New York Rangers: Worst Draft Picks Since 2000
#5 – 2006: Bobby Sanguinetti
Bobby Sanguinetti was taken 21st overall in the 2006 Entry Draft. Sanguinetti went on to only play five games with the Rangers in just one season. He was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes after the 2009-2010 season, and he left the league to play in Russia after the 2012-2013 season.
The next pick in the 2006 draft went to the Philadelphia Flyers, who selected Claude Giroux. Giroux is a three time all-star who has almost 550 career points through nearly 620 games. He is currently the captain for the Philadelphia Flyers. He would be a great addition to the Rangers roster today, and would certainly be making more of an impact than Sanguinetti.
Other options for the Rangers included goalie Semyon Varlamov, taken two picks after Sanguinett, or forwards such as Nick Foligno, Patrik Berglund, or Milan Lucic.
#4 – 2004: Al Montoya and Lauri Korpikoski
2004 was an especially poor draft year for the New York Rangers. They had not one, but two picks in the first round that amounted to nothing.
With the sixth overall pick, the Rangers selected goalie Al Montoya. He was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in 2008 due to the emergence of Henrik Lundqvist and never made it to the NHL with the Rangers. However, the trade is bad because they took one of the worst goalies available in that round.
The Rangers passed on Devan Dubnyk, currently leading the league in GAA, and All-Star goalie Cory Schneider. It’s hard to say that choosing a goalie was the first mistake here, because who knew Henrik Lundqvist would become the goalie he would. But if this draft were to be re-done, the Rangers would certainly go with Dubnyk or Schneider.
Ten picks later, the Rangers selected Lauri Korpikoski. He managed only 14 points through 68 games with the team in 2008. He was traded to the Coyotes after that season.
Travis Zajac went with the next pick, and he has had a much better career than Korpikoski. Zajac has over 400 career points and has played in over 700 NHL games. Also drafted later in that round was defenseman Mike Green. Green was a two-time Norris Trophy Finalist and has over 400 points in just under 700 NHL games.
#3 – 2010: Dylan McIlrath
The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was loaded with superstars. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they walked away with a bust: Dylan McIlrath. He was drafted 10th, with multiple players at every position that ended up panning out to be much better hockey players.
McIlrath played only 38 games with the Rangers over four seasons before being traded to the Florida Panthers this past fall.
Just six picks later, the St. Louis Blues selected one of the league’s most lethal scorers: Vladimir Tarasenko. In 297 games, Tarasenko has 124 goals, 126 assists, totaling up to a whopping 250 points. In this past week’s Winter Classic against the Chicago Blackhawks,
Tarasenko scored twice and recorded nine shots on goal. Performances like this one certainly hurt the Rangers’ front office to watch.
It’s hard to imagine that if the Rangers had a time machine, they wouldn’t draft Tarasenko. However at the time of the draft, the Rangers needed a defenseman in the system.
They also missed out on Cam Fowler, taken by the Anaheim Ducks just two picks later. Later in the second round, the Carolina Hurricanes selected All-Star Justin Faulk.
Not only did the Rangers struggle at picking the wrong player, but they skipped over two significantly better players in the same position they wanted.
#2 – 2008: Michael Del Zotto
Michael Del Zotto makes this list because of all the talent that the Rangers passed on in 2008 to take him. This draft was loaded with great defenseman. Before Del Zotto was taken, excellent defenseman such as Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, and Erik Karlsson were picked. However, this goes down as a bad draft pick because of the guys that came after Del Zotto.
Just seven picks later, the Washington Capitals selected their now-top defenseman John Carlson with the 27th pick. 18 picks later, the Nashville Predators selected All-Star Roman Josi. The second round also included Travis Hamonic and Justin Schultz.
If you want to look beyond defenseman, the New York Rangers had the chance to snag All-Star Winger Jordan Eberle, taken by the Edmonton Oilers only two picks after the Rangers selected Del Zotto.
#1 – 2003: Hugh Jessiman
In one of the most stacked NHL Draft’s in the history of the league, the Rangers left with one of the biggest busts in the first round. The Rangers selected Hugh Jessiman with the 12th overall pick.
Jessiman was with the Rangers until 2008, but never once played an NHL game. He was traded to the Nashville Predators for future considerations. Jessiman left the NHL after the 2012-2013, playing in just two NHL games.
Jessiman would be considered one of the Rangers’ biggest busts ever regardless of who was picked after him. But the group that came after him makes him the worst Rangers pick in the last 16 years, if not ever.
The following players were taken after Jessiman: Dustin Brown (13), Brent Seabrook (14), Zach Parise (17), Ryan Getzlaf (19), Brent Burns (20), Ryan Kesler (23), Mike Richards (24), Corey Perry (28), Loui Erikkson (33), Patrice Bergeron (45), Shea Weber (49), Corey Crawford (52), David Backes (62), Jimmy Howard (64).
Next: New York Rangers: Revisiting Traded Prospects
All 14 of those players listed were All-Stars at some point, and four of them played the same position as Jessiman at the time of the draft. While the Rangers have made a lot of bad picks in the last 16 years, none of them hurt quite as much as this one in 2003.