THE COUNTDOWN

There are plenty of stars, no doubt, but there are also a number of whoopsies on our list of each franchise’s highest-picked blueliner

BY JARED CLINTON

DEFENSEMEN AREN’T special. This is to say, much like centers, wingers and goaltenders, even the consensus No. 1 prospects don’t always pan out to be the best of the bunch. In some cases, the eventual Hall of Famers were at least considered among the best in their age group. Such was the case for Ray Bourque, whom Boston was fortunate to nab eighth overall in 1979. This was after fellow rearguards Rob Ramage, Craig Hartsburg and Keith Brown had been taken off the board. As ever, though, there are cases in which the all-time greats were left to stew on draft day. Take Nicklas Lidstrom, who had to wait for 19 other defensemen – and 52 players in total – to hear their names called before it was his turn at…

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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Draft Preview 2024

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