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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SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 18: Milan Lucic
SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 18: Milan Lucic /

Original pick: Derick Brassard

Can you believe that Milan Lucic was taken 50th overall in the 2006 NHL Draft? Credit the Bruins for getting one of the best values out of this draft, but he fully deserves to be in the first round. Questionable antics aside, Lucic is regarded as one of the league’s best power forwards and he cracked the Bruins roster at 19.

Milan Lucic is the type of player that everyone around the league hates, but he instantly becomes your favorite player when he’s on your team. To have him selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets would be doing that franchise a solid after all the poor decisions they have made over the years. It’s also doing Lucic a favor since he might not have been as hated player as he is now if he played for a small market team like the Blue Jackets.

There’s no doubt that Lucic would’ve brought the energy and tireless work ethic that has come to define his career to a Blue Jackets lineup that still hadn’t made the playoffs, but had lots of talent in the likes of Rick Nash and Sergei Fedorov.

Lucic’s rugged style of play and aggressiveness makes him a nightmare for opposing defenders to deal with, but add the fact that he can score and is a great presence in the locker room, and you essentially have the perfect teammate.

While the Blue Jackets would eventually make the playoffs in 2008-09, they got swept by the Detroit Red Wings. For a team that others loved to pick on back then, Lucic would’ve provided an edge to Blue Jackets and would’ve allowed them to do the bullying for a change. Whether they would’ve held on to Lucic, however, is a different matter altogether.

Next: 7. New York Islanders

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