After Gary Nylund and Ron Sutter were taken by Toronto and Philadelphia, respectively, the Caps were up. Crozier resisted pleas from the scouting department to take a forward and instead cast his lot with a hardnosed defenseman from Kitchener, Ontario, future Hall of Famer Scott Stevens. The pick stands as one of the best first-round selections the franchise has ever made.
The remainder of the draft was not as bountiful from a Capitals standpoint. Washington's next pick was late in the third round, and the Caps used it to take Czech center Milan Novy, a 30-year-old star of international and European competition. It was a creative pick by the Caps, but it did not work out. Novy was past his prime and had trouble adjusting to the physical nature of the NHL as well as North American culture. Dean Evason, the Caps' third pick, enjoyed a long NHL career but played only 17 games with the Caps. Evason is now a Caps assistant coach.
Among the other prominent first rounders were Phil Housley (sixth overall), Rich Sutter (10th), Dave Andreychuk (16th) and Ken Daneyko (18th). Among the other notables taken in 1982 are Pat Verbeek (43rd), Kevin Dineen (56th), Ray Ferraro (88th), Ron Hextall (119th), Doug Gilmour (134th) and Kelly Miller (183rd).
Hindsight is 20/20: You can't argue with the selection of Stevens. Two picks after the Caps took Novy, Boston tabbed longtime NHL character forward Dave Reid. Reid played for two Cup winners during an 18-year NHL career. When the Caps took Ed Kastelic with the 110th overall pick, left wing Tony Granato was still available. The Rangers took him with the 120th pick.
Full Draft Results Here
