The 2002 NHL Draft produced a Conn Smythe Trophy winner (Cam Ward in 2006), and another who was probably the unofficial runner-up (Duncan Keith in 2010). It also produced at player at each position -- Alexander Semin at forward, Jay Bouwmeester on defense and Kari Lehtonen in goal -- that are the subject of widely divisive opinions.
NHL DRAFT REDUX
This draft is a good snapshot of how much better scouting of European players has gotten. There were several European-based first-round choices that failed to make much of an impact in the NHL, while the Detroit Red Wings -- notorious for their strong work in Europe -- snagged a trio of guys in later rounds who can still be key players in the next 10 years.
Seventeen of the 30 first-round picks from 2002 did not make this list though a few (Daniel Paille, Anton Babchuk, Scottie Upshall) are in the No. 31-35 range. Here's what the 2002 NHL Draft could look like if it was re-cast today, with most of these players at about the midpoint in their careers:
| Rank | Player | Drafted | Skinny |
| 1 | Rick Nash | 1 | A great two-way forward who needs a fresh start |
| 2 | Duncan Keith | 54 | Norris Trophy, gold medal, No. 1 D-man on Cup winner |
| 3 | Cam Ward | 25 | Young Conn Smythe winner, legitimate franchise goalie |
| 4 | Alexander Semin | 13 | Maddening yet sublime talent, second-most goals/points |
| 5 | Joni Pitkanen | 4 | Underrated, plays huge minutes in all situations |
| 6 | Jay Bouwmeester |
3 | Overrated, plays huge minutes in all situations |
| 7 | Joffrey Lupul | 7 | Great start, rallied in '11-12 after career nearly derailed |
| 8 | Jarret Stoll | 36 | Great No. 3/good No. 2 center; won Cup after just missing in '06 |
| 9 | Kari Lehtonen | 2 | Premier talent in net, long struggle with injuries until recently |
| 10 | Pierre-Marc Bouchard | 8 | Great setup man, missed essentially two years with concussions |
| 11 | Trevor Daley | 43 | Solid, second-pair guy; second-most games on D behind Bouwmeester |
| 12 | Alexander Steen | 24 | Second-line scorer adds elite defensive ability |
| 13 | Dennis Wideman | 241 | Lots of points, suspect defense, about to join fifth team in seven years |
| 14 | James Wisniewski | 156 | Late bloomer will seek redemption after injury/suspension plagued year |
| 15 | Tomas Fleischmann | 63 | Breakout year after finding top-line opportunity, beating blood clot scare |
| 16 | Chris Higgins | 14 | Fourth in this class in goals, nice bounce back after three sub-par seasons |
| 17 | Valtteri Filppula | 95 | Not much in '12 playoffs, but strong postseason performer in previous years |
| 18 | Jiri Hudler | 58 | Missed a year in KHL, needed a year to get back up to speed |
| 19 | Ian White | 191 | Looked pretty good next to Nicklas Lidstrom; won't have that luxury anymore |
| 20 | Frans Nielsen | 87 | Good on defense, deadly in shootouts; offense has improved each of five NHL seasons |
| 21 | Matt Stajan | 57 | Third in games played, but production fell off a cliff past three years |
| 22 | Max Talbot | 234 | Game 7 hero in Final for Penguins, strong first season for Flyers |
| 23 | Tom Gilbert | 129 | Not an offensive star (like '07-08), but solid second-pair guy |
| 24 | Sean Bergenheim | 22 | Playoff hero in '11 for Tampa Bay, strong again in '12 for Florida |
| 25 | Keith Ballard | 11 | Career has gone sideways in two years with Vancouver |
| 26 | Matt Greene | 44 | Stay at home guy, No. 5 d-man, PK stud on Cup-winning team |
| 27 | Gregory Campbell | 67 | Solid No. 4 center on Cup winner, could move up on lesser team |
| 28 | Ryan Whitney | 5 | Would be much higher, but injuries have derailed him |
| 29 | Josh Harding | 38 | Longtime starter-in-waiting, might not ever get that chance after re-signing with Wild |
| 30 | Jonathan Ericsson | 291 | Last guy picked, will be better than several above him moving forward |
| Missing first-round picks: Scottie Upshall (6), Petr Taticek (9), Eric Nystrom (10), Steve Eminger (12), Jesse Niinimaki (15), Jakub Klepis (16), Boyd Gordon (17), Denis Grebeshkov (18), Jakub Kories (19), Daniel Paille (20), Anton Babchuk (21), Ben Eager (23), Martin Vagner (26), Mike Morris (27), Jonas Johansson (28), Hannu Toivonen (29), Jim Slater (30). | |||
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