Washington Capitals: Grading The 2008 NHL Draft
Washington Capitals 2008 NHL Draft: First Rounders
The Washington Capitals had two first round picks in 2008. Their original one was the 21st pick. With that pick, they picked forward (and son of former Caps forward Bengt-Ake Gustafsson) Anton Gusafsson. The Caps got a second first round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Steve Eminger. That trade didn’t work out at all for the Flyers, as Eminger played just 12 games for them.
The Gustafsson pick hurts for several reasons. First of all, Gustafsson never played a game in the NHL. He was drafted mostly for his last name rather than his skill level. Had his name been Anton Smith, he probably wouldn’t have been drafted by the Caps, in my opinion. Secondly, the Washington Capitals are currently looking for a top line forward. Well, guess who was chosen immediately after Gustafsson? Jordan Eberle. Eberle’s a top line forward and would have been a terrific addition to the Caps. Tyler Ennis was selected five picks after Gustafsson. While Ennis isn’t the forward that Eberle is, he’s still at worst a solid third line forward. That’s better than Gustafsson.
HINDSIGHT PICK: Eberle
GRADE: F
Although the Gustafsson pick was awful for the Caps, the Carlson pick was brilliant. The Caps got a very good top pairing defenseman late in the first round. Carlson ranks ninth among all skaters and third among defenseman drafted in 2008 in points. The two above him? Alex Pietrangelo and Drew Doughty. Carlson also ranks sixth among all players drafted in 2008 in games played.
Did the Caps get an elite defenseman in Carlson? Who knows. That’s up for debate. What’s a fact that is that the Caps at worst have a defenseman who is capable of producing at an impressive level despite facing tough minutes and non-ideal situations. And they got him for Eminger. Brilliant trade and draft pick by George McPhee.
GRADE: A. This almost makes up for Gustafsson. Almost.
Next: The Second Rounders