NHL: The 30 best draft picks in NHL history (Updated 2023)

19. Best NHL draft picks in history: Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

It’s not easy earning the team captain role as it can take a number of years for a franchise to be 100 percent certain it goes to a player that deserves it. Selected 129th overall back in the 2007 NHL Draft by the Dallas Stars, left winger Jamie Benn worked his way to being just the sixth captain in franchise history six years later.

Benn brings a lot to the Stars as ever since he got promoted to captain in 2013, he’s been quite the household name. In 2014, he won the Art Ross Trophy for leading the NHL in points at the end of the regular season at 87 on top of numerous playoff appearances over the years.

So far with the Stars, they are undoubtedly heading in the right direction. It wasn’t all that long ago in 2020 that Benn led the way for the Stars straight to an appearance in that year’s Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately, the Stars lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning but the potential is still there over the next few years with him as captain.

From draft pick to being the NHL’s top scorer, Benn has done a great job proving that even if you’re drafted late, you can still rise to the top just like anyone else. It’ll be great to see how Benn’s career pans out as he continues to do what he does best.