Caps Draft History: 1987 Entry Draft

The 1987 Entry Draft stands as probably the least fruitful in Caps' history. Of the 11 players taken, only two made it to the NHL and those two combined to play a total of 16 games for the Capitals without scoring a single point. The Caps did not have a first round pick and made their first selection late in the second round.

The crop of talent was rather plentiful overall, at least in the early rounds. The top three picks -- Pierre Turgeon, Brendan Shanahan and Glen Wesley -- all had long and productive careers in the NHL. Quebec, with a pick acquired from the Capitals in the Dale Hunter trade, selected Joe Sakic 15th overall.
Among the late round finds in 1987 were Shawn McEachern (110th), Guy Hebert (159th) and Theo Fleury (166th).
Hindsight is 20/20: Washington used its first pick on Jeff Ballantyne, a defenseman who never turned pro. Two picks later, the Canadiens took Eric Desjardins, who was a solid NHL defenseman -- and occasional Norris Trophy candidate -- for more than a decade. While there were only a few late round gems in 1987, several solid blue collar-type players were to be had, Garry Valk (108th) and Rob DiMaio (118th) among them.
Full Draft Results Here