Washington Capitals: Top 10 best NHL Draft picks in team history

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Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

#3 Nicklas Backstrom

Nicklas Backstrom was selected in the first round at fourth overall by the Washington Capitals with the pick announced on stage by none other than Alex Ovechkin. He does’t get the spotlight like his bro across the league but his elite passing and playmaking abilities haven’t been unnoticed.

Backstrom would join the Capitals full time beginning in the 2007-08 season. Not only is he a consistent playmaker but he can score too. In the Caps run to the Stanley Cup in 2018, Backstrom recorded 23 points with five goals and 18 assists in 20 games.

Backstrom impressed the Caps scouts with his performance in the 2006 IIHF World Championship. At just 18 and a half years old, he was the youngest player to represent Team Sweden. He appeared in four games and helped them toward the Gold Medal.

During that same season, Backstrom was named the Swedish Elite League Rookie of the Year after he finished with 26 points with 10 goals and 16 assists for Brynas. In addition he was selected as the top junior player in Sweden. Eight years later he helped lead Sweden to a Silver Medal in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

In Backstrom’s first season with the Caps he set a rookie record with 55 assists. He hasn’t looked back and has since skated in over 1,000 games needed just 20 more points for 1,000 in his carer entering this season.

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