If you thought scouting forwards was difficult, good luck with goalies. Rangers tab Henrik Lundqvist 205th overall (2000) In his 17 years with Ottawa, the long-time Senators captain amassed 1,108 points in 1,178 games on 426 goals and 682 assists, all franchise records. The underheralded Swede made the team during his first NHL training camp and won the Calder Trophy in his first NHL season. John Ferguson, Ottawa’s director of player personnel at the time, pushed the Senators to select Alfredsson in the sixth round and he quickly developed into the best player in franchise history. Senators pick Daniel Alfredsson 133rd (1994) He holds a Red Wings record for having at least one point in 17 consecutive games to start a season. Zetterberg has accumulated 296 goals and 786 points and won the Conn Smythe Trophy when Detroit won the Stanley Cup in 2007-08. Along with Datsyuk, Zetterberg has been a core piece for one of the best organizations throughout the NHL. Zetterberg was not a standout player when he played in Sweden, but Andersson convinced the Red Wings to take a late-round flier on him. Detroit stole him in the sixth round and all he has gone on to do is score 298 goals and 869 points en route to two Stanley Cups, and three Selke awards as the league’s top defensive forward.ĭownload it FREE now: iOS | Android | Windowsĭetroit snags Henrik Zetterberg 210th overall (1999) Detroit caught onto the Russian superstar when Andersson was sent to Europe to scout defenceman Dmitri Kalinin in the summer of 1997. The Red Wings, under GM Ken Holland and European scout Hakan Andersson, have been exceptional at finding talent deeper in the draft, and Datsyuk was one of their best-ever draft picks.

Red Wings draft Pavel Datsyuk 171st overall (1998)

Our list below does not include late-round steals such as Brett Hull, Doug Gilmour, and Dominik Hasek because the majority of their career success came when they played on teams that did not draft them.

All of the players were selected in the fourth round or later. Here are 10 of the best NHL Draft steals of all-time (in no order). The scouting process is complicated, which makes finding value in the later rounds such an achievement.

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