The Best Draft Picks of 2013

One of the things I enjoy most about fantasy hockey is looking back at the draft to find the best and worst picks. Randomness or luck plays a huge role in the outcome, and sometimes objectively good decisions lead to bad outcomes, and vice versa. Moreover, different GMs will have different objectives, so picks can't always be compared straight across. Nonetheless, a great pick, even in hindsight, is still a great pick. Here I present my list of the top ten twelve draft picks of 2013, and a few runner ups. I based this list on the following criteria:

1. Production this year (especially if drafting team made the playoffs).

2. Keepability - Likelihood of being a life-long keeper and productive player going forward (includes "hype" bonus).

3. The steal factor - how many times did everyone pass on the guy.

This was actually more difficult than I thought, especially the final ordering. Without further ado, the list, counting down from 12 to one:

12. Nathan MacKinnon, WBS Parkers. Round 1, 1st overall.

In hindsight, MacKinnon seems like the only real choice for first overall. But at the time, I know I was thinking Drouin might have a better year, and there was talk of Kadri as well. And Matt felt it should have been Adam Henrique. Rome deserves credit for making the right choice and not thinking he's smarter than Roy/Sakic.  

11. Jaden Schwartz, Los Amjawors Kings. Round 4, 51st overall. 

Schwartz has 52 points and is third on the Blues in shots. The 21 year-old has already established himself as Sam's best player not named Crosby or Niemi, and should be a solid complimentary piece for years to come.

10. Tyler Johnson, Teeyotes. Round 9, 135th overall. 

With 47 points, Johnson is third in rookie scoring, making this a great pick. But Tampa Bay has another rookie, Ondrej Palat, who is second in rookie scoring. Making this a terrible pick. 

9. Torey Krug, Patrik Stefans. Round 4, 63rd overall.

With 37 points, 5'9" Bruin Torey Krug stands head-and-shoulders above all other rookie blueliners. 

8. Andrej Sekera, G-Phil's Flyers. Round 6, 97th overall.

Sekera's 44 points came out of absolutely nowhere, unless you ask Greg. The Slovak is 9th among defencemen in scoring, but somehow probably not a keeper on Greg's team (over Karlsson, Kronwall and Shattenkirk, all in the top 15... wow.) 

7. Kyle Okposo, Joshfrey Krupuls. Round 1, seventh overall.

A shamed-then-revered pick, Okposo has finally become a legitimate fantasy player. 69 points is tops among all drafted skaters. What prevents this pick from being ranked higher is that at seventh overall, there was really only one guy picked ahead of Okposo that shouldn't have been (that guy being Chris Stewart). 

6. Ryan Johansen, Joshfrey Krupuls. Round 4, 55th overall. 

54 points in 72 games, after 12 in 42 last year. The 21-year-old 225 lb centre is the present and future of Columbus. Hype bonus: high.

5. Alexander Steen, Dicklas Lidstroms. Round 2, 25th overall. 

Steen has 31 goals and 57 points in 61 games, the 2nd-highest point-per-game pace of all drafted skaters. This is the year Steen finally transitioned from non-keeper to permanent fixture.

4. Ben Bishop, Los Amjawors Kings. Round 9, 133rd overall.

The eighth goalie off the board (after Karri Ramo?!), Bishop was drafted as Antti Niemi's backup before being traded to the Teeyotes, filling a massive hole in Teehan's roster and carrying him into the playoffs. Today Bishop has 85 points to Niemi's 86, the top two goalies in our format. Only reason he's not higher is he's a goalie, and the best goalie drafted will pretty much always outscore the best skater drafted.

3. Gustav Nyquist, Schizzarks. Seventh round, 108th overall. 

Nyquist gets 1000 hype bonus points after scoring 20 goals over his last 24 games. He loses points because a) his shooting percentage is an unsustainable 19.2%; b) his opportunity was due to major injuries to Red Wings regulars; and c) he's a Red Wing not named Datsyuk or Zetterberg, so I'm still not 100% sure he won't start next season in the AHL. 

2. Ryan McDonagh, Joshfrey Krupuls. Round 3, 39th overall. McDonagh has shown real offensive upside this season, currently sitting fifth among blueliners with 14 goals and 11th with 43 points. The 24-year-old was the 10th defenceman off the board and quickly established himself as the Krupuls' badly-needed #1 keeper dman.

1. Mark Giordano, Mackhawks. Round 7, 107th overall. 

Giordano's 43 points in 55 games, prorated, is second only to Erik Karlsson. That's pretty much what everyone thought heading into the year, right? The big three: Karlsson, Letang, Giordano? The Mackhawks' best defenceman, Giordano, along with other savvy veteran picks like Alfredsson, Doan, Nielsen, Zidlicky and MacArthur, have the Mackhawks headed for a surprising top-four finish.

Honourable Mentions

• Tomas Hertl, WBS Parkers. Round 6, 90th overall. 25 points in 35 games.
• Sean Monahan, Fylanders. Round 4, 49th overall. 19 goals as a rookie.
• Mats Zuccarello, Moilers. 143rd overall. 50 in 69.
• Semyon Varlamov, Quebec Rordiques - 134th overall, right after Ben Bishop (above). 76 points.
• Jonas Hiller, Winter Claassics. 82nd overall. 75 points.
• Tyson Barrie, Joshfrey Krupuls. 71st overall. 32 points for 2nd-year dman.
• All savvy veteran picks of the Mackhawks (see above). 

Did I miss anybody? Anybody ranked too high or too low? Is Mark Giordano for real?

For anyone keeping track, J-Kru had three picks in the top seven. Pretty good draft.