NHL Draft: Evaluating each team’s 2011 draft class

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The 2010 NHL Draft had a strong class, including Tyler Seguin. How did the 2011 NHL Draft stack up against the 2010 draft?

In all, there were 211 players selected in the 2011 NHL Draft (209 selections in 2010). Those 211 selections combined to play in 21,692 games out of a possible 131,242 games, ultimately meaning that this class combined to play in 16.5% of all eligible games due to injury, development in junior or AHL leagues and inability to compete at the NHL level. The 2010 class played just 15% of their possible games.

The best player to come out of the 2011 draft was the 58th overall selection for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nikita Kucherov. Meanwhile, the first overall selection, held for the second straight year by the Edmonton Oilers, was used to select Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who ranks fourth in this draft in career points.

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Kucherov has recorded 188 goals and 274 for 462 points in 447 games (the only draft pick with over a point per game average in this class). Meanwhile, Nugent-Hopkins has recorded 147 goals and 235 assists for 382 points in 539 games.

Goals, assists, and points are also important to note when reviewing and comparing draft classes. Combined, the 211 players selected in 2011, scored 3,886 goals.

To compare 2010 and 2011, what I did was take the total number of goals (3,886, in this case) and divide that by the number of players selected (211), then divide that by the eligible number of seasons that those players could have played in (8).

That brings us to what I call the number of goals scored per season per player, or G/S/P. The 2011 draft class recorded a G/S/P of 2.3 (2010 draft class had a G/S/P of 2).

As for assists that players recorded, the 2011 draft class combined for 5,567 assists. That means that, per season, the 211 players selected recorded an A/S/P of 3.3 (2010 produced a 3 A/S/P rate). Yet again, the 2011 draft class out-produced the 2010 draft class.

That means that the 211 players selected in the 2011 NHL draft also did better putting up total points, compared to 2010. That statement is backed up with the P/S/P (Points per season, per player) numbers put up by the 2011 class (5.6 P/S/P) than that of 2010 (5 P/S/P).

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Best And Worst Drafts For Specific Teams

The Tampa Bay Lightning selected the best group of players compared to every other teams’ selections in 2011. In 2010, it was the Minnesota Wild who compiled the best draft class.

The Lightning selected six players in 2011, combining for 1,426 games played. That means that the six players averaged 237.7 games in their careers. The GP/S/P (Games played per season, per player) was 29.7. The Wild had a GP/S/P of 27.5 in 2010, meaning that the Lightning had the strongest draft over those two drafts.

As for the weakest class in 2011, at least for GP/S/P, belongs to the Washington Capitals, with a 1.9 GP/S/P. In 2010, that honor belonged to the Vancouver Canucks with a whopping 0.02 GP/S/P. So not only did 2011 have the team with a stronger class than the strongest in 2010, but they also had the stronger of the weakest than 2010. Washington had selected just four players with a combined 61 games played.

The Lightning also had the most G/S/P in the draft. For the six players that the Lightning, they combined for 362 goals in their careers. That led to their G/S/P 7.5, which is better than 2010’s best, held by Minnesota (5.4). The Lightning selections’ G/S/P took up 11.1% of the league total.

Meanwhile, Vancouver posted the worst G/S/P totals for the second straight season. Their 8 selections combined for a career total of 6 goals. That is a grand total of a 0.1 G/S/P. Their G/S/P total in the 2010 draft was far worse, as it was a 0.

As for the best team when garnering assists, it was yet again the Lightning. Their 6 selections combined for 595 assists. That total slims down to 12.4 A/S/P (assists per season, per player). That total is yet again better than the best A/S/P total put up by the Wild in 2010 (8.3). The Lightning’s A/S/P total took up 12.4% of the leagues total.

Now, can you guess the team with the worst A/S/P? The Vancouver Canucks of course, for the second straight year. Their 8 selections combined for just 8 assists in their careers. That led to a 0.1 A/S/P, still better than their 2010 class, who had 0.

That leads me to the last point, and that is, well, points. The Lightning yet again led all teams in P/S/P in 2011, after Minnesota did so in the 2010 draft. The 6 Lightning selections combined for 957 assists in their careers. That equals a P/S/P of 19.9. That mark is better than what the best team in 2010 put up (the Wild) with their P/S/P adding up to 13.7, far worse than Tampa. Tampa’s 2011 class put up a P/S/P that made up 11.9% of the league total.

For the second consecutive season, Vancouver finished dead last in P/S/P. Their 8 selections combined for 14 career points. That led to a 0.2 P/S/P for the ‘Nucks, which was better than their 2010 P/S/P total of 0.

So, ultimately, the 2010 draft had the weakest group of selections by a team while 2011 had the strongest between the two. It’s easy to say that 2011 was a stronger class, in hindsight than the 2010 class.

Best And Worst Selections For Each Team

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Team By Team Results

Anaheim Ducks:

Best- 30th Overall: Rickard Rakell (382GP, 114G-127A-241P) (2010 best pick: Cam Fowler)

Worst- 65th Overall: Joseph Cramarossa (59GP, 4G-6A-10P) (2010 worst pick: Emerson Etem)

Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes

Best- 20th Overall: Connor Murphy (386GP, 20G-56A-76P) (2010: Oscar Lindberg)

Worst- 51st Overall: Alexander Ruuttu (0GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Brandon Gormley)

Boston Bruins

Best- 9th Overall: Dougie Hamilton (505GP, 82G-177A-259P) (2010: Tyler Seguin)

Worst- 40th Overall: Alexander Khokhlachev (9GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Jared Knight)

Buffalo Sabres

Best- 16th Overall: Joel Armia (237GP, 39G-42A-81P) (2010: Mark Pysyk)

Worst- 77th Overall: Daniel Catenacci (12GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Jerome Leduc)

Calgary Flames

Best- 104th Overall: Johnny Gaudreau (394GP, 133G-254A-387P) (2010: Michael Ferland)

Worst- 57th Overall: Tyler Wotherspoon (30GP, 0G-5A-5P) (2010: Max Reinhart)

Carolina Hurricanes

Best- 42nd Overall: Victor Rask (362GP, 65G-101A-166P) (2010: Jeff Skinner)

Worst- 73rd Overall: Keegan Lowe (4GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Mark Alt)

Chicago Blackhawks

Best- 43rd Overall: Brandon Saad (530GP, 148G-166A-314P) (2010: Kevin Hayes)

Worst- 18th Overall: Mark McNeill (2GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Ludvig Rensfeldt)

Colorado Avalanche

Best- 2nd Overall: Gabriel Landeskog (579GP, 177G-239A-416P) (2010: Michael Bournival)

Worst- 11th Overall: Duncan Siemens (20GP, 1G-1A-2P) (2010: Joey Hishon)

Columbus Blue Jackets

Best- 37th Overall: Boone Jenner (419GP, 102G-97A-199P) (2010: Ryan Johansen)

Worst- 66th Overall: TJ Tynan (3GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Dalton Smith)

Dallas Stars

Best- 44th Overall: Brett Ritchie (241GP, 33G-21A-54P) (2010: John Klingberg)

Worst- 105th Overall: Emil Molin (0GP,0G-0A-0P) (2010: Jack Campbell)

Detroit Red Wings

Best- 35th Overall: Tomas Jurco (201GP, 22G-28A-50P) (2010: Calle Jarnkrok)

Worst- 55th Overall: Ryan Sproul (44GP, 2G-10A-12P) (2010: Louis-Marc Aubry)

Edmonton Oilers

Best- 1st Overall: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (539GP, 147G-235A-382P) (2010: Taylor Hall)

Worst- 31st Overall: David Musil (4GP, 0G-2A-2P) (2010: Curtis Hamilton)

Florida Panthers

Best- 3rd Overall: Jonathan Huberdeau (467GP, 125G-234A-359P) (2010: Nick Bjugstad)

Worst- 59th Overall: Rasmus Bengtsson (0GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Quinton Howden)

Los Angeles Kings

Best- 82nd Overall: Nick Shore (236GP, 15G-38A-53P) (2010: Tyler Toffoli)

Worst- 39th Overall: Christopher Gibson (14GP, 3.45GAA, .904SV%) (2010: Maxim Kitsyn)

Minnesota Wild

Best- 10th Overall: Jonas Brodin (486GP, 28G-90A-118P) (2010: Mikael Granlund)

Worst- 28th Overall: Zack Phillips (0GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Brett Bulmer)

Montreal Canadiens

Best- 17th Overall: Nathan Beaulieu (332GP, 11G-70A-81P) (2010: Brendan Gallagher)

Worst- 97th Overall: Josiah Didier (0GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Jarred Tinordi)

Nashville Predators

Best- 52nd Overall: Miikka Salomaki (162GP, 11G-15A-26P) (2010: Austin Watson)

Worst- 38th Overall: Magnus Hellburg (4GP, 2.71GAA, .868SV%) (2010: Taylor Aronson)

New Jersey Devils

Best- 4th Overall: Adam Larsson (498GP, 20G-101A-121P) (2010: Jon Merrill)

Worst- 69th Overall: *Pick Withdrawn* (2010: Joe Faust)

New York Islanders

Best- 5th Overall: Ryan Strome (421GP, 77G-118A-195P) (2010: Brock Nelson)

Worst- 50th Overall: Johan Sundstrom (11GP, 0-G-1A-1P) (2010: Kirill Kabanov)

New York Rangers

Best- 15th Overall: JT Miller (435GP, 95G-142A-237P) (2010: Jesper Fast)

Worst- 72nd Overall: Steven Fogarty (11GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Dylan McIlrath)

Ottawa Senators

Best- 6th Overall: Mika Zibanajad (491GP, 135G-174A-309P) (2010: Mark Stone)

Worst- 156th Overall: Darren Kramer (0GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Jakub Culek)

Philadelphia Flyers

Best- 8th Overall: Sean Couturier (578GP, 134G-209A-343P) (2010: Michael Chaput)

Worst- 116th Overall: Colin Suellentrop (0GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Michael Parks)

Pittsburgh Penguins

Best- 209th Overall: Scott Wilson (187GP, 19G-30A-49P) (2010: Bryan Rust)

Worst- 144th Overall: Dominik Uher (2GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Beau Bennett)

San Jose Sharks

Best- 47th Overall: Matt Nieto (402GP, 54G-76A-130P) (2010: Charlie Coyle)

Worst- 89th Overall: Justin Sefton (0GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Max Gaede)

St Louis Blues

Best- 44th Overall: Dmitrij Jaskin (303GP, 27G-42A-69P) (2010: Vladimir Tarasenko)

Worst- 32nd Overall: Ty Rattie (98GP, 13G-17A-30P) (2010: Sebastian Wannstrom)

Tampa Bay Lightning

Best- 58th Overall: Nikita Kucherov (447GP, 188G-274A-462P) (2010: Radko Gudas)

Worst- 178th Overall: Adam Wilcox (1GP, 0.00GAA, 1.00SV%) (2010: Brock Beukeboom)

Toronto Maple Leafs

Best- 86th Overall: Josh Leivo (133GP, 24G-22A-46P) (2010: Greg McKegg)

Worst- 22nd Overall: Tyler Biggs (0GP, 0G-0A-0P) (2010: Brad Ross)

Vancouver Canucks

Best- 150th Overall: Frank Corrado (76GP, 3G-5A-8P) (2010: Alex Friesen)

Worst: 29th Overall: Nicklas Jensen (31GP, 3G-3A-6P) (2010: Patrick McNally)

Washington Capitals

Best- 177th Overall: Travis Boyd (61GP, 5G-16A-21P) (2010: Evgeny Kuznetsov)

Worst- 117th Overall: Steffen Soberg (0GP, 0.00GAA, 0SV%) (2010: Stanislav Galiyev)

Winnipeg Jets

Best- 7th Overall: Mark Scheifele (448GP, 151G-220A-371P) (2010: Alexander Burmistrov)

Worst- 78th Overall: Brennan Serville (0GP, ,0G-0A-0P) (2010: Ivan Telegin)

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