Capitals GM Milt Schmidt, architect of the 1969 and 1971 Stanley Cup-winning Boston Bruins, conducted the draft for Washington. With the first overall pick, the Caps took defenseman Greg Joly. Schmidt touted Joly as an excellent puck-rushing defenseman, the type of player that teams were after since Bobby Orr came into the league. Joly didn't pan out in DC and he was dealt to Detroit after two seasons as a Capital. Injuries curtailed his career and he is remembered as one of the least successful of all first overall picks.
Schmidt took winger Mike Marson -- a stockily built native of Toronto -- with his second pick. Marson followed in the footsteps of Willie O'Ree, becoming the second African-American player to don an NHL uniform. Because the talent acquired by the Capitals in the expansion draft was so thin (another by-product of the inroads made by the WHA), the Caps had to bring the teenaged Marson along at the NHL level. Instead of learning his craft in junior hockey or in the minors, Marson was force-fed at the NHL level. It had an overall negative effect on Marson's career, as he never managed to fulfill his potential.
Of the 25 players selected by the Capitals, only six ever skated on an NHL ice surface. Aside from Joly and Marson, left winger Tony White made the biggest splash. He had one big year with the Caps (25 goals and 42 points) in 1975-76 but faded quickly afterwards. White later played six games with the Minnesota North Stars before finishing his career in Germany.
Hindsight is 20/20:The Caps took Joly because they wanted to build around a puck-rushing defenseman with offensive skills. Better choices would have been Mark Howe and Ron Greschner. Howe was taken by the Bruins with the 25th pick. He chose to sign with the Houston Aeros of the WHA because of the opportunity to play with father Gordie and brother Marty. Mark Howe went on to play in 929 NHL games, scoring 197 goals and 742 points. Given that Howe jumped to the WHA, Greschner would obviously have been the optimal pick. Drafted 32nd overall, he played in 982 NHL games, scoring 179 goals and totaling 610 points.
And if the Caps had not been so fixed on taking a defenseman, either of the New York Islanders' top two picks that year -- Clark Gillies (4th overall) or Bryan Trottier (22nd overall) -- would have looked nice in a Caps sweater for the better part of the 70s and 80s.
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