By Jordan Chong /
The 1999 NHL Draft was hyped as one of the deepest in several years.
Patrick Stefan was the biggest prospect heading into the draft (picked 1st overall by the Atlanta Thrashers), but it was Vancouver Canucks first-year General Manager Brain Burke who stole all the headlines.
After the Canucks’ worst season since 1978/79, they were awarded the third overall pick in the draft, and once Burke worked his magic with a three-trade masterpiece to three different teams, the Canucks suddenly had the second and third overall picks with 15-minutes to spare until draft time. Those two picks would turn out to be the face of the Vancouver Canucks franchise in Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
“Still, I don’t think I could have made this deal happen if I had given any of the top teams an indication that I might walk away from the draft without one of the Sedins,” Brian Burke told The Sporting News a week after the draft. “It was no bluff, and eventually the other teams at the top of the draft began to believe me when I said I’d take one Sedin and wait until another team taking the other Sedin caved in.”
Perhaps one of the biggest late round steals of all-time took place in 1999, when the Detroit Red Wings used the 210th overall pick to draft a young Swedish centreman named Henrik Zetterberg.
“I didn’t know the draft was in alphabetical order,” Zetterberg told the media after being selected 210th overall.
Today, Zetterberg is one of the premier players in the league and arguably the best two-way centreman in the NHL. He has won a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Stanley Cup to go along with a 92-point season in 2007/08.
Other late round steals were goaltender Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres (138th) and Martin Erat of the Nashville Predators (191).
Along with the Sedins, the two highest-rated players heading into the draft were Patrick Stefan and Pavel Brendl, both of whom were selected in the top five.
First overall selection Patrick Stefan, drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers, was a highly touted Czech centreman who was very impressive as a teenager in the Czech Elite League. However, Stefan never lived up to the hype in his seven seasons in the NHL, with a season high 40 points (14-26-40) in 82 games in 2003/04. Stefan is now playing in the Swiss-A League.
Pavel Brendl, also a Czech-born forward, was the fourth overall selection by the New York Rangers. Brendl impressed the Junior hockey world for three seasons with the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL, having a career year in 1998/99, putting up 134 points (73-61-134) in 68 games.
But even with exceptional stats in Junior, Brendl failed to make an impact in the NHL. Over a five-year period, Brendl was up and down with NHL, AHL, and European teams. He had NHL totals of 22 points (11-11-22) in 78 games. |