Top 10 NHL Draft Busts Since 2000

Sometimes, the best teenage hockey players in the world just don’t pan out at the NHL level. Nail Yakupov, anyone?

The 2023 NHL draft is almost upon us. While young stars like Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli are arriving with plenty of hype, that same hype has never come to fruition for many top prospects in the past. Even since the year 2000, many highly drafted players have failed to live up to their on-ice potential in the NHL, with some not even coming remotely close.

With this in mind, let’s take a look back at the top 10 biggest NHL draft busts in recent history. For the purpose of this list, we only took into account players who were picked in the top 10 in their respective draft classes. Additionally, only players drafted since 2000 were deemed eligible for this list, meaning 1999 No. 1 pick Patrick Stefan is safe for now. Let’s get to it:

Pre-NHL numbers can often be smoke and mirrors, and that was unfortunately the case for Lee. He put up solid numbers from the start at the University of North Dakota, with 27 points in 44 games as an 18-year-old freshman, the highest of any blueliner on the squad. Lee followed that up with 26 points in 38 games the following season. But this didn’t translate to the NHL whatsoever, as Lee continuously moved from the Senators to their AHL affiliate before being traded to Tampa Bay in 2012. In his whole NHL career, he had 36 points in 209 games. Ultimately, a knee injury led Lee to retire from hockey in 2014.

The first of three Blue Jackets draft picks on this list, Columbus chose Picard hoping he would be an excellent wing partner to rising star Rick Nash. This seemed logical as he had put up some nice numbers in the QMJHL, most notably posting 85 points in 65 games during the 2004-05 season with the Lewiston Maineiacs. Picard would never come close to that point total again and would instead spend most of his North American pro career in the AHL. The most games he played with the Blue Jackets came in 2006-07 when he suited up for 23 NHL contests and recorded one assist. His NHL career totals are two assists in 67 games. He's since played in Switzerland, Czechia, the KHL and, for the past three full seasons, the LNAH in Quebec.

The Panthers’ first pick in 2002 had a promising OHL career, racking up 120 points in 114 games during his two seasons with the Soo Greyhounds. Unfortunately, that success did not translate to the NHL. Taticek played two underwhelming seasons in the AHL and didn’t make his NHL debut until the 2005-06 season. When he finally got his chance, he played three games with the Panthers and didn't record a point. That was the only NHL ice time he ever saw. After that, he bounced around the KHL and various European leagues for nearly 15 years before retiring in 2020.

Jonsson had shown a lot of promise in Sweden's junior league. During his 1999-2000 season with Leksands, he recorded 38 points in just 34 games; incredible numbers for a defenseman at that level. So, when the Bruins drafted Jonsson, they wasted no time in trying to negotiate the young prospect’s contract. That’s where the first issues occurred. The two sides failed to agree on a deal, which led Jonsson to remain in Sweden. In 2006, Jonsson finally got his chance as he signed with the Flyers as a UFA. His time there would be a short and lackluster two seasons, spending most of his time in the AHL before heading back to play in Sweden until 2012-13. His NHL career totals are two assists in eight games.

Glennie oozed star quality coming into the 2009  NHL draft. In his four seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, he recorded 308 points in 252 games. Adding to this his speed and 6-foot-1 frame, Glennie looked like he could be a dominant force for the Stars. But he would go on to spend most of his time in the AHL, only playing a single game with Dallas during his five seasons. Injuries unfortunately played a big part in this and held Glennie back from coming anywhere close to his ceiling.

Like Glennie, Brule came into the league after a successful junior career. In three seasons with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, Brule had 185 points in 165 games, and on top of that, he was the leading scorer at the 2006 Memorial Cup despite his team losing in the semifinal. When it came to the NHL, though, Brule was simply unable to adapt. Injuries did not help, as he was regularly sidelined. He was traded to the Oilers in 2008 and had one solid season, putting up 37 points in 65 games, but he quickly regressed the following year. Being picked ahead of forwards such as Anze Kopitar and T. J. Oshie doesn’t help his case, either. Brule's career NHL numbers were 43 goals and 95 points in 299 games.

The third and final Blue Jacket on this list comes in at No. 4. Filatov had a lot of promise coming into the league, including a nine-point performance in seven games for Russia at the 2008 World Junior Championship. In his rookie pro season, he put up solid numbers in the AHL and even scored four goals in eight games when called up to the Blue Jackets, including a hat trick against Minnesota. The next season, Columbus loaned Filatov to the KHL due to low minutes. He had success in Russia and returned to the Blue Jackets for the 2010-11 season, where he would rack up only seven points in 23 games (all assists), with another 20 points in 36 AHL games. Columbus traded Filatov to Ottawa the following season, and after splitting time between the AHL and NHL again, Filatov returned to Russia, never to see NHL ice again. In total, he had 14 points in 53 NHL games.

Chistov came into the league on a hot streak, having led Russia to gold at the 2002 world juniors and making the tournament all-star team to boot. After a decent 30 points in 79 games in his rookie year, however, Chistov followed it up with his disappointing 18-point sophomore season. He was sent to the AHL, where he continued to struggle. This led him to play in Russia during the 2005-06 season. While he did return to the NHL for 60 games with the Bruins in 2006-07, he only recorded 13 points. With 61 points in 196 career games, Chistov underperformed at the NHL level considering his top-five pick status.

Future stars Ilya Kovalchuk and Jason Spezza were taken first and second overall, respectively. But what happened to the third pick? Well, Svitov was drafted by the Lightning with the hopes he would be a great physically gifted center. Instead, what they got with the third pick was one disappointing season where Svitov moved between the NHL and AHL, producing only eight points in 63 games with the Lightning. He was traded to Columbus the following season, where he once again bounced around to the AHL while still putting up bottom-of-the-barrel numbers until he decided to return to play in Russia in 2007. While his 37 points in 179 career games aren’t quite as bad as some other players who preceded him on this list, Svitov being a top-three pick raised the standard even more.

There was really no other player who could’ve been at this spot. Before being selected No. 1, Yakupov put up huge numbers in two seasons for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, amassing 170 points in 107 games. Even in his first year with the Oilers, the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Yakupov managed an impressive 31 points in 48 games. This would be the best NHL season of his career. The next three years with the Oilers saw Yakupov crack 30 points once, in the 2014-15 season. This feat was much less impressive than in the lockout season, as this time, it took him 81 games to get only 33 points. His struggles followed him to St. Louis, where he was traded to in 2016, as well as to the Avs, who signed him to a one-year deal in 2017. In 350 career games, Yakupov posted 62 goals and 136 points. 

Today, Yakupov continues his career in the KHL, where he has been since his one-year deal with the Avs ended in 2018.