The Most Confusing Draft Picks in NHL History

[@idontgivetkachuk]

The NHL Draft is tonight! Who do you hope your team selects tonight and why?? Me personally? I'm hoping CGY takes Berkley Catton or Tij Iginla! (And for the rebuild to officially begin!) Thank you so much for watching! - MATTHEW TKACHUK IS A STANLEY CUP CHAMPION!!

[@agnesvandal]

she tij on my iginla till i stanley

[@SakicFan]

In your dreams! I hope Calgary selects defenseman Zayne Parekh from the Memorial Cup winning Saginaw Spirit because they should go the defense route with their pick, Especially when you consider they traded away Hanifin and Tanev this past season.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

@@SakicFan YO YOU WERE RIGHT! THATS WILD! And I LOVE the pick! Very excited for Parekh

[@timomajere]

Chinakhov is evidence that good THOROUGH scouting at even the peewee levels nowadays can yield diamonds in the rough where no one else is even looking yet. Remember Datsyuk and Zetterberg were drafted as players people barely knew much about too.

[@allenbowles28]

As a cbj fan Chinny is playing good. Injuries are slowing him up a little but he's a future 30 goal guy.

[@brendonshewchuk3310]

Ok, but here’s the thing with that. No matter how good Chinakhov turns out, it’s still a terrible pick. He was projected for the 4th round at highest in Bob McKenzie’s rankings. No matter what he turns in at the NHL level, they could’ve gotten him so much later with a less valuable pick. It’s such a stupid decision when it comes to asset management that Jarmo should’ve been fired after that draft. Trade down, get more picks, get your guy AND more lottery tickets. Would you rather win $1,000,000 or would you rather win $1,000,000 and 5 lottery tickets. The Jackets organization showed that they have the foresight of my dog, choosing the strip of bacon that fell on the ground instead of the full pot roast left unattended on the countertop

[@ravedigger19]

@@brendonshewchuk3310except multiple other teams had him at a first round grade. Womp womp

[@timomajere]

@@brendonshewchuk3310 He's 23 years old, man. Talk to me when his careers over and there is something to actually work with. Right now, he is the 12th highest scorer from the 2020 draft. Not bad really.

[@bajikimran2304]

@@brendonshewchuk3310 Dumb comment. Look at who was available AFTER Chinakhov was selected. The answer? Not much. Columbus was in on Chinakhov as was Ottawa. Because Ottawa had five more selections before Columbus would pick again in the 4th round, the Jackets felt they had to take him at #21 overall. The only impact players who were selected after Chinakhov were John Jason Peterka and Luke Evangelista. Both have posted numbers similar to Chinakhov's. Peterka, Evangelista and Chinakhove are all right wingers. You couldn't go wrong regardless of which one you chose.

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

HEres a confusing draft-pick for you. 1974, 11th round the Sabres draft one Taro Tsujimoto, reported as being a player in the Japan Ice Hockey League. No scout seemed to know anything about this guy. But, that league didn't exist. Nor did Taro. The GM at the time was exasperated with the length of the draft (apparently 25 rounds!!) and made up a fictional player to draft as a joke.

[@chad_b]

Taro Tsujimoto is the goat. He's still playing now, 40 years later

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

@@chad_b Would that give him the longest career, or is Gordie Howe still the undisputed champion there?

[@alfiesmullet1311]

Cries when I remember the Sens took Brian Lee when they could've taken Kopitar 😢

[@jimclarence5441]

I remember when Lee walked to the podium after being drafted. He looked like a 13 year old.

[@thecoyotesfan3639]

The most confusing draft pick in nhl history is when the maple leafs chose Austin Mathews first overall instead of the GOAT Patrik Laine

[@hangedman1936]

Nahhhhhh

[@jeffreycairns767]

😂😂😂😂😂 OK Jesse

[@chad_b]

I know! Jets fans were right. Laine really was better. He's so good that they had to get rid of him

[@jeffreycairns767]

@@chad_b Yup, and still hasn't done anything in the league

[@thumpyloudfoot864]

Who the hell is Patrik Laine?

[@frozenrabbit5641]

4:00 Chinakov is just case of great scouting I think. Some players take few years to mature into star and it just might be Chinakov is ready 24-25 season. Just might be 40 goal scorer in NHL as they have had wisdom to train and grow this guy.

[@bmac4]

Columbus had to have been thinking A: the guy was a star in the making and B: someone else was gonna take him sooner. The reason the Wings got Datsyuk when they did was because they knew nobody knew about him. Its not worth spending the capital even on a diamond in the rough if you know you can just get em later.

[@LieuFang]

​@@bmac4 The reports from several scouts was that Columbus was one of three or four teams that had Chinakhov as a 1st round talent, and that most of the NHL teams believed he was going to be taken in the top 50. Honestly if that had been a normal draft with everyone in one location, it's more likely that reporters would've picked up on his late rise in the team rankings in the days before the draft. IIRC the teams suspected of looking at him for a 1st round pick were Caps (who had the pick right after Columbus) and Knights (whose pick was eight after Columbus). There were also claims that Carolina had looked into trading back into the first round to grab him, a claim Waddell hinted at when he extended Chinakhov.

[@bajikimran2304]

As a Columbus fan, I'll defend the Chinakhov selection to the death. For openers, Columbus felt that draft four years ago was a thin one. They didn't have many picks that year and after selecting Chinakhov, they didn't have another pick until the fourth round. Ottawa, who was also in on Chinakhov would have five more picks before Columbus would have another selection. The best way to judge the Chinakhov selection is to look at who was selected after Chinakhov in that draft to determine what Columbus could have had. The answer? Not much. Only John Jason Peterka whom Buffalo selected in round two has outscored Chinakhov in his career thus far. Peterka's numbers after 161 games are 40-42-82 compared to Chinakhov's 27-29-56. You could also place Luke Evangelista ahead of Chinakhov. In just 104 games, Evangelista has posted 23-31-54. All three players are right wingers and you couldn't go wrong with any of the three.

[@1andonlyMiro]

Slafkovsky played luke a BEAST in the IIHFC tournament. He definately looked more like he was ready for the big leagues than Wright. On the other hand, same could've been said about Laine vs Matthews.

[@jtshark5817]

Point of order. Chinakov is 11th in pts in his draft year so far

[@annetttt]

We love chinny bro

[@johnnyrocken8818]

The Flyers selecting Cam York over Caufield when they needed scoring is really surprising. York is turning out to be solid but man....

[@Polytrout]

Not sure I'm crazy about Caufield. He's 5'7" and 140 lbs. Cam York is 6'1" and 181 lbs...think playoffs. 😮

[@WillieSama]

@@Polytrout5’8, 175 is his actual metrics, and caufield played amazing in the 2021 run with 12 in 20. So even in the playoffs caufield’s been a beast. York has yet to sniff them

[@sammyd93]

Chinakhov is a beast. He’s a future consistent 40 goal scorer

[@nobuddy2012]

Vancouver going off the board on their 1st round pick Patrick White. Never played a game in the NHL and was selected one pick before David Perron. Uuuuuuuggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!

[@davidfutcher9609]

I agree, brutal pick.

[@srmigsalot]

i like the fact that Wright got shuffled down the draft. arrogance doesn't fly in the NHL

[@heathclark318]

3rd line center that doesn't play with the weight of that chip on his shoulder

[@mathieu1001]

Except Chinakhov none of these are confusing, they are at most a bit surprising. Tyler Boucher, Senyshyn, Emelin and even the Easton Cowan were Wayyyy more confusing and surprising.

[@timw4369]

Just because you don't know him doesn't mean it's a bad pick

[@roadwarriormp88]

What I got out of it was the notes were buried in the end of draft notes where they thought he would go. Because of their unpreparedness, they decided to play it off like who is he, but all they did was sound dumber for it

[@jonah.donohue]

Tell that to Damon Siemens

[@chad_b]

He didn't say it was bad, just confusing, which it was

[@davidfutcher9609]

But, since he was so far off the board, could they have drafted another player, rated around that level, and then drafted him in a later round. You still get him, and no one is going WTF.

[@ravedigger19]

@@davidfutcher9609does each team see every other team’s board? No. So all they can do is go off of their own board. If they ranked him that high, they take him, because some other team could also have similar rankings and will not tell you

[@michaelkeller5927]

KZbins best hockey content creator is back!

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thank you so much my guy! 🫶

[@lostvlog6857]

The biggest break ever for Chicago, snagging an amazing talent like Savard who got passed over for a guy who turned out to be a bust. I was still in high school then, I wish I could say I loved watching his rookie season, but I can't say that for the simple fact they Hawks had no TV contract and actually started that season with no radio either until a crappy FM station picked them up after the season started.

[@OtterPlaysYT]

5:00 Shane wright is gunna dominate his 1st year in the nhl he looked VERY good at the end of the season with the kraken

[@Statsy10]

I hope he gets there and becomes the player we all thought he could be.

[@davidfutcher9609]

Agreed

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

Doug Wickenheiser was a Center, not Defense

[@davidfutcher9609]

I was going to say the same thing. Plus, he was the consensus #1 pick. Nobody, but nobody had anyone else going first overall that year.

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

@@davidfutcher9609 Yep. He got kind of a raw deal in MTL, at least IMO, and injury problems on top of that, especially after going to St Louis. While he technically was a kind of a bust, I don't really pin that on him

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Yeah I swear I cut out me callin em a defenseman but for some reason he’s always come up in my mind as being one. So my bad. Must’ve missed another section where I did say so. Thanks for watching!

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

@@idontgivetkachuk I like your content, I think it was around this time last year I started watching. Keep up the good work :) Also, though I was cheering for the Oilers during the playoffs, Flames are my team and Matt Tkachuk was one of my faves, so I am glad that he (and Bennett) got their names on the cup at least!

[@agnesvandal]

a few mins in and already intrigued. good one!

[@KptKrunch9481]

I liked Mike Smith's pick for the Wpg Jet- Sergei Bautin. Even Bob McKenzie didn't know him. But this is how I see it - amateur scouts get paid a lot of money to scout player that fit the teams needs that employs them. Going 'off board' is a good thing - even if the player doesn't turn out (many don't). If you're just picking off the board, why bother with a scouting staff? I wouldn't want my scouting team picking off the board - if they did I'd fire the lot

[@danmac6185]

Unless they had info that another team was interested in him, they probable could have waited until the second round.

[@jtshark5817]

you are skipping over a key thing in the 1980 draft. A guy names Wayne would have been eligible for that draft if he had not gone to the WHA. That is why Pollack did that deal 4 years earlier

[@Statsy10]

I've watched him bring Canada two gold medals. He's alright in my books! 😊

[@KibblezanBitz]

2016 the Jets trading up for Stanley when they could have used the second they gave up to pick DeBrincat. Ugh

[@wayne387]

Best series in a long time

[@OtterPlaysYT]

There was quite a bit of off the board picks this draft especially Form the ducks and sens

[@Microphonegenius]

The pens should have picked Bobby Clark in the 60’s or the 70’s I can’t remember

[@Phil-gw9vr]

1994: the Bruins take G Evgeni Ryabchikov with their first round pick. Never heard of him? Exactly!

[@mondoseguendo6113]

He could be my dad. I don’t know who he is either 😂😢

[@Polytrout]

In retrospect here's a confusing one: in 1981 Philadelphia drafted Steve Smith 16th overall. Later that day Edmonton drafted another Steve Smith 111th overall. Edmonton's draft pick went on to win the Conn Smyth in 1987. Philadelphia's pick, not so much.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thats so cool wow! Thank you so much for sharing!

Ron Hextal won, that year. Smith never won a single individual award. Are you high?

@@idontgivetkachuk Not "cool" whatsoever. Ron Hextall won that year. Smith never won an individual award in the NHL. This guy is full of shit.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Hey its okay, mistakes happen. U can slip up and misremember.. I always appreciate people bringing up memories! So regardless I consider it cool. Thanks for watching!

@@idontgivetkachuk How is lying, in any way, "cool". That was one of the most famous Conn Sythes of all time. That guy didn't "misremember". As I wrote, Smith never won any awards.

[@Polytrout]

You want a confusing draft pick? Boston Bruins 1984 first round Dave Pasin.

[@vsocarras27]

IDGK Johnny Gaudreau and his brother died yesterday what a horrible day for the family and for the game of hockey

[@emanuelgonzalez3967]

Louis leblanc to the habs was the worst after leblanc was kreider 🤦🤦🤢🤢

[@Polytrout]

Doug Wickenheiser wasn't the consensus number 1 pick. The consensus number 1 prospect in the 1980 was defenseman David Babych. But Montreal had to replace 35-year old Jacques Lemaire. Les Canadiens were still good on defence. Maybe Denis Savard wouldn't have blossomed in Montreal because at the time, their way of developing players was to send them to the AHL and get ice time, yhen call thrm up and not dress them, make them learn by observing the game from the press box and then slowly insert them into the line-up. But Wickenheiser was 19 and at that time players under 20 had to either make the team or be sent back to the Junior A club; the NHL was just two years removed from a hands off policy of players under 20. Just putting the Wickenheiser selection into perspective. As for Denis Savard, he should have been a Quebec Nordique. The "WHA refugees" were allowed to protect 2 skaters and 2 goalies. In an effort to protect their 5 man nucleus they protected Paul Baxter and Gerry Lariviere. To keep Réal Cloutier, Quebec traded their first round pick to Chicago. But that year Marc Tardiff and Réal Cloutier got injured resulting in a 19th place finish putting them 3rd in line for the draft. Had Quebec retained that pick, Montreal might have drafted Savard for marketing - the arrival of Quebec City into the NHL made Montreal worry about being "out-Frenched" by the Nordiques. Again, a bit of context to the Savard/Wickenheiser selections. Today the selection process is more sophisticated but sometimes it's just dumb luck

[@richdepuy1754]

The Islanders taking Rick DiPietro 1st overall with Roberto Luongo in the system is still my biggest head scratcher

[@jeffreycairns767]

The issue is, NOBODY knows how a player or goalie will produce in the NHL. Teams take a chance and either it works out or it doesn't.

[@evasegod]

​@@jeffreycairns767 yes exactly especially goalies. It's Russian roulette with them.

[@jeffreycairns767]

@@evasegod Exactly.

[@111oooo]

Doug W was not a terrible player but passing on one of the most "electrifying" players in Denis Savard???

[@jackieeeeee_]

when's the Lou collab

[@AlbanianMan]

How about Henrik Borgstrom at #23 to the Panthers in 2016. No one even knew who this guy was. Tom Rowe/Dale Tallon were terrible GM's. Thank God for Bill Zito!

[@lucasmountain3139]

Sennecke will be the next Kotkaniemi. I understand a reach but good lord, trade back if ur reaching that far 🤣

[@simonreilly213]

We’ll see. His ceiling is insanely high as a guy that size that actually has hands and can skate.

[@Statsy10]

Still, he had one of the all-time greatest reactions to getting drafted. 😂

[@Bushman9]

@@Statsy10 He sure did, but I wonder how many Ducks fans copied him?

[@Statsy10]

@@Bushman9 Haha! Indeed. But, one thing I've learned from looking back through all my old THN draft previews is that in a few years these pre-draft rankings will be meaningless, and all that will matter was whether you drafted a stud or not. If they believe he was the one, then draft him. Just don't be wrong about it.

[@Bushman9]

@@Statsy10 Very true. Being a pro scout is the opposite of being a weatherman… get it wrong one too many times and you’re toast.

[@Bushman9]

As a Sens fan our stinker was passing up Pronger for Daigle. Thanks Bridgman.

[@johnnyrocken8818]

@@Bushman9 to be fair... everyone would've taken Daigle. He was a phenom in juniors. The Whalers would've taken him had they gotten the 1st pick too

[@Bushman9]

@@johnnyrocken8818 Fair enough. I’m just a believer in not passing up a stalwart D man. I think they are a rarer find. I wanted Pronger, and not because I knew Daigle would flop. In fact I would have drafted Doughty over Stamkos.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

“Ottawa Apologizes”

[@LieuFang]

This may be controversial, but my belief is the Daigle pick made more sense and is a more defendable move than when they took Boucher at 10th overall in 2021.

[@Bushman9]

@@LieuFang Got to disagree. By the 10th round the likelihood of drafting a star player has diminished dramatically. Daigle over Pronger was right up there with the Habs taking Wikenheiser over Savard. GMs never live get to live down those calamities.

[@andrewstachowski3375]

no taro tujimitso? its all my sabres have other than the greatest goalie of all time

[@NPIntended]

Wow great video Buhhhhhh, I don't even know who the bluejackets guy is so he must suck. He must've played the game and smells like a$$

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Yo thank u sm Ryan!!

[@gerggerggy7757]

Luchanko at 13?

[@thebigmarbowski84]

Corn-yay wth

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Glad that’s all u took out of a 12 min video 💀

[@thebigmarbowski84]

@@idontgivetkachuk No. I enjoyed the video and thought it was well done. I just thought the pronounciation was funny.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

@@thebigmarbowski84 Oh word! Thank you for watching! Hope your team is having a good night at the draft!

[@thebigmarbowski84]

@@idontgivetkachuk I'm an Oiler fan and it still stings

[@chad_b]

​@@thebigmarbowski84just become a leafs fan like me. You can't be hurt by them when you already know they're going to find a way to let you down

[@Benjarmon]

REAL NHL FANS HATE SHANE WRIGHT BOOOOO SHANE WRIGHT

[@jeffreycairns767]

Why?

[@Benjarmon]

@@jeffreycairns767 shane Wright used to bully youtuber Graviteh in his comments for years. He's a classless spoiled brat

[@jeffreycairns767]

@Benjarmon Makes sense, I guess. Maybe it was somebody using that name that was doing it?

[@NESADDICT]

@@Benjarmonseriously? That’s so weird to be picking on a fairly small KZbinr under 100k subs who just talks about hockey.

[@Benjarmon]

@@jeffreycairns767 he would brag about "im going to be the first over all pick" on Grav's old videos.

[@davideaston6944]

Nice work