Top 3 best players that were originally drafted by the Capitals

#2 Peter Bondra

Peter Bondra was drafted by the Capitals in the 1990 NHL Draft in the eighth round at 156th overall. Although he was an eighth rounder, he turned out to be pretty good for the Caps and was an offensive scoring machine before Alex Ovechkin changed the franchise forever (more on that later).

Bondra led the league in goals scored twice in his carer first in 1994-95 in a lockout shortened year where he had 34 goals in 47 games. In 1997-98, Bondra scored 52 and helped lead the Caps to their first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance. That spring saw Bondra score seven goals and five assists for 12 points.

Bondra played in 961 games with the Capitals spanning 14 years scoring 472 goals and 353 assists for 825 points. His best season was that 52 goal season in 1997-98 which goes to show how rare 50 goal seasons are.

It was the second time Bondra had 50 goals after he scored 52 in 1995-96.

Bondra was perhaps not only the top 3 in terms of best draft picks but perhaps the best late round Caps draft pick of all time. It goes to show you can sometimes find gems when you’re drafting late if you find the right scouting and the Caps certainly did in the 1980s and 90s.