Kopitar was a no brainer as was Vilardi. Forbort also fell in their lap as he was projected higher. Teubert went right in line with where many had him but never worked out obviously.
They actually had to trade up to select Forbort. He didn’t fall to them.
I still don't mind this pick because it wasn't off the board and it made sense at the time. The Hickey pick stings a lot worse...
That pick turned out into a major surprise in the sense that in one of the deepest drafts, they wind up with a player who appears in 24 games in the NHL and is a major bust.
Erik Karlsson aside, they were in position to select a higher ranked defenseman who was said to have a far higher ceiling in terms of potential.
That defenseman being Tyler Myers. But they went for a need with that Teubert pick because drafting for toughness and tenacity always works out well.
That was an entirely different staff who fortunately made that decision after many teams mistakenly passed on one of the best talents in the draft because of his birthplace. The Kings are fortunate Lombardi’s group wasn’t in charge then, because the Kings would very well likely have ended up with Marc Staal at 11.
It’s also funny to see that a year prior, Lauri Tukonen also fell to the Kings, and he was projected to be a top 4 pick in 2004. He turned into a major dud.
