasons and 450 games. Teams have been scared to draft russians since they might just go home and play hockey like Loob.

[@ZappaSheik]

​@@shadowdog200he did play 450 games. And the team knew he would leave when he did when they signed him it wasn't a secret.

[@The_Room_2_Doggys_Revenge]

The Oilers didn't waste time building up their dynasty through the draft when they got in the NHL (1979 : Messier, Lowe, Anderson; 1980 : Kurri, Coffey; 1981 : Fuhr)

[@michaelkeller5927]

And then didn't draft a single NHL caliber player from like 84-93 lmao. How their head scout made the hall of fame is insane. Outside of 3 fluke drafts he was terrible.

[@SverigeiSverige]

Moog

[@miketruman6030]

It was a big draft for the Bruins too - Pederson, Fergus and Kasper. Completely reloaded down the middle. And Pederson was an absolute killer until he got that growth in his shoulder and lost a lot of muscle. Even still, he managed 3 more 70+ point seasons and was outstanding defensively. Kasper gets all the attention as Gretzky's shadow, but Pederson was Selke material too.

[@allansbullet]

I'm an Oilers fan, and have been for 50 years. This redraft and the original drafts around 1979 to 1982 or so just show what a bloody smart GM and coach Glen Sather was!! Thank heavens your draft never came true Shannon!!

[@kylespencer7756]

Oh look, even back then the leafs were trading away all their draft picks too

[@VanillaLoaf]

Hakan Loob should be a first rounder based on name alone. Helped that he was a handy little player too.

[@yogibearstie]

Who knew the MVP of 1980 was the Oilers scouting department

[@nClout_]

I am not old enough to know any of these guys but i always appreciate a history lessson from Shannon

[@tonttaana8930]

there is Jari kurris finnish biography!!. Where story goes that all the other nhl teams had a information!. That Kurri had a deal with finnish hockey assotion, which was that Kurri is coming to nhl after 1984 sarajevo winter olynpics not before that!!. So thats why other teams didnt draft him in 1980 nhl draft!. But oilers knew that there was not such a deal...so they took him!.

[@richardferguson6893]

Just about spat my drink out when Shannon said he was keeping Lanz at 7!

[@thesilentz4574]

Before my time, but appreciate the going back in time and seeing these redrafts. Plenty of names i recognize partly due to the career vids, other vids on the channel too and then some from my own hockey watching. Especially Savard for various reasons, but one reason being a blues fan friend of mine from that era talking the history between those two teams with me during last years league.

[@Lazzar1958]

I got to see Deni Savard play with the Blackhawks against the Canucks. What a smooth FAST player, every time he had puck all eyes were glued on him as he flew down the ice!

[@ShaunBowm]

Arguably the best skater of all time, nobody could circle, spinarama with the puck.

[@Lazzar1958]

@@ShaunBowm 'The Roadrunner' Yvan Cournoyer was no slouch either!

[@martynclough602]

Hi Shannon. I seen Mike Blaisdell play here in the UK 🇬🇧. He played for my team, Nottingham Panthers. He played in our country for a long time & had a great career.

[@iandonaldson4]

I live for these redraft videos thank you Shannon

[@AgentQ47]

Shannon, can you make these into a playlist?

[@TheHockeyGuy]

They are.

[@WarioSaysSo]

Merit wise in retro-perspective, this is how I see the 1980 NHL Entry Draft! 1. Paul Coffey - Montreal Canadiens. 2. Jari Kurri - Winnipeg Jets 3. Larry Murphy - Chicago Blackhawks 4. Denis Savard - LA Kings 5. Andy Moog - Washington Capitals 6. Hakan Loob - Edmonton Oilers (NOTE: Hugely underrated, but both merit and skillwise is a solid Top 10 pick) 7. Brent Sutter - Vancouver Canucks 8. Bernie Nicholls - Hartford Whalers 9. Steve Larmer - Pittsburgh Penguins 10. Kelly Hrudey - LA Kings 11. Reijo Ruotsalainen - Detroit Red Wings. 12. Brian Mullen - St. Louis Blues 13. Walt Poddubny - Calgary Flames 14. Mike Bullard - NY Rangers 15. Patrik Sundstrom - Chicago Blackhawks 16. Jim Fox - Minnesota North Stars 17. Doug Lister - NY Islanders 18. Troy Murray - Boston Bruins 19. Steve Konroyd - Colorado Rockies 20. Barry Pederson - Buffalo Sabres 21. Mark Osbourne - Philadelphia Flyers Toronto Maple Leafs out of a 1st round overall pick!

[@ZappaSheik]

Kurri was great, but imagine Håkan Loob with Gretzky. That extreme talent with the Great One and at the same time the greatest hockey sense in the world in 2 players in the same line.

[@WarioSaysSo]

@@ZappaSheik Fully agree here!!!!!

[@thomaspanzer1548]

Mike Bullard was really a great guy. Especially late in his career over here in germany as the mentor of Marco Sturm in Landshut, loved him😊

[@derapalum6692]

I´m not going to name guys who are already mentioned, but HM to Mike McPhee. Twice fifth in Selke voting. Really underrated.

[@stoehrcov]

I still think Habs pick Savard. Who they later traded for 10 years later. Wick was a right handed shot to pass to the Flower. Coffey second

[@julianbarilla5833]

Love the videos Shannon, keep up the great work

[@renlessard]

Wickenheiser was not that controversial at the time. He was the consensus pick by most scouts because he was a better scorer, bigger and played in what was perceived to be a much tougher Junior league.

[@ronaldwayne7092]

And if the Habs had taken someone else, it would have been Babych. No one was considering Savard at #1.

[@KevinJL]

There were people inside Montreal who wanted Savard.

[@run2fire]

Got a Polaroid with Mike Bullard. Had a couple good years with the Pens. Have Kurri’s rookie card.

[@Shaun_R82]

So my question Shannon is who would you have drafting Wickenheiser 😮

[@Mr1117B]

I think 1980 was supposed to be Gretzky's draft year. Montreal planned to get the 1st pick years before. Am I wrong ? Not sure.

[@kevinmassey1164]

Paul Coffey… traded by the Oilers who kept on winning. Traded by Pittsburgh, who also won without him. Traded by Detroit who then got over the hump and won. A lot of great teams traded him away and still won…or got better

[@kylespencer7756]

Is that the same Mike Bullard that had a late night talk show on one of the local TV channels back in Ontario about 15-20 years ago

[@vincentgiasson7551]

Bonjour Shannon, with all due respect with Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe and Rod Langway on defense at the time, I don't think that the Habs would have chosen Coffey with the 1st choice. They wanted a goal scorer and a playmaker so I think they should have gone with either Savard or Kurri. Imagine a line with Jari Kurri, Pierre Larouche and Guy Lafleur...WOW

[@10.11.9]

Craig Ludwig was one of the best shot blockers of the last forty years.

[@ronfroehlich4697]

For real

[@evilmotorsports5076]

I have a funny story involving a draft. I played in a fancy pants beer league tournament that was $1,000 per player and your team drafted a NHL alumni. Craig Ludwig went #1 overall because he offered whatever team drafted him a boatload of whiskey. Denis Savard was drafted #6 and on the podium he told the 5 teams that passed on him to go F themselves. We got Marty Turco (skating out) with out #9 pick. We could have used him in net.

[@christhornycroft3686]

It’s rough being a Canucks fan sometimes. Rick Lanz? Before Larmer, Kurri, Sutter, Babych, Lidster, Murray and Moog? And Barry Pederson brings up bad memories. Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but wow.

[@conyo1942]

I find it interesting how you're doing it in almost real time. Like I'm sure top 5 is obvious, but after is a bit more difficult

[@RRaquello]

Brent Sutter is badly underrated. Of course there were the Stanley Cups with the Islanders, but don't forget he was also picked three times for Team Canada when that was the only best-on-best tournament in hockey. That's how good he was considered to be during his career by the best minds in hockey. Fred Arthur, if I recall correctly, had a very short career because he quit to become a doctor. Imagine that.

[@father042]

I wonder where you would place Wickenheiser with the re-draft, he was 33rd in points

[@scowlistic]

This was pretty damn cool.

[@radivel1]

@The Hockey Guy - you should be saying where they were actually taken first time around, like where was Kurri taken? It was the 4th round, 69th overall. Nice.

[@InsignificantNick]

Disappointed you didn't draft Hakan Loob, Shannon.

[@10.11.9]

. . . nor Ruotsalainen.

[@ZappaSheik]

Håkan Loob is missing. Not many games but Calgary knew he would leave as he had decided when joining. Win a Stanley Cup and go home. 450 games 429 points, 1 50 goal season.

[@oceanshrugs9235]

Coffey to the Habs? I can dig it. Hopefully the redraft for our next #1 stays the same!

[@GRChrzak]

My favorite thing about Bullard was that as the Penguins were tanking to draft Lemieux, he was like, "Yeah, I think I'mma score 50 this year." Also, the 1983 Draft would have to be high on the list for toughest. The Wings alone selected Probert, Kocur, and Grimson.

[@gsipp00]

🧐🤔 a few Hawks up there on the board and honorable mentions so 80s Chicago teams yeah nice roster unfortunately Oilers in the West hard to get through.

[@williamhinchcliff6290]

Wickenheiser is kind of a legend here in St Louis. Was he really unworthy of a first round pick?

[@goodeye6373]

Added a couple teams since then.

[@Rockhound6165]

The Canadiens drafting Wickenheiser over Denis Savard is one of the biggest draft blunders IMO.

[@Patrickkanefan88]

Dave babych sued the flyers training staff for cutting his 20 year career short. 😂

[@ryguyful]

Hakan Loob? Steve Kasper?

[@TheHockeyGuy]

Loob had a shorter career in the NHL. Kasper didn't make the list for me.

[@ryguyful]

@@TheHockeyGuy I assumed the shortness of his career was your reason..but what talent!

[@audibletapehiss3764]

If I'm redrafting today, yours is pretty good. If I'm going back in the ol' time machine and starting a new timeline, Bernie Nicholls goes 2 slots higher.

[@cowetascore8476]

Bill Torrey with 2 of the top 9 in your draft... Bowtie Bill was a legend and at this point he also had Jim Devellano with hiim

[@smithryansmith]

Just for next time, could you mention the round and place they were actually taken?

[@capsfan4life30]

Can you imagine a Caps team with Langway, Stevens, AND Coffey? Then throw Larry Murphy into that mix as well. That team would have made a TON of noise in the playoffs.

[@RIPJimmyA7X]

No team has ever dominated a single draft like the Oilers did in 1980. Best single team draft ever

[@davidminor4213]

Red Wings draft of 1989 was even more dominant. Lidstrom and Federov were taken in the 3rd and 4th

[@ugiswrong]

Only ever heard of the first eleven

[@Mars-Meuers]

Wasn't Dino Ciccarelli a free agent signing this year? Doesn't make this list?

[@SasquatchChief]

Honorable mentions to Hakan Loob for best name. Joe Ward of Seattle Breakers fame.

[@whitneysmiltank]

"you lose kurri and coffey" sounds like a trip in India that went south

[@bobbyhulll8737]

79 draft was stacked partly because it had 2 years of picks in one draft I would say because of the reduction in the draft age when the leagues merged

[@modernhockeycards]

Nailed it.

[@tomchamberlain4329]

Nottingham Panthers legend Mike Blaisdell

[@sopowerabboy]

The reason Habs got the 1st pick is because of GM Sam Pollock. Hesaw ahead of time that Gretzky could be something and tried to get him by trading for 1st round from a bottom feeder just like he did with Guy Lafleur while expecting the draft eligibility to be lower to 19. However, he did not expect that Gretzky going to WHA wouldve made him eligible to 1979 NHL draft.

[@bjornalm9950]

Håkan Loob, a 50-goal scorer then 30 playoff points when Calgary won the Cup. And a member of the triple club. Patrik Sundström in Vancover, solid, should go higher. A great twoway center is hard to find, today Leo Carlsson a similar talent went second. Boy was the scouting/drafting bad those days! 😢

[@zafwarsi3238]

The re-draft is obviously subjective, and i thanknyou for it, Shannon. However, Craig Ludwig ought to have gone in the 1st round over a handful of the guys you mentioned

[@DucksUpDogsDownCatsSlide]

Great video as always. If only the Habs drafted Denis Savard.

[@scowlistic]

2:32 Hello kitty.

[@biffstrong1079]

Yes this is the world famous Irving Grundman failed draft. He was infamous for doing exactly the wrong thing. and then leaving a quote in the ether that would survive for eternity. Doug Wickenheiser was the consensus number one pick before the draft. Tough western canadian kid who had a complete game, was gritty and a scorer. 89 goals and 171 points his last year with the Regina Pats of the western hockey league. Molson's bought the Canadiens and moved Sam Pollock out to pasture. His designated successor Scotty Bowman was pushed aside with I believe the quote was "he doesn't want to be general manager . He'd rather just be the coach." Which saw Scotty Bowman , hockey legend jump ship in Montreal and move to be GM and coach of the expansion Buffalo Sabres (79/80) despite growing up in monreal, being groomed to be the GM there and loving being in the organization. Grundman's quote before the draft was " We are not going to take someone because he is French Canadian." at the time the drafting of Denis Savard felt like a no brainer and a perfect opportunity to bring in Savard for Lafleur to hand the torch off to. I was disgruntled when Wickenheiser was the pick and to myself I said okay but you better be right. The pick was only available because of a deal Pollock made with the Colorado Rockies and Grundman fumbled the ball given to him. Oh and my third favourite Grundman quote was " No one plays hockey in Switzerland" as he was involved in a contract dispute with Jacques Lemaire who at age 33 after three point a game seasons in a row and four stanley cups in a row, the last of which he was an integral part with 11 goals and 23 points in 16 playoff games, went off to the swiss B league to get paid tax free to be a player coach yes in Switzerland. Good work Grundman. This signaled the end of greatness in Montreal and this draft was symbolic or maybe symptomatic of what was too come. Like your order but Denis Savard should have been a no brainer for Montreal. I still might have David Babych a little higher. Solid players 1200 NHL games and offensive skills. Maybe ahead of your two goalies. Hrudey I might post down around 15. But fun list. Almost every redraft I look at the Flames they do much much better than what they drafted. I need a year when they aced the draft. Okay next year They got Al MacInnis at 15. Im happy again. Bullard scored 51 and 48 . Played 13 years in the NHL and then went to Germany and played a decade in Germany, including for the Berlin Polar Bears. Loved Barry pedersen but I think injury cut his career shorter than injury cut Neely's career short. He was a terrifying 40 goal scorer in Boston. He got hurt in Boston and they pretty ruthlessly traded him to the Canucks, he wasn't as fast and had become a 20 goal point a game guy for a couple years and then degraded more. Canucks moved him to Pittsburgh and he petered out. I remember watching him for the Bruins versus Montreal and being terrified by 22 year old Pederson. He had 32 points in 17 games for the Bruins in the 83 playoffs when they got handled by the Islanders on their way to their 4th cup in a row. thanks

[@angushiltz4880]

Fun to see your redraft up until you puy Moog next to the Hartford magnet. It just doesn't look right. Went from a dream of a redraft to a nightmare really quick. Ha ha. Barry Pederson was really good in Boston. I was really sad to see him go until I saw Neely play. Steve Larmer was one of my favorite players back then too. He definitely doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

[@maxpowr90]

We all know THG chose Barry Pederson for the Bruins since he works for them now.

[@father042]

I do not recognize any of the players beyond the top 10

[@OttawaRocks]

In the re-draft I would still go Denis Savard #1 and Coffey #2. I remember Habs fans ready to burn the Forum down (figuratively speaking) when Wickenheiser went over Savard.

[@Whirlpool730]

Really would like to hear your thoughts on these players who I think could’ve been taken. Craig Ludwig (biggest snub imo) Reijo Ruotsalainen Moe Mantha Craig Muni Darren Veitch

[@10.11.9]

Ruotsalainen had a deadly slapshot from the point, also a two-time Stanley Cup winner with EDM. He and Loob should have made the cut.

[@bobbyhulll8737]

Where does Wickenhieser go ?

[@KevinJL]

Probably the Canucks in round 4

[@timsmith428]

10th round, 200 overall Toronto's pick....Paul Higgins!...YES!!

[@derby3763]

Reijo Ruotsalainen?

[@JasonTzzz]

Can't wait for tough draft class videos!! Enforcers are indeed a selling point for hockey. To this day we purposely buy tickets to watch teams that dress notable fighters and avoid watching softer teams.

[@tysheinin8733]

How did Montreal get the 1st overall pick??? Werent they a dynasty at this time?

[@TheHockeyGuy]

The Rockies weren't run by smart people.

[@KevinJL]

Sam Pollock

[@ShaunBowm]

Was so excited for the 1st overall pick........aw crap Denis Savard would gave been so good Wickeniser was highly touted, but never made it at the nhl level Savard, Coffey could have handled the pressure in Montreal

[@KevinJL]

Sad end for Wickenheiser. I wonder if he'd been better off on Winnipeg. Montreal Canadiens had the first pick of the 1980 draft and the top prospect, according to everyone ranging from the Central Scouting Bureau to The Hockey News, was a big center from the Regina Pats named Doug Wickenheiser. Claude Ruel disagreed. Vehemently. Even though he had stepped in for Boom Boom Geoffrion as the team’s coach 30 games into that season, he had seen enough of Denis Savard to know that the Montreal-born star of the Montreal Juniors, who had put up 181 points in an inferior Quebec League, was destined for NHL stardom. But Ruel was overruled by then Canadiens GM Irving Grumman and assistant GM Ron Caron, who both thought the Canadiens were too small at forward and needed a large presence down the middle. History tells us, of course, that Ruel was right.

[@ernie8401]

Can you redraft 2005 please

[@111oooo]

Denis Savard at 2 IMO and Larmer maybe the most underrated player. All Larmer did was play the game properly at both ends and score a ton of points

[@davidminor4213]

I'd like to see an 89 redraft and obliterate the Wings' dynasty

[@LudwigBeefoven]

Overall, it is good work. However, I would have picked Bernie Nicholls ahead of Brent Sutter. Nicholls had a 70 goal season and he also had over 1,200 career points.

[@TheHockeyGuy]

Sutter won Cups and was the better all around player. Nicholls' had some peak years, but fell off quickly.

[@SverigeiSverige]

Håkan Loob!

[@kokushi629]

I was 3 during this draft

[@AlanNadeauIII]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@Oldpucker]

No disrespect to Yari Kurri, but I think there is a relevant question to be asked. Would he have been even close to as successful if Gretzky wasn’t his line mate for so many seasons? He could finish, he could keep up, he had vision yes yea yeah to all those things. But gretzky……..

[@TheScotian82]

Imagine having a choice between Paul Coffey and Denis Savard. For my money that's two of the top ten Dmen all time. Toss in Larry Murphy, Babych, Lidster.. best D Class ever?

[@MrGlovesave33]

Denis was a speedy skilled center .😊

[@davidminor4213]

2008 could take it with Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, Erik Karlson, John Carlson and Roman Josi. 80 and 08 (that's crazy by itself ... 80 and 08) are likely #1 and #2 no matter which you favor

[@dan-vv8gs]

Denis Savard a defenseman?🤪

[@biffstrong1079]

if the Oilers draft Steve Larmer and then Maybe marc crawford , let em have Poddubny, then Brian Mullen instead of coffey Kurri and moog, they wouldn't have been the same team.

[@Peksisarvinen]

This video sort of highlights the issue of gauging a player's career by their team trophies. If Oilers don't get Coffey, Kurri and Moog here, and Messier, Anderson and Fuhr in different drafts, Gretzky doesn't win a single cup in Edmonton and Gretzky is deemed a loser who can't win a cup. But since Oilers' scouting and drafting was on point, we now look back at his time with the team as a great dynasty. We got the good ending, but if Oilers blew their drafts during the early 80's, we'd have gotten the bad ending. Hanging a player's legacy on that is just ridiculous.

[@humankirk9196]

No way Montreal picks anyone but Denis Savard. They still complain about this today. Denis Savard was seen the "next one" after Lafleur, Beliveau, and Rocket. Put it to you this way: if the Nords had pick #2 they would have picked Savard, in a heartbeat. That's how clear cut it is. Not Coffey, not Kurri, not Wickenheiser, not Babych.

[@xAces11Highx]

There is absolutely no way the Oilers or anyone takes Brent Sutter over Bernie Nicholls. This is just insane. Sutter aside from his 84-85 fever dream season never came close to 100 points ever again. Even if you want to completely take 88-89 away from Nicholls, he’s still a career 1,000 point player.

[@TheHockeyGuy]

Sutter was a much better all around player. There's a reason Nicholls was traded often.

[@sawyer33]

The Wings get screwed even if pretend drafts. 🙈

[@davidminor4213]

Well you did draft Lidstrom and Federov 3rd and 4th in 89 (among others) so I don't have a lot of sympathy

[@sawyer33]

@@davidminor4213 That was 34 years ago. 🤯

[@santalopiantubes]

The guy who has 285k followers does zero research before filming this and does the redraft on the fly?! You gotta be kidding me

[@Oilers1972]

Montreal wins more than one cup in the 80s and there is no Oilers dynasty in that decade if the draft went this way. Could argue Gretzkys points count drops significantly without Kurri to pass to. Keep the Hockey guy away from time machines and don’t let him be the GM in Montreal or Winnipeg . 😉

[@xidis8022]

Oilers hit the bag this draft.

[@kreation1935]

There's also Walt Poddubny who if not for his knees giving out (in 1989 after three straight high 30s goal seasons) could have made Shannon's redraft list.

[@mikeboutang3146]

Wanna feel old? Steve Patrick's son doesn't play in the NHL. His Grandson does. Lol.