Fansided

Re-Drafting the 2006 NHL Draft

By David Rouben

VANCOUVER, BC - JUNE 24: (L-R) Second overall pick Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins, first overall pick Erik Johnson of the St. Louis Blues, and third overall pick Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks pose for a portrait together backstage during the 2006 NHL Draft held at General Motors Place on June 24, 2006 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images for NHL)
VANCOUVER, BC - JUNE 24: (L-R) Second overall pick Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins, first overall pick Erik Johnson of the St. Louis Blues, and third overall pick Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks pose for a portrait together backstage during the 2006 NHL Draft held at General Motors Place on June 24, 2006 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images for NHL) /
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TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 23: Jeff Petry
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 23: Jeff Petry /

player. 152. . Defense. Des Moines Buccaneers. Jeff Petry. 20

Original pick: David Fischer

Jeff Petry went 45th overall while David Fischer went 20th overall. They play the same position, yet the scales are tilted heavily towards Petry in terms of skill and longevity. Giving the Habs Petry in this re-draft not only provides an upgrade on their original pick, it also foreshadows when he actually moved to Montreal in 2014-15.

Even though he’s on the Canadiens now, it would be interesting to compare his current blue line (Markov, Emelin, and Subban) with that of the Canadiens ten seasons ago (Markov, Souray, and Streit). There’s more depth in Montreal’s blue line now, making it easy to stick Petry on the third defensive pairing, whereas before, he might have made a good second pairing guy while also being relied on to kill penalties.

Petry joined the Habs during a deep playoff run, and was thrust right into the action, and after five long years of no playoffs in Edmonton, the move was clearly a quick change in tempo. Unfortunately, Petry’s second season in Montreal was plagued by injury and saw him sit out a lot of games.

Not many people are nearly as high on Petry now as they were when he first came into the league. Unfortunately, that is endemic among anyone who spends their years of development in Edmonton, and if he had started his career in Montreal, he would’ve had great teammates to work with as well as a chance to grow into the player that many expected to see.

Next: 21. New York Rangers

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