Most Hyped Defenseman Prospects of All Time

[ChiefWiggum]

I'd say Bobby Orr is definitely number one, but who is second, third, fourth, fifth and where does Rasmus Dahlin fit into this?

 

[MXD]

I do remember being pilloried when copy-pasting the scouting report of a D-Men from the past (and switching his name for Luke Schenn), as to suggest they were both ridiculously overhyped.

... Hell, basically, every scouting report of Luke Schenn reads like a scouting report from Gary Nylund from 25+ years before.

So, Schenn and Nylund. I wonder why they were so hyped...

 

[Leafsdude7]

Does Bouwmeester belong here? He was pretty heavily hyped in his draft year to the point where he passed Spezza on a lot of people's lists, obviously including Florida's.

Doughty and Bogosian also probably belong here, probably ahead of Schenn, but I don't think either were touted over Stamkos that year by anyone, so I think that drops them down a few pegs.

Not sure if Hedman belongs here, either. I don't remember that much hype over him, but personally, I wasn't all that into the draft that year, so I might have just not heard anything.

There's also those like Pitkanen and Fogarty who IMO definitely belong on this list but never got anywhere near to the hype. I'm limited to a late-80s cutoff as far as my knowledge of this, though, so I'm sure there's guys from prior to that who might surpass any or all of these names (Bourque? Coffey? Babych?).

 

[reckoning]

Denis Potvin would have to be #2. He was unanimously considered the top prospect in 1973, and a lot of teams were trying to get that draft pick from the Islanders.

I don't think Bourque or Coffey would qualify. Highly rated prospects to be sure, but weren't considered the consensus top defenceman in their respective draft classes.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

From recent memory:

Jay Bouwmeester is still the youngest player to ever suit up for Team Canada at the WJC. Definitely one of the most hyped defenseman prospects ever.

Aaron Ekblad was given exceptional status in the OHL. His hype wore off pretty quickly after McDavid was given the same status the following year but there was still hype and he went first overall.

Bryan Fogarty may have been the most hyped 16-year-old ever but that hype wore off rather quickly.

Roman Hamrlik must have been pretty hyped. To be a European player who plays defence and still go first overall during that time, you must have been considered pretty good.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

I do remember being pilloried when copy-pasting the scouting report of a D-Men from the past (and switching his name for Luke Schenn), as to suggest they were both ridiculously overhyped.

... Hell, basically, every scouting report of Luke Schenn reads like a scouting report from Gary Nylund from 25+ years before.

So, Schenn and Nylund. I wonder why they were so hyped...

I was not on the Luke Schenn hype train back in 2008 but I remember the hype was that he was already NHL-ready and that he played like Robyn Regehr. His draft year was during Regehr's prime where he was regarded as one of the best shutdown defencemen in the NHL - the type that every team coveted.

 

[SealsFan]

RICK HAMPTON. Check out the new documentary on the Seals. He was hyped as the second coming of Bobby Orr as an 18-year-old.

Also, a few years later, Bjorn Johansson was touted for the Cleveland Barons and went nowhere.

 

[BobbyAwe]

Jonathon Girard?

 

[MXD]

Jonathon Girard?

Meh. 2nd rounder. Sad story though.

 

[VanIslander]

Slava Fetisov was a prospect NHLer who became an NHL "rookie" and was hugely HYPED:

 

[Hobnobs]

Ed Jovanovski but cant remember if that was at the draft or just during his rookie season.

Bryan Berard was the second coming of Paul Coffey. Chris Phillips was pretty hyped too.

 

[Ishdul]

I was not on the Luke Schenn hype train back in 2008 but I remember the hype was that he was already NHL-ready and that he played like Robyn Regehr. His draft year was during Regehr's prime where he was regarded as one of the best shutdown defencemen in the NHL - the type that every team coveted.

He was also talked about as having an offensive upside, for reasons I can't rightly explain.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Berard and Bouwmeester stand out among the ones I remember, more so than first overall picks Jovanovski, Phillips and Ekblad. Doughty might be the 3rd most anticipated as I remember it. A lot of the guys I heard the most coverage of, ended up dropping (Cowen, Fowler).

 

[ImporterExporter]

I'll echo Bouwmeester from the past 20 years. Before that Berard and Pronger IMO. I was to young to remember prospect rankings from 80's and prior, so I'll defer to some other more distinguished elders

 

[MXD]

He was also talked about as having an offensive upside, for reasons I can't rightly explain.

I really should retrieve my Robinson-Nylund-Schenn post.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Recent names that come to mind are Berard, Bouwmeester, and Hedman.

 

[MS]

Bouwmeester in the last 20 years. Nobody has gotten close to the hype he did at age 16-17.

Also, it should be noted that even though he went #3 overall, he was actually the 'real' #1 overall pick in 2002 - Florida held #1 overall and would have taken him, but managed to wheel and deal and get assurances he'd still be there at #3 overall.

Same way Brian Bellows is really the 'true' #1 overall in 1982 and Henrik Sedin in 1999.

 

[Iceman]

Recent names that come to mind are Berard, Bouwmeester, and Hedman.

Those are the 3 of the past 25 years or so, if not longer.

 

[Moose Head]

In no particular order:

Potvin
The Johnson Bros
Berard
Jovanovski
Bouwmeester
Ekblad
Hamrlik

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Bouwmeester in the last 20 years. Nobody has gotten close to the hype he did at age 16-17.

Also, it should be noted that even though he went #3 overall, he was actually the 'real' #1 overall pick in 2002 - Florida held #1 overall and would have taken him, but managed to wheel and deal and get assurances he'd still be there at #3 overall.

Same way Brian Bellows is really the 'true' #1 overall in 1982 and Henrik Sedin in 1999.

are we sure that tampa or atlanta wouldn't have taken stefan or brendl #1 if all those trades hadn't happened?

and also, even in this scenario it would be daniel in '99, not henrik, no?

 

[crobro]

John Slaney was really talked about after the world juniors.

Wendel CLARKE ?

Wasn't craig Redmond considered an elite prospect.

Miles Zarko of the the new west bruins.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

#2 has to be potvin.

after him, going through drafts i remember, here are some names that come to mind--

bouwmeester; the expectation was that he was going to fill out and be larry robinson with scott niedermayer skating. iirc scouts said "if he develops a mean streak too, he'll be a rich man's chris pronger." as hyped of a defense prospect as i remember. played in the WJC as a 16 year old.

wendel clark was drafted as a defenseman and obviously he went #1, though it was a weak draft. i was too young to have followed the pre-draft cycle though.

we've talked about this on the board before, but my memory is scott niedermayer was poised to go #2 for most of the two years leading up to the draft. scott lachance was a late riser. but niedermayer was compared to paul coffey, led his team to the memorial cup tournament in his draft minus one season, then followed it up with an even better draft year.

hamrlik wasn't that hyped; if anything, i think you could have rolled the dice and gone with kasparaitis or rathje and no one would have batted an eyelash. a non-consensus #1 pick in a weaker draft.

chris pronger had a lot of hype behind him, though. was considered the best defense prospect in a long time, comparisons to larry robinson, would have gone #1 most other years.

jovanovski was a very late riser. tverdovsky had an impressive WJC. both would be ahead of hamrlik, imo. '94 wasn't considered a weak draft either, though it also wasn't '93.

i didn't pay a lot of attention in the berard year and very little in the phillips years (so i can't really weigh in on redden, berg, or zyuzin either)

in recent years, doughty exceeded expectations once he got to the NHL; i don't think he was considered that much better than bogo, if at all by some. pietrangelo was a clear #4 in that draft. luke schenn... well he was drafted by the team that signed mike komisarek.

i think hedman got a lot of hype, and became a sort of sly "i might take him over tavares" murmurs. i don't think his ceiling was projected as basically what he is now, but i don't think he was considered a sure thing to get there. whereas i think scouts were far more sure about niedermayer, pronger, and definitely bouwmeester.

ekblad is close enough that we all remember him.

don't forget about seth jones though; he was thought very highly of too before falling to #4.

i think bryan fogarty is a name that belongs in any list, though. there were red flags, obviously, but his talent was considered to be second to none.

to do a really rough list, i would say

tier 1: potvin

tier 2: bouwmeester, pronger, niedermayer, probably berard but i don't remember so well and probably fogarty too?

tier 3: hedman, ekblad, clark, jones, erik johnson

tier 4: jovo, tverdovsky, hamrlik, redden(?), phillips(?), jack johnson

 

[Regal]

Does anyone remember the talk around Bourque leading up to the draft? It seems so odd that a defenseman could enter the league in the first year after the draft and finish 4th in Norris voting without people realizing how good he was leading up to that draft. Obviously a lot of defensemen progress after the draft, which is why these lists have a lot of mediocre names compared to all time lists, and some progress fairly rapidly. But no one saw that coming only a few months from the start of the year? It's just bizarre.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Ray Bourque

Does anyone remember the talk around Bourque leading up to the draft? It seems so odd that a defenseman could enter the league in the first year after the draft and finish 4th in Norris voting without people realizing how good he was leading up to that draft. Obviously a lot of defensemen progress after the draft, which is why these lists have a lot of mediocre names compared to all time lists, and some progress fairly rapidly. But no one saw that coming only a few months from the start of the year? It's just bizarre.

Ray Bourque started his junior career as a 16 year old with Michel Bergeron in Trois Rivières, a Memeorial Cup hopeful. Hardly played. Traded at the deadline to Sorel, a bad team, poor coaching. where he finished the year and played two more seasons.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/b/bourqra01.html

Bruins always scouted Quebec very well, found a gem others overlooked or could not trade up for.

 

[Killion]

Does anyone remember the talk around Bourque leading up to the draft?

... I seem to recall teams shying away for a few reasons... 1. That his Jr. career was spent in the QMJHL & therefore his defensive abilities "suspect" and... 2. He was looking for an "expensive" rookie contract... 3. he was from the Montreal area, huge Habs fan, wanted to play for Montreal but they didnt have a 1st Round Pick in 79 so combination of $$$ & location, as in "this kid could be difficult to sign". Boston's 2nd choice as a Defenceman actually but the guy they wanted already gone so they "took a chance" (can you imagine?!) & picked Bourque thinking they could sign him due to Bostons proximity to Montreal etc... So ya, three other Defencemen being picked before he was at 8th. Ramage, Hartsburg & Brown.... that Draft, 1979, seriously deep for a variety of reason, confluences, merging of 3 streams. Bourque winning the Calder of course, never looking back.