The 2008 NHL Entry Draft boasted one of the strongest groups of high-end defensemen that we’ve seen in a long time. After Steven Stamkos went first overall, the next four picks were defensemen. After that group was picked, there were still defensemen like Tyler Myers, Erik Karlsson, Jake Gardiner and John Carlson available in the first round.
The following list shows the top-20 defensemen drafted in 2008. The first number shows where they were picked, overall; the second number is their ranking in THN’s Draft Preview, followed by a select quote.
NHLPlayerTHNQuoteToday
2
Drew Doughty
2
"He can play it any way you want to play it."
#1 defenseman, NHL
3
Zach Bogosian
3
"This guy is a home run waiting to happen."
Top-four defenseman, NHL
4
Alex Pietrangelo
5
"He’s a 6’3" guy who can skate well and handle the puck."
#1 defenseman, NHL
5
Luke Schenn
6
"[T]he second coming of Adam Foote…"
Top-six defenseman, NHL
12
Tyler Myers
11
"This is going to be a high-risk, high-return guy…"
Top-four defenseman, NHL
13
Colten Teubert
13
"He’s not as polished… as Schenn, but he’s meaner than Schenn."
Call-up
15
Erik Karlsson
71
No quote – outside THN’s top-60
#1 defenseman, NHL
17
Jake Gardiner
39
"He’s a great skater… a bit of a riverboat gambler."
Top-four defenseman, NHL
19
Luca Sbisa
17
"He’s a great skater and moves the puck very well."
Top-six defenseman, NHL
20
Michael Del Zotto
15
"I don’t think he’s that far off from Doughty."
Top-four defenseman, NHL
23
Tyler Cuma
28
"He’s a good, all-round, two-way guy. He does a bit of everything well."
In the system
27
John Carlsson
30
"He’s a tough one to call because of the perception the USHL… isn’t that good."
Top-four defenseman, NHL
32
Slava Voynov
76
No quote – outside THN’s top-60
Top-six defenseman, NHL
37
Cody Goloubef
42
"[A] solid defense prospect who has no discernible weaknesses."
In the system
38
Roman Josi
49
"He’s a great skater and he moves the puck really well."
Top-six defenseman, NHL
40
Aaron Ness
43
"He’s really good, but he’s tiny and you can’t change that."
Call-up
41
Yann Sauve
23
"He’s 6’4", he has skill, and he’s not afraid."
Call-up
42
Patrick Wiercioch
NR
No quote – outside THN’s top-60
Call-up
43
Justin Schultz
NR
No quote – outside THN’s top-60
Highly-touted prospect
46
Colby Robak
18
"If he ever learns to glue it all together, he’ll be a very good player."
Call-up

Some Thoughts…

When 2011-12 comes to an end, that will mark four full seasons since this draft was conducted. In other words, the comparable season to this year for players picked in the 2012 Entry Draft is 2015-16.
The top five picks in 2008 all yielded useful NHL defensemen, and that figure may rise if Colten Teubert is able to carve out a career for himself on the Oilers’ blue line.
Drew Doughty had a phenomenal rookie season, but these days his point production has dipped noticeably. I’d still take him in a heartbeat, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. In fact, every player on this list has either had a (relatively) slow start to their careers or has had some ups and downs along the way in the NHL. If the Oilers take a guy like Ryan Murray or Matt Dumba, it may be years before we really know who they are as NHL’ers.  Many of the best performers immediately after their draft year have since been eclipsed; there are undoubtedly people now who see Karlsson (minus-30 last season) or Pietrangelo (twice returned to junior after <10-game tryouts) as the best players in this group.

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