NHL drafts have seemingly gotten stronger and stronger with every passing season. But is that truly the case? Has an influx of youth grown to be more capable with every passing season? Let’s look at the 2010 draft.
Let’s go all the way back to the 2010 NHL Draft. The first player selected in that draft was Taylor Hall. However, the most statistically successful player drafted in 2010 is current Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin. But how did the draft class do compared to every other draft?
First off, I calculated every game played, goals scored, assist made and point earned by every player selected. In total for the 2010 draft, there were 209 players selected. Combined, those 209 players played in 22,112 games. That’s 105.8 games played per player, on average. That’s over a nine-season span, with eight of the selected players playing in 500 or more games.
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To put into perspective what all of that means, there were 82 games in 8 of the 9 seasons and one 48 game season. In total, that’s 704 possible games played. Multiply that by the 209 players that could have played in those 704 games, you have yourselves 147,136 games as a maximum. Basically, all 209 players in the 2010 draft combined to play just 15% of the total number of possible games.
Next up, total goals scored. The 209 players combined for 3,709 goals. That’s a grand total of 17.7 goals per player. This includes the 13 players who scored over 100 goals in their careers since being drafted in 2010.
That’s not great. This was over a nine-season span, that would equate to a grand total of roughly two goals per season averaged out for all 209 players. Keep in mind, there are players who average about 20 goals a season in this class as well.
Time for assists. The 209 players selected in 2010 combined for 5,599 assists. That means that, on average, each player recorded 26.8 assists. So, per season, the 2010 draft class averaged out a combined three assists per season.
As for points, they combined to record a grand total of 9,308 points. On average, they combined for 44.5 points in their careers. That also means that, over a nine-season span, they combined for an average of roughly five points a season.
But what teams had the best drafts? How can I tell? I averaged out all 30 teams’ selections’ games played per season per player (GP/Season/Player). Basically, I tallied each players games played for that season, divided it by the number of players selected and finally, I divided that number by the total number of seasons that player has been eligible for, which in this case, is 9. I did that with goals (G/S/P), assists (A/S/P) and points (P/S/P) as well.
The team who averaged the most GP/S/P was the Wild. They selected five players in 2010 and combined they recorded 1,236 games played. Once slimmed down to a per season average per player, they tallied 27.5 GP/S/P. Basically, the five players selected played on average 27.5 games per season over the last nine years.
This average per season per player total actually took up 7.73% of the entire class. That’s pretty insane, considering the average percentage taken up per team is roughly 3.3%. The team who averaged the least amount of GP/S/P were the Canucks.
The Canucks selected 5 players in 2010, and they combined for 1 game played. Averaged out over 9 seasons, that’s a combined 0.1 games played per season. Per player? That’s 0.02 GP/S/P, which takes up just 0.0056% of the total.
As for the team who racked up the most goals per season combined among the draft class was also Minnesota. The same 5 players that the Wild selected averaged 48.8 combined goals in their careers. That’s an average of 5.4 combined goals per season for those 5 players selected. That takes up 8.9% of the league total. The lowest-scoring team is, unsurprisingly, the Canucks. Their 5 players combined for 0 goals, which averaged out to 0 goals per player in their careers. That is slimmed down to a grand total of, you’ll never guess, 0 goals per player, per season. That made up 0% of the league total.
The team who racked up the most assists per season, per player, were the Minnesota Wild. Their five players combined for a grand total of 374 assists. That averages out to 74.8 career assists for their 2010 draft class. Their per season average per player was 8.3 assists. That made up 9.03% of the league total.
As for the worst assist numbers in the 2010 draft, you’ll never guess – it was the Canucks. Their five selections piled up a combined zero career assists. Per player, that equals an average of zero points.
That also means that their players average per season was zero assists. That accounted for zero percent of the league total. Not to put the blame on anyone, but Mike Gillis was their general manager and Ron Delorme was the Chief Amateur Scout.
It’s easy to piece together what team recorded the most points per player averaged out per season knowing who did so in goals and assists. Therefore, the Wild yet again claims the top spot in this draft year. Their five selections totaled 618 points.
That means that their selections averaged 123.6 points in their careers. Per season, their players averaged 13.7 points, which made up 8.98% of the league total. As for the worst, you guessed it, it’s the Canucks. With a grand total of zero points among their five selections, I think you readers can do the math. Their picks made up zero percent of the league total.
Here were the best and worst picks per team, with stats listed. Keep in mind, best and worst is based on their stats as well as their draft placement. All stats via Elite Prospects.
Anaheim Ducks
Best– 12th Overall: Cam Fowler (620GP, 58G-214A-272P)
Worst– 29th Overall: Emerson Etem (173GP, 22G-24A-46P)
Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes
Best– 57th Overall: Oscar Lindberg (252GP, 39G-40A-79P)
Worst– 13th Overall: Brandon Gormley (58GP, 2G-3A-5P)
Boston Bruins
Best– 2nd Overall: Tyler Seguin (672GP, 262G-323A-585P)
Worst– 32nd Overall: Jared Knight (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Buffalo Sabres
Best– 23rd Overall: Mark Pysyk (359GP, 13G-57A-70P)
Worst– 68th Overall: Jerome Leduc (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Calgary Flames
Best– 133rd Overall: Michael Ferland (321GP, 59G-70A-129P)
Worst– 64th Overall: Max Reinhart (23GP, 1G-4A-5P)
Carolina Hurricanes
Best– 7th Overall: Jeff Skinner (661GP, 244G-198A-442P)
Worst– 53rd Overall: Mark Alt (18GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Chicago Blackhawks
Best– 24th Overall: Kevin Hayes (381GP, 92G-137A-229P)
Worst– 35th Overall: Ludvig Rensfeldt (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Colorado Avalanche
Best– 71st Overall: Michael Bournival (113GP, 12G-10A-22P)
Worst– 17th Overall: Joey Hishon (13GP, 1G-1A-2P)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Best– 4th Overall: Ryan Johansen (592GP, 130G-276A-406P)
Worst– 34th Overall: Dalton Smith (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Dallas Stars
Best– 131st Overall: John Klingberg (367GP, 52G-207A-259P)
Worst– 11th Overall: Jack Campbell (38GP, 2.41 goals against average, .925 save%)
Detroit Red Wings
Best– 51st Overall: Calle Jarnkrok (395GP, 66G-83A-149P)
Worst– 81st Overall: Louis-Marc Aubry (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Edmonton Oilers
Best– 1st Overall: Taylor Hall (562GP, 202G-309A-511P)
Worst– 48th Overall: Curtis Hamilton (1GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Florida Panthers
Best– 19th Overall: Nick Bjugstad (426G, 96G-109A-205P)
Worst– 25th Overall: Quinton Howden (97GP, 10G-7A-17P)
Los Angeles Kings
Best– 47th Overall: Tyler Toffoli (457 GP, 121G-135A-256P)
Worst– 158th Overall: Maxim Kitsyn (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Minnesota Wild
Best– 9th Overall: Mikael Granlund (477GP, 94G-228A-322P)
Worst– 39th Overall: Brett Bulmer (17GP, 0G-3A-3P)
Montreal Canadiens
Best– 147th Overall: Brendan Gallagher (488GP, 151G-140A-291P)
Worst– 22nd Overall: Jarred Tinordi (53GP, 0G-6A-6P)
Nashville Predators
Best– 18th Overall: Austin Watson (253GP, 30G-33A-63P)
Worst– 78th Overall: Taylor Aronson (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
New Jersey Devils
Best– 38th Overall: Jon Merrill (307GP, 10G-44A-54P)
Worst– 114th Overall: Joe Faust (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
New York Islanders
Best– 30th Overall: Brock Nelson (480GP, 124G-117A-241P)
Worst– 65th Overall- Kirill Kabanov (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
New York Rangers
Best– 157th Overall: Jesper Fast (353GP, 43G-75A-118P)
Worst– 10th Overall: Dylan McIlrath (50GP, 3G-2A-5P)
Ottawa Senators
Best– 178th Overall: Mark Stone (384GP, 128G-194A-322P)
Worst– 76th Overall: Jakub Culek (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Philadelphia Flyers
Best– 89th Overall: Michael Chaput (167GP, 6G-16A-22P)
Worst– 149th Overall: Michael Parks (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Best– 80th Overall: Bryan Rust (253GP, 51G-63A-114P)
Worst– 20th Overall: Beau Bennett (200GP, 24G-40A-64P)
San Jose Sharks
Best– 28th Overall: Charlie Coyle (500GP, 93G-155A-248P)
Worst– 88th Overall: Max Gaede (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
St. Louis Blues
Best– 16th Overall: Vladimir Tarasenko (497GP, 211G-207A-418P)
Worst– 44th Overall: Sebastian Wannstrom (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Best– 66th Overall: Radko Gudas (416GP, 24G-81A-105P)
Worst– 63rd Overall: Brock Beukeboom (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Toronto Maple Leafs
Best– 62nd Overall: Greg McKegg (132GP, 13G-11A-24P)
Worst– 43rd Overall: Brad Ross (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Vancouver Canucks
Best– 172nd Overall: Alex Friesen (1GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Worst– 115th Overall: Patrick McNally (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Washington Capitals
Best– 26th Overall: Evgeny Kuznetsov (416GP, 101G-236A-337P)
Worst– 86th Overall: Stanislav Galiyev (26GP, 1G-3A-4P)
Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers:
Best– 8th Overall: Alexander Burmistrov (348GP, 37G-64A-101P)
Worst– 101st Overall: Ivan Telegin (0GP, 0G-0A-0P)
Looking back, the 2010 draft class was a fairly impressive one. It included Hall, Seguin, Kuznetsov, Skinner, and Tarasenko.