From Joe Pavelski to Henrik Lundqvist, late-round draft picks can produce plenty of talent. Here are the all-time best late picks made by all 32 NHL franchises.
First-round draft picks get all the hype, but it’s the players selected deeper in the draft that can make or break a contender.
The picks to acquire a top-ranked prospect are expensive – even in the second and third rounds – which is why resourceful organizations try to find valuable pieces deeper in the draft. Some players might slip to the later rounds because of poor scouting, late development or even geopolitical barriers – all of these factors can cultivate the ultimate underdog beginnings.
If teams can draft a bona fide NHLer in the seventh round, that’s a major coup. And if that player reaches star status, that’s the stuff of draft-day legends.
So during the 2023 NHL draft festivities, let’s highlight the home runs that all 32 NHL teams have hit in the past. This list focuses on the fourth round or later, and emphasis has been given to picks in the triple-digits.
Anaheim Ducks: Troy Terry (Fifth round, 148 overall, in 2015)
After a breakout year in 2021-22, Terry is a core piece of Anaheim’s top six. On draft day, though, his small stature at 160 pounds caused him to slip.
Arizona Coyotes: Keith Yandle (Fourth round, 105 overall, in 2005)
Yandle was overlooked despite being ranked 55th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. He then played nine of his 16 seasons with the Coyotes and once held the NHL ironman streak.
Boston Bruins: Hal Gill (Eighth round, 207th overall, in 1993)
Strong, stay-at-home defensemen often go without celebration, and that led to Gill being picked so late. He was a defensive stalwart in the NHL across 16 seasons.
Buffalo Sabres: Brian Campbell (Sixth round, 156th overall, in 1997)
Campbell played eight seasons with the Sabres, including going to the Eastern Conference final in 2006 and 2007.
Calgary Flames: Gary Suter (Ninth round, 180 overall, in 1984)
Suter turned into an electric blueline scorer for the Flames, winning the Calder Trophy as a rookie and the Stanley Cup (though injured) in 1989.
Carolina Hurricanes: Jaccob Slavin (Fourth round, 120th overall, in 2012)
Picked late due to size concerns, Slavin rates as the best shutdown defender in today’s game, playing a starring role on the Hurricanes’ blueline.
Chicago Blackhawks: Steve Larmer (Sixth round, 120th overall, in 1980)
Larmer’s 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame did more talking on draft day than his triple-digit scoring in junior. Needless to say, he proved everyone wrong with 1,012 points in 1,006 games, plus a 1994 Cup with the Rangers.
Colorado Avalanche: Valeri Kamensky (Seventh round, 129th overall, in 1988)
The Quebec Nordiques drafted Kamensky in 1988, but he didn’t leave Russia until 1991. He won the 1996 Stanley Cup with the Avs and ended up with 501 points in 637 games.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Cam Atkinson (Sixth round, 157th overall, in 2008)
When Atkinson was 15, he broke his leg in a hockey tournament, and his doctor told him he’d never play again. He stuck with it, was picked late in the draft, and became an NHLer with All-Star Game experience.
Dallas Stars: Jamie Benn (Fifth round, 129th overall, in 2007)
Benn has been the face of the Stars for years, which is surprising considering his unheralded draft status. Frankly, scouts just missed him. Now, he’s hard to miss.
Detroit Red Wings: Henrik Zetterberg (Seventh round, 210th overall, in 1999)
The Red Wings reinvented European scouting in part thanks to Zetterberg and 1998 sixth-rounder Pavel Datsyuk.
Edmonton Oilers: Shawn Horcoff (Fourth round, 99th overall, in 1998)
Horcoff’s 1,008-game NHL career and fiery performance in the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs made him a fourth-round steal.
Florida Panthers: MacKenzie Weegar (Seventh round, 206th overall, in 2013)
Florida got a top-pairing defenseman out of the seventh round, whom they traded in part to get Matthew Tkachuk.
Los Angeles Kings: Luc Robitaille (Ninth round, 171st overall, in 1984)
Robitaille’s lack of speed led to his late selection, but he became an elite scorer for the Kings during his 19-year career. His 1,394 points rank 24th all-time.
Minnesota Wild: Kirill Kaprizov (Fifth round, 135th overall, in 2015)
After six seasons in the KHL, Kaprizov crossed the pond as a top-notch player and won the Calder Trophy as a rookie. The Russia factor played a part in his late selection, as did his 5-foot-9 height.
Montreal Canadiens: Andrei Markov (Sixth round, 162nd overall, in 1998)
Markov slipped thanks to the age-old Russia worries. He ranks second in games played and in points as a defenseman for hockey’s most historic team.
Nashville Predators: Pekka Rinne (Eighth round, 258th overall, in 2004)
Goalies can be hard to project, but picking Vezina Trophy winner Rinne in the eighth round was an incredible move by the Predators. He’s their all-time leader in nearly every goaltending category.
New Jersey Devils: Aaron Broten (Sixth round, 106th overall, in 1980)
Broten’s 469 points with the Devils rank eighth-most in franchise history, though he only made the playoffs once with the team.
New York Islanders: Matt Martin (Fifth round, 148th overall, in 2008)
A grinding fourth-liner who protects his teammates, Martin’s agitator archetype makes for a late-round steal.
New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist (Seventh round, 205th overall, in 2000)
Recently named to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Lundqvist is sixth all-time in NHL wins and won the 2012 Vezina Trophy, but he’s not even the highest-drafted player in his own family. His brother, Joel, was a third-rounder of the Stars that same year.
Ottawa Senators: Daniel Alfredsson (Sixth round, 133rd overall, in 1994)
The greatest Senator to ever play was drafted as an overage 21-year-old whom many teams had overlooked. In his NHL rookie year, he won the Calder. In his final season with the Sens, he scored his 1,100th point.
Philadelphia Flyers: Rick Tocchet (Sixth round, 121st overall, in 1983)
Goal, assist, fight: with 18 Gordie Howe hat tricks – the most in NHL history – Tocchet developed his scoring touch after draft day.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Max Talbot (Eighth round, 234th overall, in 2002)
Even if he was a bottom-six role player, Talbot caught fire in the playoffs and scored both goals in Game 7 to win Pittsburgh the 2009 Stanley Cup.
San Jose Sharks: Joe Pavelski (Seventh round, 205th overall, in 2003)
The 2003 draft was one of the greatest in history, and even its later rounds produced legends. Pavelski was a scrawny kid from Wisconsin, and teams didn’t think he’d translate his scoring to the pro ranks. But more than 1,000 points later, think again.
Seattle Kraken: Tucker Robertson (Fourth round, 123rd overall, in 2022)
We couldn’t just leave out the Kraken, could we? OHL champion Tucker Robertson was a Day 2 pick for Seattle, but that’s largely because the OHL didn’t play in his first draft year in 2021.
St Louis Blues: Doug Gilmour (Seventh round, 134th overall, in 1982)
At 5-foot-7, scouts wrote Gilmour off as far too small for the NHL. So naturally, he played 20 years and became a gifted two-way center, growing up to 5-foot-11 in the process.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Ondrej Palat (Seventh round, 208th overall, in 2011)
The two-way Palat was a major steal and a key part of a back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning machine.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Tomas Kaberle (Eighth round, 204th overall, in 1996)
A player who wasn’t scouted by many teams, the Leafs got a first-pair defenseman in Kaberle, who played 12 seasons in the Blue and White.
Vancouver Canucks: Pavel Bure (Sixth round, 113th overall, in 1989)
Bure’s draft story is a little wild. Teams wanted to pick him, but they expected him to be a 1990 prospect. Vancouver had info that said he was eligible a year early and gambled a late pick on him. The gamble paid off.
Vegas Golden Knights: Paul Cotter (Fourth round, 115th overall in 2018)
Cotter is by all means a depth piece for the Golden Knights, but he’s been the most successful late-round pick in the franchise’s brief drafting history.
Washington Capitals: Peter Bondra (Eighth round, 156th overall, in 1990)
Most scouts didn’t know who Bondra was, but now he’s the Capitals’ third-leading scorer all-time, trailing only Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
Winnipeg Jets: Connor Hellebuyck (Fifth round, 130th overall, in 2012)
One of the best goalies in the game right now, Hellebuyck wasn’t even drafted to play junior. He’s been a Vezina Trophy finalist in three of the past six seasons.