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

23. Best NHL draft picks in history: Keith Yandle, Arizona Coyotes

I know, I know. The Arizona Coyotes have historically been a very bad hockey team. They’ve never won a Stanley Cup championship, Conference championship, or even the Presidents’ Trophy. At least when it comes to their draft history, they have at least one that, at the time, brought hope to a franchise trying to find its identity.

Selected 105th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft, the Coyotes took a chance on defenseman Keith Yandle as he took the hockey world by storm the moment he debuted. Yandle was one of those rare defensemen that can score a plethora of points once the puck is in his possession. He led the team in points in his rookie season and again in his sophomore year.

Over his eight-year tenure with the Coyotes, before he was unfortunately traded, he did his part to get them into the postseason and help establish a better culture across the entire franchise. He was a tough-as-they-come kind of player that set franchise and even NHL records for playing in the most consecutive games while leading by example.

One can only imagine what the Coyotes would look like today had they kept on to Yandle as he continues to have a successful career in the NHL. He’s had stints with the New York Rangers and is currently an alternate captain on the Florida Panthers. It looks like he’s the one that got away in the grand scheme of things for the Coyotes and so far, has been their best draft pick in franchise history.