Washington Capitals: Top 10 best NHL Draft picks in team history
#1 Alex Ovechkin
Following one of their worst seasons in franchise history (key words: one of), the Washington Capitals won the NHL Draft Lottery and were blessed with the first pick in the 2004 NHL Draft. The Capitals used that pick to take Alex Ovechkin, a pick that would change their franchise forever.
Ovechkin was an 18 year old Russian that scouts across the league were high on. They were able to tank for this top draft selection thanks to a fire sale where they traded Peter Bondra, Jaromir Jagr, Robert Lang, Sergei Gonchar, and others. The Caps had won just 23 of 82 games and had the third worst record in the NHL. Despite this, they were still able to leapfrog the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins in the lottery.
“With the first selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals are pleased to select Alexander Ovechkin,” then general manager George McPhee told the crowd from the podium.
"“We’ve had him rated number one for a long time. We could have done a trade for volume, but none of those players would have been as good as this guy.”"
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McPhee was right. No player selected in that draft has come even close to what Ovechkin has accomplished. From scoring goals, to winning Washington’s first Stanley Cup in 2018, to giving one of the best players in NHL history a run for his money in the NHL scoring title, we are truly lucky we’ve gotten to watch him night after night. Enjoy every second of these next five seasons.