Washington Capitals: Re-Drafting The 2004 NHL Draft
Washington Capitals 2004 First Round Picks
The Washington Capitals had three first rounders in the 2004 NHL Draft, the first official draft of Ted Leonsis’s mandated rebuild. The Washington Capitals had a great chance to start their rebuild off the right way. The Caps were destined to be changed by this draft, and they were. It all started when the Caps won the 2004 NHL draft lottery and earned the rights to the first overall pick.
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With the first overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Alex Ovechkin. I don’t think there is a Caps fan who thinks that this wasn’t the right pick. However, just to be a contrarian, one could say maybe the Caps should have drafted Evgeni Malkin. However, if you think that, you’re wrong. Ovechkin has been nothing short of a blessing for the Washington Capitals. He was clearly the right pick.
The Capitals also had the 27th overall pick and the 29th overall pick. With those two picks, they drafted two defensemen. With the 27th pick, they drafted Jeff Schultz. With the 29th pick, they drafted Mike Green. Obviously, Green worked out extremely well for the Washington Capitals, giving them their best offensive force on their blue line since the days of Sergei Gonchar. Jeff Schultz was a very competent NHL defenseman under Bruce Boudreau. However, he quickly fell out of favor and is now in the AHL. The Capitals might have gotten better value out of center David Bolland, who was drafted with the 32nd overall pick. That said, Schultz was a fine pick.
Next: The Second Round