Anaheim Ducks: Analyzing the Draft Lottery Fallout

Drafting 9th overall seems like a let down to some Anaheim Ducks fans. However, a team doesn’t have to draft in the Top 5 to get a stellar draft pick.

After the anticipation and excitement leading up to the 2019 NHL Draft Lottery, the lottery balls did not fall in Anaheim’s favor. Fear not Anaheim Ducks fans, Murray has been able to build a system with continued success without needing elite draft picks, as he has been elite at drafting with the picks he does have.

Anaheim picking Bobby Ryan second overall in the 2005 Entry Draft has proven to be the club’s highest draft pick. Since then, the team has leaned on their scouts to select prospects later in the first round to remain competitive. I took a deep dive into how the Ducks have compared other 29 clubs (excluding the Las Vegas Knights for this exercise) in terms of draft picks within “Elite” talent since being the runner up in the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes (2006-2018 entry drafts.)

Top 10 Selections

GMBM has selected two players within the top 10 selections between 2006-2018. Those selections were Hampus Lindholm in 2012 and Nick Ritchie in 2014. With only two Top 10 selections the Ducks are tied for the 4th fewest league-wide with Detroit, Nashville, and San Jose.

Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Washington are the only clubs with fewer top 10 selections (all tied with one.) This leaves 23 franchises who have more “Elite” draft selections added to their roster. Seeing the company we keep with limited Top 10 selections, there’s a growing trend that continued success being maintained by good drafting.

Top 5 Selections

Anaheim is one of 6 franchises who has not drafted in the Top 5 between 2006-2018 drafts (Detroit, Minnesota, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh, San Jose). Even the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Washington Capitals, selected Karl Alzner 5th overall in 2007.

The Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche have tied for the most players drafted within the Top 5 (6 each.) Riding a strong close to the season, the Avs seem to be climbing out of the proverbial “cellar” and are looking to become the next Caps/Penguins. Edmonton, on the other hand, continues to be a shining example of, “Tanking Gone Wrong.”

Highest Selection

In the 2012 entry draft, Bob Murray selected Hampus Lindholm with the 6th overall pick. Despite being projected anywhere between the 15-25 pick, the selection was met with universal praise. I remember one of the commentators saying, “This could be the steal of the draft,” which was surprising since he was drafted much early than expected.

Murray’s decision has paid off for the Ducks, as Lindholm has continued to be a rising star within the organization and the NHL. The “Swede” was Anaheim’s highest draft pick between the 2006-2018 entry drafts.

Only four other teams, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the San Jose Sharks, have failed to draft a prospect higher than Anaheim. All four of the teams have been among the most consistent in the league, and only Pittsburgh has accrued more success then Anaheim (in the sample size.) Along with Anaheim, Detroit’s highest selection was also 6th overall. The other 24 clubs have picked within the Top 5 on at least one occasion.

On the flip side, 9 teams have selected first overall. Of those 9, Edmonton is the only team that has been adorned the ultimate “loser’s” prize more than once. In fact, they picked first overall four times in 5 years. One would think adding all that talent, including “McJesus” (Connor McDavid), would have led to unrivaled success… but we all know how that story is unfolding.

9th Overall Picks

Since 2006, teams have had pretty good success drafting in the 9th overall selection. Although there haven’t been any franchise talents to emerge from the group as of yet, they have largely found success at the NHL level.

The players drafted 9th overall are: James Sheppard (2006), Logan Couture (2007), Josh Bailey (2008), Jared Cowen (2009), Mikael Grandlund (2010), Dougie Hamilton (2011), Jacob Trouba (2012), Bo Horvat (2013), Nikolaj Ehlers (2014), Timo Meier (2015), Mikhail Sergachev (2016), Michael Rasmussen (2017), Vitali Kavtsov (2018).

For Duck fans, Ehlers being drafted 9 overall in 2014 is the name that sticks out. Anaheim selected 10th overall in the draft, and all Duck fans let out a sigh of disbelief when he was called the pick before ours. Murray is hoping to disappoint Vancouver, who pick 10th overall this year, is the same fashion.

dark. Next. The Anaheim Ducks Will Select 9th in the 2019 Draft

Regardless, evidence suggests that the Anaheim Ducks should be adding a very talented player when they draft in June, and fans should be able to walk away with a big smile when Bob Murray makes the selection.

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