This season’s Stanley Cup Final between Florida and Edmonton includes the first four draft picks in 2014. Competing for the Panthers are right-shot D-man Aaron Ekblad (1st overall by Florida), right-shot forward Sam Reinhart (2nd overall by Buffalo), and left-shot forward, as well as the Conn Smythe Trophy front-runner, Sam Bennett (4th overall by Calgary). The second overall pick from that draft is Oilers star left-shot forward Leon Draisaitl. Additonally, Edmonton has a pair of 1st overall picks in Connor McDavid (2015) & Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011). Finally, my top-four draft analysis would not be complete without at least mentioning Florida’s do-it-all center Sasha Barkov. Barkov was the 2nd overall pick in the 2013 draft, right behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.
Hats off to the scouting staffs of these organizations in recognizing the potential long-term impact of these players.