Looking back at the 7-15th picks from the 2008 NHL Draft
By baggedmilk
5 years agoYesterday, I posted a breakdown of the players that were selected with the 10th overall pick over the last decade to help in our quest to decide whether or not to trade this year’s pick. In the comments section that followed, CaptainCanada94 suggested that we not only look at who was selected 10th overall in their respective Draft class, but also to include the surrounding picks to better give us an idea of how things actually played out. He was right. If we’re going to really dive into what kind of player the Oilers might end up with at the 10th overall slot then we need to expand our sampling window to include those drafted around that pick.
Over the next week or so, I’ll do a breakdown of the 7-15th overall picks from each NHL Draft in the last decade to see what kind of players have gone in that range, and see if there’s any kind of pattern that we can find as a result. Today, we start with the 2008 class:
Colin Wilson (7) – C – Nashville Predators
2017-18 Season: NHL: 56GP – 6G, 12A for 18 points
“Wilson is an instinctive player with a combination of size, power and elite-level skill. His greatest attribute is his tremendous hockey sense. What set him apart from other collegiate freshmen is how he was able to utilize his hockey sense to better the team around him regardless of which zone he is playing in. His great on-ice vision and awareness allows him to anticipate and make very good reads on developing plays.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PGP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 56 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 6 | -5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| NHL Totals | 558 | 101 | 154 | 255 | 130 | 53 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 2 |
Mikkel Boedker (8) – LW – Phoenix Coyotes
2017-18 Season: NHL: 74GP – 15G, 22A for 37 points
“A very speedy skater, with good balance and offensive instincts, Boedker exhibits excellent puck pursuit and strength on the puck. With his outstanding shot and lightning fast release, Boedker should become a first or second line winger in the NHL. Boedker is a big game player, who needs to continue to look for the shot over the pass and improve his strength, however, he may be ready to make the jump to the NHL.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 74 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| NHL Totals | 618 | 109 | 179 | 288 | 110 | 34 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 10 |
Josh Bailey (9) – RW – New York Islanders
2017-18 Season: 76GP – 18G, 53A for 71 points
“Used in all situations, Bailey has an excellent work ethic and can play in both ends of the ice. He is a very good playmaker and can feed his teammates the puck and take face-offs very well. Often used as a quarterback on the power play, Bailey’s hockey sense and leadership skills are excellent.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PGP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | New York Islanders | NHL | 76 | 18 | 53 | 71 | 17 | -20 | |||||
| NHL Totals | 715 | 124 | 253 | 377 | 198 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
Cody Hodgson (10) – C – Vancouver Canucks
2017-18 season: As we saw yesterday, Hodgson did not play last season.
“Hodgson is a solid all around talent. He does not possess blinding speed, or flashy moves, but he tends to get the job done. He has developed into a fine two-way player. Hodgson is an extremely smart player who uses all of his skills in both ends of the ice. Excellent skater, very strong on the puck, can quarterback the powerplay. Hodson has very good hands and excellent on ice-vision.”
| SEASON | TEAM | LGE | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- | PGP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | NASHVILLE PREDATORS | NHL | 39 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015-16 | MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS | AHL | 14 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL TOTALS | 328 | 64 | 78 | 142 | 68 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Kyle Beach (11) – C – Chicago Blackhawks
2017-18 Season: Austrian League: 44GP – 9G, 13A for 22 points
“Beach has good size and can use it, but he is not overly-aggressive in the physical game. The winger makes more of an impact by getting under the skin of opponents rather than running them through the glass. His heavy shot, nose for the net, and sound offensive instincts make him a good goal-scorer, particularly on the power play. He tends to trail the play more often than impose his well on the ice, but playing a more assertive game could help make the next step to the NHL.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | VSV EC | Austria | 44 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 78 | -8 | — | — |
| NHL Totals | 0 |
Tyler Myers (12) – D – Buffalo Sabres
2017-18 Season: 82GP – 6G, 30A – 36 points
“Myers has premier size and excellent potential as an offensive defenseman. At this early stage in his development, he is already a great skater, but needs to become a more reliable passer and point man.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PGP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 82 | 6 | 30 | 36 | 48 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 |
| NHL Totals | 555 | 65 | 169 | 234 | 405 | 33 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 30 |
Colten Teubert (13) – D – Los Angeles Kings
2017-18 Season: Did not play but did post weird shit on Twitter
“Heading into the Top Prospects tilt, the 6’4 Teubert finds himself ranked 27th among North American skaters by Central Scouting and was eighth in the International Scouting Services December rankings. Strangely, Teubert is listed at either 181 or 188 pounds, although no one looking at him believes the White Rock, B.C. native looks an ounce under 200 pounds. During the on-ice testing, which included timed skating agility and puck-handling drills, Teubert was indeed the stud among the Team Red skaters.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | Nuermberg Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers | DEL | 37 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 58 | 15 |
| NHL Totals | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 |
Zach Boychuk (14) – C – Carolina Hurricanes
2017-18 Season: KHL: 35GP – 11G, 13A for 24 points/Probably followed and unfollowed you on Twitter
“A bit lighter and smaller than ideal NHL forwards, he is highly-skilled and uses hockey smarts to overcome his limitations. Still learning the nuances of pro hockey and sometimes has lapses in the neutral and defensive zones.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Bratislava Slovan | KHL | 35 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 38 | -15 |
| NHL Totals | 127 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 16 |
Erik Karlsson (15) – D – Ottawa Senators
2017-18 Season: NHL: 71GP – 9G, 53A for 62 points
“Karlsson is a very offensive minded defenseman. He is blessed with excellent hockey sense, confidence and coolness. Everything looks so easy and natural when Karlsson has the puck under control in the offensive zone. He is a true power specialist that usually gets the puck on net and also delivers very good passes. Furthermore, he is mobile and a capable skater with good agility and technical skills. The knock on Karlsson is his defensive game and size. While he is very cool and confident in the offensive zone, he sometimes chooses difficult solutions in the defensive end.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PGP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 71 | 9 | 53 | 62 | 36 | -25 | |||||
| NHL Totals | 627 | 126 | 392 | 518 | 316 | 48 | 6 | 31 | 37 | 26 |
THE WRAP…
Looking at this list, there are a few of things that stuck out to me right away. Firstly, how the hell did Erik Karlsson fall to 15th overall? Man, the hindsight on that pick is remarkable and it’s amazing to think of now that 14 teams actually past on him — funny how that works sometimes. Second, Kyle Beach… ouch. He was the only guy in this cluster that didn’t even play a single game in the NHL — that’s a tough one for Chicago. Thirdly, TEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUB! We know that guy! Sorry, that part of the Penner trade didn’t really work out so well, huh?
As for the bigger picture, what I see in this list are some names that are currently contributing to NHL hockey teams. Sure, there are some busts and misfires in this group, no doubt about it, but five of the nine players selected in that 7-15 range are still playing in the NHL right now, and that’s not a half bad success rate when you think about it. More importantly, the Oilers are desperately lacking skilled depth in their organization and I’m not sure that it would necessarily be wise to pass up the chance to pick up a guy with the potential to play over 500 games in the league just as Wilson, Boedker, Bailey, Myers, and Karlsson have all done. Could they strike out and get a Kyle Beach? Sure, but there’s also a chance that they find a player that could stick for 10 years.
To me, the 2008 Draft could be a checkmark on the side of using this year’s pick as opposed to trading it. What do you guys think? Tomorrow, we check out the 2009 Draft.
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