Scouts log countless miles and hours scouring the world in search of hockey talent. So, the NHL Entry Draft is their time in the spotlight, affording the opportunity for them to put their highly specialized knowledge on display.

The first-round selections are the ones that grab all the media and fan attention on Draft Weekend. Often by the end of the second day few are in attendance to watch the proceedings.

But don't be misled into thinking the last selection of the draft isn't as important as the first. Granted, it may be far harder to find an impact player at pick No. 227 than it is at No. 1, but it's not impossible, as our top 10 list of players taken late in the Entry Draft attests.

No. 10, Steve Larmer, 120th overall by Chicago in 1980

From Oct. 6, 1982 until April 15, 1993, Larmer didn't miss a single regular-season game, a span of 884 contests. That's pretty fair production from a player selected 120th overall in 1980.

Larmer was the strong, silent type during his career. He was content to allow his play to do the talking and it screamed "All-Star!" In 15 NHL seasons, split between the Blackhawks and New York Rangers, Larmer appeared in 1,006 regular-season games, scoring 441 goals and 571 assists for 1,012 points. Not too shabby.

Peter Bondra, who was selected 156th overall by Washington in 1990, came into the 2003-04 season with 451 goals and 339 assists in 907 regular-season games.

Larmer, regarded as a fine defensive player too, appeared in 140 Stanley Cup Playoff games during his career, scoring 56 goals and 75 assists. He was a member of the Rangers' 1994 Stanley Cup championship team.

No. 9, Peter Bondra, 156th overall by Washington in 1990

The Capitals hit the bulls eye with this selection. By the end of the 1989-90 season, Bondra was a pretty fair goal scorer for VSZ Kosice in the Czechoslovakian league. No one else seemed to take notice, so the Capitals gobbled him up at No. 156 in 1990.

What has Bondra done since then? Well, aside from becoming one of the team's most recognizable players, he has a pair of 50-goal seasons and came into the 2003-04 season with 451 goals and 339 assists in 907 regular-season games.

He also has added 30 goals and 26 assists in 73 postseason games.

There are plenty of former first-round picks who wish they could say the same.

No. 8, Daniel Alfredsson, 133rd overall by Ottawa in 1994

Daniel Alfredsson, who was taken with 133rd overall by pick by the Ottawa Senators in 1994, has blossomed into one of the most productive NHLers in the game today.

Perhaps you had to see him to believe him, because not many scouts showed Alfredsson any love in 1994. Despite a couple of good seasons with Sweden’s Vastra Frolunda, Alfredsson slipped all the way to 133 in 1994. Even the Senators selected four other players -- Radek Bonk, 3rd, Stanislav Neckar, 29th, Bryan Masotta, 81st, and Mike Gaffney , 131st -- before getting around to him.

Today, the Senators are thanking their lucky stars no one else noticed the 5-foot-11, 195-pound right wing. No only is he the Senators' captain, but he is also one of their most productive players.

He has scored 187 regular-season goals and 301 assists in 552 games heading into the 2003-04 season. In an additional 62 Stanley Cup Playoff games, Alfredsson has scored 26 goals and 19 assists.

Vladimir Konstantinov, who helped anchor the Red Wings' defense on the 1997 Stanley Cup championship team, was taken by Detroit with the 221st overall selection in 1989.

No. 7, Vladimir Konstantinov, 221st overall by Detroit in 1989

By 1989, Konstantinov was hardly an unknown in hockey circles, but the political climate of the time made it impossible for the burly defenseman to ply his trade in the NHL.

Many NHL teams had used late draft picks on Soviet stars during this era, hoping a thaw in the Cold War would result in those players being able to come to North America. In this case, the timing was near perfect for Detroit and Konstantinov debuted in 1991-92. Konstantinov appeared in a total of 446 regular-season games through six seasons, scoring 47 goals and 128 assists. But he was better known as an intimidating, physical presence in front of the Detroit net.

Konstantinov helped anchor the Wings' 1997 Stanley Cup championship team, but his career was tragically ended when he was paralyzed in an automobile accident shortly after the Cup was won. Today, he remains an inspiration to the Red Wings.

No. 6, Dave Taylor, 210th overall by Los Angeles in 1975

If you had told the Los Angeles Kings they would get 17 excellent seasons out of Taylor prior to the 1975 Draft, they would have used their first selection, not the 210th, on the sturdy winger.

A fixture on the "Triple Crown" line with Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer, Taylor scored 431 goals and 638 assists in 1,111 regular-season games and added an additional 26 goals and 33 assists in 92 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

A late-round selection by the Ottawa Senators in 1993, Pavol Demitra didn't give too many indications he would emerge as one of the NHL's top forwards, but the Blues are glad he turned into a legitimate scoring threat.

Denied a Stanley Cup as a player, today Taylor is trying to make that dream a reality as the general manager of the Kings.

No. 5, Pavol Demitra, 227th overall by Ottawa in 1993

It took some time, but Demitra has made his late-round selection by the Senators look really good --- for the St. Louis Blues.

In Czech league play, Demitra didn't give too many indications he would emerge as one of the NHL's top forwards, and he didn't during his early tenure in Ottawa. He scored 12 goals in 59 games with the Senators during a three-season span before being traded to St. Louis early in the 1996-97 season.

In St. Louis, Demitra blossomed. He posted career highs in assists (57) and points (93) last season and has reached or topped the 35-goal mark three times in six full seasons with the Blues.

No. 4, Brett Hull, 117th overall by Calgary in 1984

Not too many predicted Hull would be a chip off the old block back in 1984 when he became one of the draft's great bargains at 117th overall.

Brett Hull trails only Gordie Howe (801) for most career goals by a right wing. Not bad for a player chosen 117th overall by Calgary in 1984.

Today, Hull is every bit as formidable a scorer as Bobby Hull, his Hall of Fame father. Brett Hull, in fact, trails only Gordie Howe (801) for most career goals by a right wing. Hull entered the 2003-04 season with 716 goals and 606 assists in 1,183 regular-season games.

Hull has reached 70-or-more goals three times in his career, including a mind-boggling 86 goals in 1990-91 with the St. Louis Blues. He has five career seasons with 50-or-more goals and 13 seasons with 30-or-more goals.

And although he will be loathe to admit it, Hull has become a very solid two-way player in recent seasons and has been credited with helping Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg with making rapid adjustments to NHL play.

Pavel Bure turned out to be one of the most exciting players to ever lace up a pair of skates in the NHL after being selected with the 113th overall pick by Vancouver in 1989.

No. 3, Pavel Bure, 113th overall by Vancouver in 1989

A serious knee injury has placed Bure's on-ice future in doubt, but there have been few NHL players more electrifying than Bure and it’s safe to say that none were selected quite as late.

Ah, but here's the rub. Most NHL clubs didn't believe Bure was eligible for the Entry Draft, but some astute detective work by the Vancouver Canuks uncovered a handful of games that had gone unrecorded in the stats, thereby making Bure eligible to be drafted in 1989. The Red Wings realized this as well, but the Canucks beat them to the punch. As we have seen, only extenuating circumstances could have kept Bure from being a top selection.

He posted two 60-goal seasons with the Canucks and had another season where he scored 51 goals. In addition, Bure netted 58- and 59-goal seasons with the Florida Panthers. Injuries robbed much of "The Russian Rocket's" effectiveness with the Rangers, but he still scored 31 goals in 51 games with the Rangers during two seasons.

No. 2, Luc Robitaille, 171st overall by Los Angeles in 1984

The Kings had no idea Luc Robitaille would turn out to be the highest scoring left wing in NHL history when they chose him with the 171st pick at the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.

Perhaps it's all the positive karma in Southern California, but the Kings make the list twice with long-shot successes.

In the case of Robitaille, that's especially apparent. After all, he is the highest scoring left wing in NHL history, having potted 631 career goals. Robitaille re-joined the Kings for the third time in his career for the 2003-04 season after spending the last two seasons in Detroit, where he won his first Stanley Cup in 2002. Robitaille has scored 50-or-more goals three times in his career and scored 30-or-more 12 times in his career.

No. 1, Dominik Hasek, 207th overall by Chicago in 1983

Goaltenders often fall into a different category than forwards and defensemen when it comes to the Entry Draft. Only in recent years have we seen clubs take more and more goalies in the first round of the draft.

Drafted by Chicago in 1983, Hasek remained in Europe for a number of years before finally venturing to North America in 1990. By then, the Blackhawks had Ed Belfour in goal and Hasek received limited NHL experience until the 1992-93 season when he joined the Buffalo Sabres.

Who would have thought Dominik Hasek, a goaltender taken with the 207th pick in the 1983 Entry Draft by Chicago, would turn out to be one of the NHL's most dominant netminders to ever play the game?

In Buffalo, the legend of "The Dominator" was born as Hasek's brilliance resulted in six NHL First Team All-Star selections, six Vezina Trophies, two Jennings Trophies and two Hart Trophies as the most valuable player in the League.

Hasek requested a trade after the 2000-01 season and the Sabres granted his wish, sending him to Detroit where he was the final piece of the puzzle for the Wings, who won the 2002 Stanley Cup. Hasek has proven to be as unpredictable off the ice as he is on it. He announced his retirement shortly after the Wings won the Cup, but changed his mind this summer and is now back in Detroit.

But any way you slice it, Hasek has provided tremendous value for a player nabbed with the 207th selection of the draft.