This is my list. The reader will surely think others are better and that’s fine. I had to project a few, and they aren’t in order. Here are the top 20 in my opinion:
Ryan O’Reilly – 33rd overall in 2009 – Colorado – 532 points in 772 games and one of the best defensive forwards in hockey.
Anders Lee – 152nd overall in 2009 – Islanders – 163 goals.
John Klingberg – 131st overall in 2010 – Dallas – 272 points in 398 games played and a top-four defenseman.
Brendan Gallagher – 147th overall in 2010 – Montreal – 166 goals and 321 points in 525 games and a royal pain in the ass.
Mark Stone – 178th overall in 2010 – Ottawa – 141 goals and 359 points in 425 games and a great defensive forward.
Frederik Andersen –87th overall in 2012 – Anaheim – 347 games played.
Jordan Binnington – 88th overall in 2011 – St. Louis – Won a Stanley Cup.
Nikita Kucherov – 58th overall in 2011 – Tampa – 201 goals, 502 points in 481 games played.
Johnny Gaudreau – 104th overall in 2012 – Calgary – 417 points in 434 games.
Cedric Paquette – 101st overall in 2012 – Tampa – 323 points in 343 games.
Matt Murray – 83rd overall in 2012 – Pittsburgh – Two Stanley Cups.
Jake Guentzel – 77th overall in 2013 – Pittsburgh – 96 goals and 195 points in 241 games played.
Brayden Point – 79th overall in 2014 – Tampa – 105 goals and 228 points in 261 games.
Viktor Arvidsson – 112th overall in 2014 – Nashville – 110 goals and 203 points in 303 games.
Sebastien Aho – 35th overall in 2015 – Carolina – 105 goals and 232 points in 280 games.
Alex Debrincat – 39th overall in 2016 – Chicago – 78 goals and 154 points in 203 games.
Sam Girard – 47th overall pick in 2016 – Nashville – 64 points in 193 games as a top-four defenseman and just 21.
Filip Hronek – 53rd overall pick in 2016 – Red Wings – 12 goals and 42 points in 82 games and a top-four defenseman.
Maxime Comtois – 50th overall in 2017 – Anaheim – 15 points in 32 games and still scratching the surface.
Jan Jenik – 65th overall pick in 2018 – Arizona – More than two points per game in his second OHL season and doing well in the World Junior Championship.
Shane Pinto – 32nd overall in 2019 – Ottawa – 14 points in 16 games in his first NCAA season in North Dakota and starring at the World Junior Championship.
