Washington Capitals: Grading The 2006 NHL Draft
Washington Capitals 2006 Draft: The First Rounders
In the first round of the 2006 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals had two first round picks. They drafted center Nicklas Backstrom with their first (fourth overall pick) and goaltender Semyon Varlamov with their second (23rd overall). They got that second first rounder by trading Brendan Witt to the Nashville Predators.
The Washington Capitals absolutely nailed their first pick. Backstrom has been a franchise cornerstone for the Capitals. He’s arguably their second best player and has been since pretty much the first time he laced up his skates in the NHL. He leads all 2006 draftees in assists (427) and points (572). He is third in games played (577) and despite having Adam Oates as his coach for a full season, still has the fourth highest plus/minus (+79). He’s arguably the second best player to come out of the 2006 NHL Draft. The only better player? Jonathan Toews, and he was the third overall pick. The Colorado Avalanche drafted Erik Johnson and the Penguins selected Jordan Staal before Backstrom was drafted. I bet both teams wish they had drafted Backstrom. The Washington Capitals definitely made the right pick with Backstrom.
The Washington Capitals drafted a franchise goaltender with their second first round pick. Note that I didn’t say for which team. Varlamov is currently the franchise goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche. Varlamov played well for the Washington Capitals. However, after he demanded a big contract despite not being able to prove that he could stay healthy enough to be a starting goaltender, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche for a future first rounder and second rounder (which the Caps would use to get Mike Ribeiro).
In hindsight, the Washington Capitals could have drafted Nick Foligno or Patrice Berglund. Overall though, I can’t fault them for drafting Varlamov. He did live up to his upside. He just couldn’t stay health for the Washington Capitals. Such is life.
FIRST ROUND GRADE: A. Even in his trade, Varlamov brought value to the Caps. Granted, the Caps threw said value in a trash can, but still, a great first round by the Caps.
Next: The Second Rounders