Revisiting Minnesota Wild Drafts – 2002
The third installment in this series has arrived after previously looking at how the Minnesota Wild did in their first two drafts. If you missed either one of them or…
2002 NHL Draft
Senators’ 2002 Draft Review – Swing and a Miss
The Ottawa Senators were on the precipice of greatness in the early 2000’s. Through careful drafting and development, they had become one of the NHL’s top teams. Daniel Alfredsson, Marian…
Revisiting David Poile’s Drafts – 2002
For the past few weeks, I’ve been diving into David Poile’s draft history as general manager of the Nashville Predators. Since he’s been the franchise’s only GM, he’s been at…
Jesse Niinimaki: A Lesson In Why NOT To Go Off The Board
In 2002 the Oilers went well off the board when they surprised everyone and drafted Jesse Niinimaki 15th overall in one of the more shallower drafts in NHL history. The…
The Future of Ryan Whitney in Edmonton
When he was drafted fifth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2002, big things were expected from defenseman Ryan Whitney. Whitney was billed as a offensive-minded blueliner who could log a ton of minutes and use his size to his advantage against the opposing teams top players.