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Worst metro area draft picks

By Brett Schultz

NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 21: Hugh Jessiman of the New York Rangers is introduced to his new team during the 2003 NHL Entry Draft at the Gaylord Entertainment Center on June 21, 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images/NHLI)
NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 21: Hugh Jessiman of the New York Rangers is introduced to his new team during the 2003 NHL Entry Draft at the Gaylord Entertainment Center on June 21, 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images/NHLI) /
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new york rangers
President and general manager Lou Lamoriello of the New Jersey Devils (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

3rd worst Devils pick

New Jersey doesn’t have a plethora of disastrous picks to choose from mostly because they hired Lou Lamoriello to run the club in 1987.  So, I’m going to keep things even by reaching back to their previous incarnation. In 1980, the Colorado Rockies chose Joe Ward with the 22nd overall pick in the second round.

In four NHL games, Ward had no goals and no assists for no points, though he did rack up two penalty minutes, slightly less successful than his father, Don Ward, who played 34 games for the Blackhawks and Bruins in the Fifties.

Note: There is no relation to Cam Ward and no word on a third-generation Ward to keep alive the family tradition of… Hey, if a short stint in the major leagues is a ‘cup of coffee’, shouldn’t the same thing in the NHL be called a ‘mug of hot chocolate’?

2nd worst Devils pick

Before Brett Lindros came along, before the team had even settled on a new name (having just moved from Colorado), New Jersey tried their own ‘let’s get the kid brother of a star’ pick, when they selected Rocky Trottier, younger sibling of Long Island legend Bryan Trottier, eighth overall in 1982.

new york rangers
1982: Bryan Trottier #19 of the New York Islanders. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /

A majority of the other first round picks from that draft played more than 200 games in the NHL. But not Rocky. The highlight of his career might very well have been a 1984 game against Edmonton. Wayne Gretzky threw his stick to stop a breakaway and Trottier was awarded a penalty shot, the first in the Devils’ short history, and he scored.

That was pretty much it, though.

But even when the Devils screwed up in the draft, they found ways to mitigate the damage. New Jersey’s other first-round pick that year was Ken Daneyko, who put in twenty seasons for the Devils.

And the player picked immediately after Rocky Trottier? Though drafted by the Washington Capitals, Scott Stevens eventually found his way to New Jersey.

The worst Devils pick

In 1986, the Devils held the third overall pick. They could have taken Craig Janney, Vincent Damphousse, or even Brian Leetch. I’ll pause a moment, to allow Rangers fans to collectively shudder at that mental image, one even more terrifying than this:

new york rangers
2005: Brian Leetch #22 of the Boston Bruins . (Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images) /

Instead, based on an 81-point season for the Medicine Hat Tigers, New Jersey chose Neil Brady. And no, Neil doesn’t hold the distinction of being the father of Tom Brady. Or Wayne Brady. Or even Marcia Brady.

In 29 games, Brady scored six points in parts of three seasons. Throwing in the towel, New Jersey traded him to Ottawa, where he scored the first goal in the history of the current incarnation of the Senators. So, he’s got that going for him. Which is nice.

In the NHL, he only managed 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 89 games, though he had a respectable 15-season career in the WHL, IHL, and AHL.

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