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

7. Best NHL draft picks in history: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

As a number one overall draft pick, you’re not only expected to be the next face of the franchise but also be a catalyst in achieving some winning seasons. You know, seasons that itch closer and closer to eventually earning a championship.

Luckily for the Chicago Blackhawks, they saw that right winger Patrick Kane was everything and then some to fit what they were looking for. They selected him with the number one overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft and he ended a close to a 40-year drought of championship success.

Kane was an incredible right winger, capable of coming through in the clutch to win close games which separated him from the rest. In 2009, Kane shined throughout the postseason where he was truly a force to reckon with scoring 10 goals, 18 assists, and 28 points to end that drought.

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup that season, again in 2012, and even a third time in 2014. Kane blossomed nicely during this dynasty era of the Blackhawks as he earned the title of alternate captain and continues getting the job done to this very day. Talk about an incredible draft pick that brought three championships, lots of trophies, and nine NHL All-Star Game trips to the Windy City.