Fansided

The 10 most loaded draft classes in NHL history

By C.L. Kohuss

Canadian hockey player Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins on the ice during a road game, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 1984. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)
Canadian hockey player Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins on the ice during a road game, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 1984. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 10
Next
MONTREAL – 1990’s: Chris Chelios #7 of the Chicago Black Hawks skates with the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the early 1990’s at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Denis Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL – 1990’s: Chris Chelios #7 of the Chicago Black Hawks skates with the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the early 1990’s at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Denis Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images) /

8. 1981

As if the ’80 draft wasn’t remarkable enough, check out some of these names picked up in the first round of 1981: Al MacInnis, Bobby Carpenter, Dale Hawerchuk, Ron Francis. Three of those guys are in the Hall of Fame. Carpenter, who is not, amassed more than 300 goals and 700 points while winning a Cup with New Jersey not only as a player in ’95 but twice as an assistant coach in 2000 and ’03.

Wait, we forgot one other player also drafted in that first round. Oh yeah, it was goaltender Grant Fuhr, the seemingly final piece to the puzzle that would become an Edmonton Oilers dynasty. He was drafted eighth overall and we’d like you to stop for a second and grasp the entirety of what happened in ’79, ‘80 and ’81.

1979 Was scheduled to be the year of the Gretzky. The NHL had just merged with the WHA, a league that included Edmonton, and it was thought that The Great One’s contract with the WHA Oilers would be voided. He’d then be selected first overall by the Colorado Rockies. Nope. Gretzky outright refused to void his contract, so the NHL agreed to let him stay with Edmonton on the condition that they be moved to the bottom of the draft order.

The Oilers promptly said, “You don’t scare us” and selected Mark freaking Messier in Round 3, then selected Glenn Anderson in Round 4. By keeping Gretzky, they essentially came into the NHL with three Hall of Famers. The following year they drafted Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri. Then for an encore in ’81, they drafted Fuhr.

Ladies and gentleman, we call this hitting the jackpot. Imagine winning the lottery not once, but five consecutive weeks in a row. They’re basically this guy but way luckier.

Also included in the ’81 draft? The ageless Chris Chelios. He went in Round 2, won three Stanley Cups, three Norris Trophies, made 11 All-Star teams, made the Hall of Fame, and is probably still out there playing somewhere. Our Vegas Golden Knights buddy Gerard Gallant went in Round 6. Five-time All-Star goaltender Mike Vernon went in Round 3. He also won two Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Jennings Trophy.

Home/NHL