Biggest "Draft Busts" (Research)

-- draft year >1968 and <1999
-- played < 4 NHL seasons

LW

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Dean Barry -- 2 -- NJ -- Round 1 -- 1975 -- 3
Tannahill Don -- 3 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1969 -- 2
Sittler Ryan -- 7 -- PHI -- Round 1 -- 1992 -- 0
Ryan Terry -- 8 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1995 -- 3
Phillipoff Harold -- 10 -- CGY -- Round 1 -- 1976 -- 3
Blanchard Al -- 10 -- NYR -- Round 1 -- 1972 -- 0
Titanic Morris -- 12 -- BUF -- Round 1 -- 1973 -- 2
Babe Warren -- 12 -- DAL -- Round 1 -- 1986 -- 3
Riihijarvi Teemu -- 12 -- SJ -- Round 1 -- 1995 -- 0
Leveille Norm -- 14 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1981 -- 2
Zultek Matt -- 15 -- LA -- Round 1 -- 1997 -- 0


C

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Williams Fred -- 4 -- DET -- Round 1 -- 1976 -- 1
Scissons Scott -- 6 -- NYI -- Round 1 -- 1990 -- 3
Tkaczuk Daniel -- 6 -- CGY -- Round 1 -- 1997 -- 1
Currier Bob -- 6 -- PHI -- Round 1 -- 1969 -- 0
Vaydik Greg -- 7 -- CHI -- Round 1 -- 1975 -- 1
Gratton Dan -- 10 -- LA -- Round 1 -- 1985 -- 1
Spring Dan -- 12 -- CHI -- Round 1 -- 1971 -- 0
Malone Jim -- 14 -- NYR -- Round 1 -- 1980 -- 0
Savage Reggie -- 15 -- WAS -- Round 1 -- 1988 -- 3
Mctavish Gordon -- 15 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1974 -- 2
Carroll Greg -- 15 -- WAS -- Round 1 -- 1976 -- 2

RW

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Volchkov Alexandre -- 4 -- WAS -- Round 1 -- 1996 -- 1
Dore Daniel -- 5 -- COL -- Round 1 -- 1988 -- 2
Stojanov Alek -- 7 -- VAN -- Round 1 -- 1991 -- 3
Woodley Dan -- 7 -- VAN -- Round 1 -- 1986 -- 1
Featherstone Tony -- 7 -- CLE -- Round 1 -- 1969 -- 3
Geoffrion Danny -- 8 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1978 -- 3
Trottier Rocky -- 8 -- NJ -- Round 1 -- 1982 -- 2
Lindros Brett -- 9 -- NYI -- Round 1 -- 1994 -- 2
Moser Ernie -- 9 -- TOR -- Round 1 -- 1969 -- 0
Heerema Jeff -- 11 -- CAR -- Round 1 -- 1998 -- 2
Osborne Keith -- 12 -- STL -- Round 1 -- 1987 -- 2
Vallis Lindsay -- 13 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1989 -- 1
Savage Joel -- 13 -- BUF -- Round 1 -- 1988 -- 1
Henrich Michael -- 13 -- EDM -- Round 1 -- 1998 -- 0
Riesen Michel -- 14 -- EDM -- Round 1 -- 1997 -- 1
Lucas Danny -- 14 -- PHI -- Round 1 -- 1978 -- 1
Kharlamov Alexander -- 15 -- WAS -- Round 1 -- 1994 -- 0

DEF

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Johansson Bjorn -- 5 -- CLE -- Round 1 -- 1976 -- 2
Bennett Adam -- 6 -- CHI -- Round 1 -- 1989 -- 3
Arthur Fred -- 8 -- CAR -- Round 1 -- 1980 -- 3
Herter Jason -- 8 -- VAN -- Round 1 -- 1989 -- 1
Aitken Johnathan -- 8 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1996 -- 2
Plumb Ron -- 9 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1970 -- 1
Campbell Scott -- 9 -- STL -- Round 1 -- 1977 -- 3
Sadler Robin -- 9 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1975 -- 0
Cooper David -- 11 -- BUF -- Round 1 -- 1992 -- 3
Focht Dan -- 11 -- PHO -- Round 1 -- 1996 -- 3
Meighan Ron -- 13 -- DAL -- Round 1 -- 1981 -- 2
Quinn David -- 13 -- DAL -- Round 1 -- 1984 -- 0
Stewart Michael -- 13 -- NYR -- Round 1 -- 1990 -- 0
Baird Ken -- 15 -- CLE -- Round 2 -- 1971 -- 1
Ware Jeff -- 15 -- TOR -- Round 1 -- 1995 -- 3
Soules Jason -- 15 -- EDM -- Round 1 -- 1989 -- 0


G

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Martyniuk Ray -- 5 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1970 -- 0
Desrochers Patrick -- 14 -- PHO -- Round 1 -- 1998 -- 2
Ryabchikov Evgeni -- 21 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1994 -- 0
Hillier Craig -- 23 -- PIT -- Round 1 -- 1996 -- 0
Damphousse Jean Franc -- 24 -- NJ -- Round 1 -- 1997 -- 1
DeGuise Michel -- 24 -- MTL -- Round 2 -- 1971 -- 0
Pelletier Jean Marc -- 30 -- PHI -- Round 2 -- 1997 -- 3
Dyck Ed -- 30 -- VAN -- Round 3 -- 1970 -- 3

How can you have this list and not have Doug Wickenheiser somewhere on it?

How can you have this list and not have Doug Wickenheiser somewhere on it?

Well, in all fairness to the late Mr.Wickenheiser, he play 556 games over 11 years in the NHL.

But yes, considering his draft position (1st overall in 1980) and the talent that was taken behind him (Denis Savard, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, Dave Babych, etc), he could definately be considered a bust, for sure.

Well, in all fairness to the late Mr.Wickenheiser, he play 556 games over 11 years in the NHL.

My fault. Didn't read the conditions closely enough.

Having reconsidered I would like add Jason Bonsignore.

Normand Leveille should not be on that list either. His career was cut short by a stroke after he was hit during a game. He could have had an very good NHL career.

Tannahill wasn't a bust, he had an injury (knee I think). Don Tannahill was a very good hockey player. Ron Plumb played for years in the WHA, he was a very good player too.

I guess you'd have to call him a bust, but one year when the Habs' Nova Scotia team was better than some NHL teams Tony Featherstone had a monster season in the AHL.

Damphousse is still out there LOL

greg joly...

also...when you think about it...dale talon...cuz if the canucks had won the coin toss with buffalo they might have got gilles perrault

Sadler Robin -- 9 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1975


Interesting story involving Robin Sadler...


http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1975/75009.html

Interesting story involving Robin Sadler...


http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1975/75009.html

What about Alexander Daigle?

Interesting story involving Robin Sadler...


http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1975/75009.html

I remember seeing an interview with him (possibly on HNIC) and he said that he didn't mind driving an old car instead of a new one. He had no real desire to be an NHL player.

These days, scouts talk to the prospects to get a good idea where their aspirations are. A player like Sadler would probably be drafted in the later rounds now (someone taking a flyer on him). I wouldn't call him a bust but a case of a lack of scouting information.

What about Alexander Daigle?

He falls in with Wickenheiser IMO, sure you could say he was a bust for where he was drafted but he still has played 570 NHL games and shows no signs of stoping.

Calling Norm Levielle a draft bust is incredibly stupid.

Jason Bonsignore or Steve Kelly :joker:

Calling Norm Levielle a draft bust is incredibly stupid.


That may be a bit harsh, given that the poster may not be old enough to remember what occurred to Norm. Explain what happened if you want, since you are correct, he was not a bust, and quite to the contrary, might have had a very nice career. But don't say it was incredibly stupid of him to say, perhaps it was just an uneducated statement. There are some guys on that list that I am unaware of their circumstance, too. :shakehead

Where's Eric Lindross:banghead: :cry: ???????????????????? Oh yeah, banghead, cry :p:

Actually, I always wonder what happened to all those great goalies for Team Canada Juniors way back when. I can remember Moffat, Waite, Billington, Fiset, Legace, Storr off the top of my head - I'm sure there are a pile more.
These guys all played in the show - usually as a backup - but never really made any impact.

I couldn't find Libor Polasek on the list...

robin sadler...

he gets drafted in the first round by montreal...

then announces he wants to be a fireman...

then he plays minor league hockey anyway...

who in their right mind wouldnt have wanted to try to play for the montreal canadiens

who in their right mind wouldnt have wanted to try to play for the montreal canadiens

Don Cherry?

Your busts list needs to include pretty much all the Canuck draft picks :cry:

That's just my pessimistic side of the brain talking. We've had some nice picks, but the road is littered with busts. I would consider busts as players taken in round 1 or 2 and not playing more than a handful of games. See Jason Herter, Libor Polasek.

My category 2 busts are players who did play some games, but left much much much more to be desired. See Stojanov, Rob Murphy, Brad Ference...

Scott Pearson should be on this list, that guy was useless.

Scott Pearson should be on this list, that guy was useless.

All three of them from that year were useless. :banghead:

Anybody remember Juri Dudacek? I think that was his name (I could google it, but...).

Scotty Bowman had always been held back from the GM post in Montreal, but he wanted the control. He left the Habs and took over the reigns of GM in Buffalo.

Scotty rolls up in Buffalo, and picks this little known Czech supposed "superstar" in the first round. This was in the early 80's, when picking anyone other than Canadians early in the draft was very rare. It caused quite a sensation in this area. We all thought Scotty new something the rest of the world missed. :dunno:

What a friccin bust that dude was - never played a game in North America. :blush:

Needless to say, Scotty was a more successful as a coach than a GM.... :D

Where's Eric Lindross:banghead: :cry: ???????????????????? Oh yeah, banghead, cry :p:

Actually, I always wonder what happened to all those great goalies for Team Canada Juniors way back when. I can remember Moffat, Waite, Billington, Fiset, Legace, Storr off the top of my head - I'm sure there are a pile more.
These guys all played in the show - usually as a backup - but never really made any impact.

Haven't researched this at all, but it seems to me Storr, Luongo and Fleury have been the only ones to go in the first round.

And for all the bad ones (of which Legace is not one, he will get his shot) there are guys like Luongo, Theodore and Fernandez who all starred in the WJC for Canada. But you do make a good point. These guys are the next sure thing and then gone. Best examples are Waite, Fiset and Hirsch.

Don Cherry?

maybe, but don cherry wouldnt even have made the habs farm team

I thought Teemu Elomo was a steal by Dallas in the fifth round of the 1997 draft. I was sure of it.

He's still playing in Finland and poking his head up on the international stage here and there. The winger hasn't a game in the NHL and probably never will.

He's the biggest draft bust I've ever pegged.

That's why I'm no scout.

Calling Norm Levielle a draft bust is incredibly stupid.

I'm pretty sure the original poster worked this out as a statistical study of the highest draft picks with the lowest amount of seasons played.. I'm sure if he'd wanted to weed out all the people who were 'busts' for reasons beyond their control etc he could have, but he didn't. Imagine all the extra work that would take.

-- draft year >1968 and <1999
-- played < 4 NHL seasons

LW

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Dean Barry -- 2 -- NJ -- Round 1 -- 1975 -- 3
Tannahill Don -- 3 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1969 -- 2
Sittler Ryan -- 7 -- PHI -- Round 1 -- 1992 -- 0
Ryan Terry -- 8 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1995 -- 3
Phillipoff Harold -- 10 -- CGY -- Round 1 -- 1976 -- 3
Blanchard Al -- 10 -- NYR -- Round 1 -- 1972 -- 0
Titanic Morris -- 12 -- BUF -- Round 1 -- 1973 -- 2
Babe Warren -- 12 -- DAL -- Round 1 -- 1986 -- 3
Riihijarvi Teemu -- 12 -- SJ -- Round 1 -- 1995 -- 0
Leveille Norm -- 14 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1981 -- 2
Zultek Matt -- 15 -- LA -- Round 1 -- 1997 -- 0


C

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Williams Fred -- 4 -- DET -- Round 1 -- 1976 -- 1
Scissons Scott -- 6 -- NYI -- Round 1 -- 1990 -- 3
Tkaczuk Daniel -- 6 -- CGY -- Round 1 -- 1997 -- 1
Currier Bob -- 6 -- PHI -- Round 1 -- 1969 -- 0
Vaydik Greg -- 7 -- CHI -- Round 1 -- 1975 -- 1
Gratton Dan -- 10 -- LA -- Round 1 -- 1985 -- 1
Spring Dan -- 12 -- CHI -- Round 1 -- 1971 -- 0
Malone Jim -- 14 -- NYR -- Round 1 -- 1980 -- 0
Savage Reggie -- 15 -- WAS -- Round 1 -- 1988 -- 3
Mctavish Gordon -- 15 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1974 -- 2
Carroll Greg -- 15 -- WAS -- Round 1 -- 1976 -- 2

RW

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Volchkov Alexandre -- 4 -- WAS -- Round 1 -- 1996 -- 1
Dore Daniel -- 5 -- COL -- Round 1 -- 1988 -- 2
Stojanov Alek -- 7 -- VAN -- Round 1 -- 1991 -- 3
Woodley Dan -- 7 -- VAN -- Round 1 -- 1986 -- 1
Featherstone Tony -- 7 -- CLE -- Round 1 -- 1969 -- 3
Geoffrion Danny -- 8 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1978 -- 3
Trottier Rocky -- 8 -- NJ -- Round 1 -- 1982 -- 2
Lindros Brett -- 9 -- NYI -- Round 1 -- 1994 -- 2
Moser Ernie -- 9 -- TOR -- Round 1 -- 1969 -- 0
Heerema Jeff -- 11 -- CAR -- Round 1 -- 1998 -- 2
Osborne Keith -- 12 -- STL -- Round 1 -- 1987 -- 2
Vallis Lindsay -- 13 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1989 -- 1
Savage Joel -- 13 -- BUF -- Round 1 -- 1988 -- 1
Henrich Michael -- 13 -- EDM -- Round 1 -- 1998 -- 0
Riesen Michel -- 14 -- EDM -- Round 1 -- 1997 -- 1
Lucas Danny -- 14 -- PHI -- Round 1 -- 1978 -- 1
Kharlamov Alexander -- 15 -- WAS -- Round 1 -- 1994 -- 0

DEF

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Johansson Bjorn -- 5 -- CLE -- Round 1 -- 1976 -- 2
Bennett Adam -- 6 -- CHI -- Round 1 -- 1989 -- 3
Arthur Fred -- 8 -- CAR -- Round 1 -- 1980 -- 3
Herter Jason -- 8 -- VAN -- Round 1 -- 1989 -- 1
Aitken Johnathan -- 8 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1996 -- 2
Plumb Ron -- 9 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1970 -- 1
Campbell Scott -- 9 -- STL -- Round 1 -- 1977 -- 3
Sadler Robin -- 9 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1975 -- 0
Cooper David -- 11 -- BUF -- Round 1 -- 1992 -- 3
Focht Dan -- 11 -- PHO -- Round 1 -- 1996 -- 3
Meighan Ron -- 13 -- DAL -- Round 1 -- 1981 -- 2
Quinn David -- 13 -- DAL -- Round 1 -- 1984 -- 0
Stewart Michael -- 13 -- NYR -- Round 1 -- 1990 -- 0
Baird Ken -- 15 -- CLE -- Round 2 -- 1971 -- 1
Ware Jeff -- 15 -- TOR -- Round 1 -- 1995 -- 3
Soules Jason -- 15 -- EDM -- Round 1 -- 1989 -- 0


G

Player Name -- Num -- Drafted By Franchise -- Round -- Draft Year -- Seasons
================================================== =========
Martyniuk Ray -- 5 -- MTL -- Round 1 -- 1970 -- 0
Desrochers Patrick -- 14 -- PHO -- Round 1 -- 1998 -- 2
Ryabchikov Evgeni -- 21 -- BOS -- Round 1 -- 1994 -- 0
Hillier Craig -- 23 -- PIT -- Round 1 -- 1996 -- 0
Damphousse Jean Franc -- 24 -- NJ -- Round 1 -- 1997 -- 1
DeGuise Michel -- 24 -- MTL -- Round 2 -- 1971 -- 0
Pelletier Jean Marc -- 30 -- PHI -- Round 2 -- 1997 -- 3
Dyck Ed -- 30 -- VAN -- Round 3 -- 1970 -- 3

Biggest bust of them all.

Alexandre Daigle - in or out of his nurse's uniform - enough said.

Penny, Lajeuness and Chouinard (taken twice!) as high pick goalies