The Chicago Blackhawks have won the NHL Draft Lottery and with it, the number one pick overall. By doing so, the 'Hawks leap-frog the Caps (as the Caps had done to them in 2004 when they jumped up two spots to snag Alex Ovechkin), and bump the Caps down to the fifth pick (one spot after the generally-accepted "top tier" cuts off).The Caps have had mixed results with the number five pick in the past, using it to select Darren Veitch on spot ahead of Paul Coffey in 1980 and grabbing Scott Stevens with that pick in 1982. Here's hoping this year's #5 pick - if the Caps end up using it themselves - ends up more like Stevens and less like Veitch.
A look at #5 picks from the past decade:
- 2006: Phil Kessel, BOS
- 2005: Carey Price, MON
- 2004: Blake Wheeler, PHO
- 2003: Thomas Vanek, BUF
- 2002: Ryan Whitney, PIT
- 2001: Stanislav Chistov, ANA
- 2000: Raffi Torres, NYI
- 1999: Tim Connolly, NYI
- 1998: Vitali Vishnevsky, ANA
- 1997: Eric Brewer, NYI