Washington Capitals: Grading The 2006 NHL Draft

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Over the next several weeks, we will be taking a look back at past Washington Capitals drafts and grading them. We will use hindsight within reason. For example, just because player A was drafted in the seventh round and is an NHL All-Star, that doesn’t mean we’ll say that the Washington Capitals should have drafted player A over player B in the first round.  Today, we look at a draft that produced four NHL players for the Washington Capitals: the 2006 NHL Draft. 

The Washington Capitals, continuing their rebuilding strategy of stocking up draft picks, had ten picks in the 2006 draft. In the first round, the Washington Capitals selected Nicklas Backstrom with the fourth overall pick and Semyon Varlamov with the 23rd overall pick. In the second round, the Washington Capitals had three draft picks. They selected Michal Neuvirth, Francois Bouchard and Keith Seabrook.  In the fourth round, they selected Oskar Osala and Luke Lynes. In the fifth round, they selected Maxime LaCroix. In the sixth round, they selected Brent Gwidt and Mathieu Perreault.

Each of those picks will be graded on several factors. First of all, what have they done in their career? Secondly, could the Washington Capitals have reasonably chosen a better player? We’ll look at the next five picks for each first, next ten for each second round pick and the next 15 for each of the subsequent rounds. Thirdly, what value did they bring the Washington Capitals, if any? Fourthly, what were the realistic expectations of the pick? It’s not worth getting upset over a seventh round pick, but it would be worth getting upset over a first round pick.

Next: The First Rounders