McDonald19 said:
Well I will take a look at the Ducks 1st and 2nd round picks since 1993 to see which ones are busts.
As will I for the Penguins. I'll just start at 93 since that was when I first started to watch hockey...
1993
1st (26) Stefan Berqvist -
BUST. Last pick in the first round and we went with one of those boom-or-bust guys that goes so often at this stage. An injury suffered in a car accident halted his NHL career at just 7 games.
2nd (52) Domenic Pittis -
BUST. Has had massive amounts of success in every league he's played in...except the NHL. 86 career NHL games, just 1 with the Penguins. 16 career NHL points, 0 with the Penguins. A great AHLer, a horrific NHLer.
1994
1st (24) Chris Wells -
BUST. Bust for Florida that is. He was laughably bad when he played for us but he turned into Stu Barnes and Jason Wooley for us. I can't believe Florida accepted that one....
2nd (50) Richard Park - Has put together a solid NHL career, albeit without the Penguins.
1995
1st (24) Alexei Morozov - Hasn't quite lived up to potential, but still a good NHL second liner. With good linemates he becomes great.
No second rounder.
1996
1st (23) Craig Hillier -
BUST. I know almost everyone busted in 1996 but this name still makes me cringe regardless. Never came close to playing in the NHL, was horrific in the AHL, and is being scorched by beer leaguers now. Massive attitude and drinking problem.
2nd (28) Pavel Skrbek -
BUST. The Penguins were really, really high on this kid and traded up to get him...and then shipped him off 4 years later. Good move, he lost all his value not long after that. Turned him into Bob Boughner, probably the only capable defensive defenseman the Penguins had in the post Ulf Samuelsson era until Orpik came around.
1997
1st (17) Robert Dome -
BUST. I won't blame Dome for busting as the Penguins ruined his development more than any prospect in recent memory(for us at least), but the fact remains he was a wasted pick who ended us nothing.
2nd (44) Brian Gaffney -
BUST. Here's the definition of a bust. He quit during his first training camp. He retired at ripe age of 22.
1998
1st (23) Milan Kraft - Hasn't lived up to his potential, but is getting better each year. Was one of the Penguins best players last year on a consistant basis finishing 4th on the team in scoring. Not bad for a guy who was a healthy scratch much of the first part of the season.
2nd (54) Alexander Zevakhin -
BUST. Sucked in the AHL and fled to the motherland. Supremely talented, just couldn't play worth ****.
1999
1st (18) Konstantin Koltsov - In a year in which almost everyone busted the Penguins came out pretty nicely. Koltsov being the first of 6 NHL-calibur players the Penguins pick in 1999 was impressive as a rookie last year. Good playmaker, decent shot, good defensively, willing to use his body...and the fastest player I have ever seen. If his hands ever catch up with his legs he could really be special.
2nd (51) Matt Murley - Has alot of experience to this point of his career, but only 18 NHL games. Don't know if he'll ever make it with the Penguins because of the glut of youth coming up that will be ready when the lockout returns, but I have no doubt he'll do something in the NHL somewhere. Just probably not with the Penguins.
2000
1st (18) Brooks Orpik - God.
2nd (52) Shane Endicott - Is looking like the first Penguins second rounder to do anything for the Penguins in almost a quarter-century. Greg Malone was the last Penguins second rounder to do anything for the Penguins. A couple second rounders, like Paul Laus and Rick Tabaracci, have gone on to decent NHL careers, but never played for the Penguins. Endicott has turned into one of the AHL Penguins' best players this season. A defensive forward who has a good scoring touch.
2001
1st (21) Colby Armstrong - Pick looks better every year. It was unpopular at the time, but anyone who has seen Armstrong in the AHL this year isn't gonna argue. An absolute pest in every sense of the word, and has a good offensive game to boot. If his frame fills out he could find alot of enemies in the NHL
2nd (54) Noah Welch- There's not going to be a 22 year draught between second rounders. Welch, who just finished his senior season at Harvard, may be better than Ryan Whitney. Alot of scouts feel he could have made the Penguins out of camp as a sophomore, but wanted to get his full education at Harvard(who could blame him?). Now that his playing time is done at Harvard and his diploma is only a couple months away we're not far away from finally seeing what the kid can do. A team leader with a meanstreak, Welch has alot of enemies around the college rinks.
2002
1st (5) Ryan Whitney - This was a tough pick for the Penguins. Everyone knew the top 4 in the 2002 draft and everyone knew that after the fourth pick there was a massive fall off. Whitney may never compare to Bouwmeester or Pitkanen, but still has alot of talent to be a top pairing defenseman in the NHL. Had a slow start to the season in the AHL but has played better since. 36 points is pretty damn good for a rookie defenseman.
2nd (35) Ondrej Nemec- Way too early to say. Hasn't come over to the states yet(with the exception of a tryout contract with the Baby Pens late last year).
2003
1st (1) Marc-Andre Fleury - Fleury had about as trying of a season as one possibly can last year. Stood on his head each and every game last season for the Penguins but still got his neck burned from having no defense in front of him, played for Team Canada in the WJCs and was one of their best players...until he essentially scored on himself to allow the Americans to win, then went back to Cape Breton where his team gave up in the playoffs and left him out to dry, and then back-up Andy Chiodo in the AHL playoffs...this year has been alot simpler. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. No one else. I'm sure he couldn't be happier. Has played better than his stats indicate, but he still has alot to work on. He'll be a demon in the NHL some day though.
2nd (32) Ryan Stone - This pick is looking mighty nice so far. Stone finished 2nd in the WHL in scoring with 99 points to go with a meaty 127 PIMs. Looks like either a second rounder or a really good third liner.
2004
1 (2) Evgeni Malkin - This pick is looking mighty nice so far. To say the least. Malkin, who is still 18, saw his scoring totals jump by 20 points this season in the NHL-laden RSL.
2 (31) Johannes Salmonsson - Way, way, way too early to say anything. The NHL player influx has helped keep Salmonsson's playing time down in Sweden this year. Was considered a top 10 talent but had loads of injury problems. Has been healthy this year though.
As you can see we must not have had any scouts in the early/mid 90s.