2005 2nd Round Draft Pick (Kiprusoff)

[powderjunkie]

Just to clarify, I was never suggesting 'what could have been without kipper', but just that I found it interesting in the quality that came out of the late rounds of that draft (in addition to the quality first rounders like Crosby, Kopitar, and another 10 or so decent players. I suppose there was no reason to even bring Kipper up, other than that's what lead me to look down the draft list.

[Sakari]

Gonna be honest, we'd be the worst team for a long time without Kipper. Quick and Letang are the only two out of there that are noteworthy, and at this point I'd probably take Quick and Letang for a prime Kipper, and nothing less. The trade was absolutely a win. Terrible trade by the Sharks in retrospect, but at the time.. it would have looked great.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by stormchaser

Had we not made this trade, there was no way we would have turned the corner into the playoffs with Turek in net that year.

Which completely changes the draft. While what-if scenarios with regards to the draft are dubious at best, with regards to this draft it's taken to a whole 'nother level.

Flames miss playoffs, get extra ball in the lottery, end up winning it and draft Crosby. The Iginla to Crosby game winning goal happens several years earlier in the Stanley Cup final playoffs. Or maybe they get a top 5 pick (so 55th overall in the 2nd) and end up drafting western-Canadians Gilbert Brule and Matt Kassian. Neither make an impact and without Kiprusoff the Flames remain hopeless prompting Iginla to test free agency where he ends up signing in Edmonton. It pays dividends early on when he puts them over the edge in their 2006 Stanley Cup run.

As for the real discussion. While it's obviously going to go down as noteworthy for having ever single first round pick end up playing at least a game in the NHL the 2003 draft had many late round gems as well which contribute to it being one of the best drafts ever.

Players drafted in the 2nd round and later with at least 100 points today:
33. Eriksson
45. Bergeron
47. Carle
49. Weber
56. O'Sullivan
61. Lapierre
62. Backes
74. MacArthur
106. Hejda
148. Stempniak
205. Pavelski
214. Brodziak
239. Enstrom
245. Byfuglien
263. Moulson
288. Jones

Throw in Howard (64) and Halak (271) for goalies and sprinkle in some role players and defensive defenseman scattered throughout and you got an absolute amazing draft.