Washington Capitals: Top 25 best draft picks in team history

#24 Dmitry Orlov

The Capitals selected Dmitry Orlov in the second round at 55th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft. He’s still on the Caps to this day and is a key part of their defense. In his first season he played in 2011-12 and had three goals and 16 assists for 19 points.

Orlov only played in five games in the 2013 lockout shortened season. In 2013-14 he played in 54 games and recorded 11 points with three goals and eight assists.

He finally started playing full 82 games the next there seasons. Orlov had eight goals and 21 assists for 29 points in 2015-16, six goals and 27 assists for 33 points in 2016-17. Then he had 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in Washington’s Cup winning season.

Orlov struggled after that for a little. He had just three goals and 26 assists for 29 points then next season. Those numbers dipped to four goals and 23 assists for 27 points in the COVID shortened 2019-20 season. In 2021’s odd season he had eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points.

This past season Orlov had a carer high 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points. Those 35 points are also a career high.

In 10 seasons with the Capitals and 643 games Orlov has recorded 57 goals and 180 assists for 237 points. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season but it is highly likely the Caps will extend him.

#23 Andre Burakovsky

Andre Burakovsky was drafted by the Caps in the first round at 23rd overall and fittingly enough he makes it to number 23 on this list. He got selected in the 2013 NHL Draft.

Burakovsky made his NHL debut on opening night of the 2014-15 season when he was just 19 years old. He scored in his first game and finished the year with nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points in 53 games.

Burakovsky would have his best season statistically with the Caps with 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points the next season. In 2016-17 he began dealing with injury issues but still had 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points.

The next year? More injury woes with 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points. He had another one of those in his final season but injuries weren’t the excuse that time.

Burakovsky was inconsistent and was a healthy scratch six times. He did show up in the playoffs when he needed to in the run to the Cup with two goals in Game 7 of the third round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Burakovsky recorded 62 goals and 83 assists for 145 points in 328 games with the Caps. He went on to win a Cup last season with the Colorado Avalanche and is now a member of the Seattle Kraken.

#22 Bengt Ake Gustafsson

Bengt Ake Gustafsson was selected in the fourth round at 55th overall by the Caps in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. In his rookie season he scored 22 goals and added 38 assists for 60 points. The next year he had 21 goals and 34 assists for 55 points.

He broke out in his third season with 26 goals and 24 assists for 60 points. In 1982-83 he had 22 goals and 42 assists for 64 points. The next year he had a career high 32 goals and 43 assists for 75 points.

after a bit of a down season where he had 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points he had 23 goals and 52 assists for 75 points in the 1985-86 season. He finished his career with back to back 18 goal seasons with 36 assists for 54 points in 1987-88 and 51 assists for a nice 69 points in 1988-89.

In his nine year career all with the Capitals, Bengt Ake Gustafsson had 195 goals and 359 assists for 554 points in 629 career games.

Back when he was a rookie he set the Caps record for points by a rookie with 60 that since got broken. He also scored the fastest goal from the start of a period against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 18, 1983 that was five seconds into the third period.

In another game against the Flyers a year later he scored five goals.

#21 Sergei Gonchar

Sergei Gonchar was drafted by the Capitals in the first round at 14th overall in 1992. He became a premiere defenseman during his time with the Capitals.

Gonchar made his NHL debut on Feb. 7, 1995 in Buffalo and appeared in 31 games the remainder of that regular season finishing with seven points with two goals and five assists. He also added a two goal performance in the first game of the Caps first round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Gonchar continued to flash that offensive brilliance the next season by recording 41 points with 15 goals and 26 assists in 1995-96. After 30 points with 13 goals and 17 assists in 1996-97, Gonchar’s numbers dipped to 21 points the next year with five goals and 16 assists in 72 games.

However, Gonchar was instrumental in the Caps run to their first Stanley Cup Finals. He had seven goals and four assists that spring and that performance carried over to better days into the new century.

In 1998-99, Gonchar became the first Russian defensemen to score over 20 goals in the regular season with 21 goals and 10 assists in 53 games.

In 654 career games spanning 10 seasons with the Capitals, Gonchar had 144 goals and 272 assists for 416 points. His final season came in 2003-04 before he was dealt at the trade deadline in their fire sale.

#20 Bob Carpenter

Bob Carpenter or Bobby Carpenter wasn’t called the “can’t miss kid” by Sports Illustrated for nothing. He was selected at third overall in 1981 by the Caps and was the highest drafted American born player and the first to play in the NHL straight out of high school.

He was pretty much the NHL’s LeBron James at the time. He was a star at St. John’s Prep School and landed on the cover of SI in the middle of his senior year. He led the Eagles to the 1979 Massachusetts State title his sophomore year with 23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points in 23 games.

The Caps acquired Carpenter by trading up. He scored 32 goals in his rookie season at age 18 while adding 35 assists for 67 points. The Caps unfortunately missed the playoffs that season.

Carpenter had another 32 goal season in his second year while in his fourth season was the best season of his career with 53 goals and 42 assists for 95 points. Those 53 goals led the team and he was the first American born player to score 50 goals.

Carpenter spent one more season in Washington before getting traded to the New York Rangers on New Years Day in 1987 for Kelly Miller, Mike Ridley, and Bob Crawford. He returned to the Caps in the 1992-93 season as a free agent.

#19 Scott Stevens

The Caps drafted Scott Stevens at fifth overall 1982. They opened that following season with some defensemen injured which opened up a chance for the then 18 year old to make the team right out of training camp. he did exactly that.

He scored his first NHL goal on his first shot and finished his rookie season with 25 points with nine goals and 16 assists. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting for the Calder Trophy and led all rookie defensemen with 195 penalty minutes. He also made the all rookie team and was named the Caps Rookie of the Year.

Stevens’ offensive numbers jumped to 13 goals and 32 assists for 45 points in his second season. He learned to improve his defensive game from Rod Langway as well as his pairing partner Brian Engblom.

Stevens also was good offensively as he had 21 goals and 44 assists for 65 points in the 1984-85 season. The next year he had 15 goals and 38 assists for 53 points. the next year he had 10 goals and 51 assists for 61 points.

In his penultimate season with the Caps he had 12 goals and 60 assists for 72 points while in his final season recorded seven goals and 61 assists for 68 points. He signed with the St. Louis Blues in the summer of 1990 as a free agent.

#18 John Carlson

John Carlson was drafted in the first round at 27th overall in 2008 and he’s been an elite defensemen on the Capitals ever since. He had goals in single digits until the 2013-14 season and then since became a very elite offensive defensemen.

Carlson first made noise on a game tying goal in Game 2 against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round in 2010. It was a game where Nicklas Backstrom completed a hat trick and made the building go bonkers but it was Carlson’s goal that energized the crowd. And he hadn’t played in a Caps game in the regular season, he was called up from Hershey at the time.

Last season Carlson had 17 goals and 54 assists for 71 points. In 2019-20 he was runner up to Roman Josi for the Norris trophy as the league’s best defensemen. But he had a good year that year too with 15 goals and 60 assists for 75 points.

Carlson won the Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears before he tasted Stanley Cup success with the Caps and after he won a Stanley Cup with the varsity squad he signed a massive extension ensuring that he would be a Capital for life.

Carlson might be the best Caps defensemen of all time.

#17 Michal Pivonka

Michal Pivonka was drafted by the Caps in the third round at 59th overall in 1984. He played in 825 games with the Caps at center and recorded 599 points with 181 goals and 418 assists. He’s from the Czech Republic.

He had 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points in his rookie season in 1986-87. The next year he had 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points. In his third season he had eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points.

In 1989-90 he had a career high 25 goals and 39 assists for 64 points. The next ear he had 20 goals and 50 assists for 70 points. In 1991-92 he had 23 goals and 57 assists for 80 points. In 1992-93 he had 21 goals and 53 assists for 74 points.

In 1993-94 Pivonka had 14 goals and 36 assists for 50 points. The next year he had 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points. In 1995-96 he had 16 goals and 65 assists for 81 points. In 1997-98 he had three goals and six assists for nine points in just 33 games. In his final season he had 11 points in 36 games with five goals and six assists.

Pivonka had several injury filled seasons down the stretch of his career and retired following the 1998-99 season. He has the third most assists in Capitals history with 418, trailing only the greatest two to ever suit up for this team, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin.

#16 Kevin Hatcher

Kevin Hatcher was drafted by the Capitals in the first round at 17th overall in the 1984 NHL Draft. He was a defenseman who spent 10 seasons with the Capitals as well as three with the Pittsburgh Penguins and two with the Dallas Stars along with one year stops with the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes.

At six foot three and 230 pounds, Hatcher was a polarizing defensemen that could play a two way game on both sides of the ice. The Caps recalled Hatcher late in the 1984-85 season on April 6, 1985 for his NHL debut that took place in Pittsburgh on the backend of a home and home series.

In 1985-86, Hatcher recorded 19 points with nine goals and 10 assists in 79 games. His numbers went up his his third season with 14 goals and 27 assists for 41 points as well as a career high 144 penalty minutes. He was also clutch in the playoffs that year with five goals and seven assists.

All five of those goals came in Washington’s first round series win over the Philadelphia Flyers that was won in seven games thanks to Dale Hunter’s overtime heroics.

In 685 games with the Capitals, Hatcher scored 149 goals and added 277 assists for 426 points. He was traded in 1995 to the Dallas Stars.

#15 John Druce

Right winger John Druce was drafted in the second round by the Capitals at 40th overall in 1985. He had previously played two seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 34 goals and 70 points.

Druce spent two years in the minors before he had a chance to play with the Capitals in 1988-89. In 48 games he had eight goals and seven assists. The next year he played in 45 games and then he became a household name during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Druce had 14 goals and three assists for 17 points in just 15 games and it earned him a regular spot in the Capitals lineup the next season. In 80 games he potted 22 goals and 36 assists for 58 points. He played in 11 playoff games that spring but managed just a goal and an assist.

Druce spent one more season in Washington before he went to the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93. He then signed on with the Los Angeles Kings as a free agent and played there for three years. Late in the 1995-96 season he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Druce was a part of the Flyers team that advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997 against the mighty Detroit Red Wings.

#14 Keith Jones

The Caps drafted Keith Jones in the seventh round with the 141st overall pick in the 1988 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut in the 1992-93 season, scoring 12 goals while adding 14 assists for 26 points.

He spoke with Bob Snow of NHL.com back in 2009 about getting drafted by the Caps saying, “I think what (the Capitals) saw when I was 19 in Junior B was I went to the front of the net. I’d fall down but pick myself back up and played with a bit of an edge – went after bigger guys. A lot of times I’d end up on the wrong side of it, but would keep going.”

“I was a fan of the NHL, but never thought I’d be playing there. I’d go to Maple Leaf Gardens and watch games, but never dreamed of playing there.”

Jones scored 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points in his second season. He added 20 points with 14 goals and six assists in 1994-95 and had his best season during his fourth and final year in D.C.

Jones had 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points. In 1996 he played in 11 games before getting traded to the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 2. You probably remember him from the national broadcasts when the NHL was partners with NBC.

#13 Dmitri Khristich

Dmitri Khristich was drafted in the sixth round at 120th overall in the 1988 NHL Draft. He was the Caps Russian superstar before Alex Ovechkin and yes he wore the number eight.

Khristich played in 811 NHL games for the Capitals, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs. He came from the Soviet League. He joined the Caps on Dec. 11, 1990 and was the first youngest player to go from the Soviet League to the North American ranks.

Khristich had a strong rookie season with the Caps, scoring 13 goals and adding 14 assists for 27 points. The next year he scored a career high 36 goals and 37 assists for 73 points, helping lead the Caps to a second place finish in the Patrick Division.

Khristich led the Caps to another second place finish in the 1992-93 season despite beginning the season with a broken foot injury. He had 31 goals and 35 assists for 66 points in just 64 games.

Khristich added 58 points with 29 goals and 29 assists in 83 games in 1993-94. He also helped the Caps knock off the Penguins in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. He added two goals and three assists in the series.

Khristich added 26 points in 48 games during his final season witht he Caps with 12 goals and 14 assists. He was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in the summer of 1995. He finished his career with the Caps spending his final two years with the squad.

#12 Steve Konowalchuk

Steve Konowalchuk was drafted in the third round at 58th overall in the 1991 NHL Draft by the Capitals. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, becoming the first athlete born in that state to be drafted into the NHL.

Konowalchuk scored his first NHL goal on Halloween night of 1992 in Edmonton against the Oilers. His 1992-93 season was split between the NHL andAHL and while with the Capitals he had four goals and seven assists for 11 points.

The next two seasons saw Konowalchuk score 12 and 11 goals, respectively, before recording a then career best 23 goals in 1995-96. He also won the first ever Wold Cup of Hockey in 1996 with Team USA.

Konowalchuk continued to score doubt digs goals and assists his next four seasons including a career high 24 goal sand 24 assists in the 2000-01 season.

The very next season, Konowalchuk was named co captain with defenseman Brendan Witt. Sadly he got hampered by a shoulder injury that caused him to play in just 28 games and miss action in the Winter Olympics.

In the 2002-03 season, Konowalchuk was promoted as sole team captain. The Caps had a solid year finishing second in the Southeast Division. He had 15 goals and assists that year.

2003-04 was dreadful and he got traded after the Caps were winless in five of their first six games. It was the first of a big fire sale.

#11 Jim Carey

No not the famous actor. Jim Carey was drafted in the second round of the 1992 NHL Draft at 32nd overall by the Capitals. He spent three years with the Caps.

In his rookie season he went 18-6-3 with a 2.13 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. In 1995-96 he took home the first Vezina Trophy in Capitals history as the NHL’s best goaltender. That season saw him go 35-24-9 with a 2.26 goals against average and a .906 save percentage along with a league leading nine shutouts.

The next season he struggled going 17-18-3 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. He then got traded on March 1, 1997 to the Boston Bruins with a 1997 third round draft pick that turned out to be Lee Goren.

Also included in the deal was Jason Allison and Anson Carter. The Bruins sent over Adam Oates, Bill Ranford, and Rich Tocchet. Carey was just 21 years old when he won the Vezina Trophy but injuries quickly made him fall off.

Carey is nicknamed “net detective” naturally after Jim Carey’s (the actor) movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. He didn’t quite have the Hollywood ending though.

Carey went 70-48-15 during his time with the Capitals with a 2.37 goals against average and a .829 save percentage.

#10 Alexander Semin

Alexander Semin was drafted in the first round at 13th overall by the Capitals in 2002. He spent seven years with the Caps and began to breakout in the 2006-07 season as him and Alex Ovechkin became a one two punch for the offense.

Semin recorded 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in his rookie season in 2003-04. After missing the 2005-06 season while serving his country in the war, Semin came back in 2006-07 and had 38 goal and 35 assists for 74 points. Six of those goals were game winners.

The next year Semin had 26 goals and 16 assists for 42 points as the Young Guns began to take form with him, Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green. The next season he had 34 goals and 56 assists for 79 points.

In 2009-10 it was the Caps best regular season in franchise history. That year Semin had a career high 40 goals and 44 assists for 84 points. Semin spent two more years with the Caps after that.

In 2010-11, Semin had 28 goals and 26 assists for 54 points and had another 54 point season in his final year with the Caps with 21 goals and 33 assists.

On July 26, 2012 Semin signed as a free agent with the Carolina Hurricanes. In seven years and 469 games with the Caps Semin recorded 197 goals and 211 assists for 408 points.

#9 Mike Green

Mike Green was drafted in the first round at 29th overall in 2004 by the Capitals. Of course, that wasn’t their only first rounder in that franchise changing draft.

Green spent 10 seasons with the Capitals and was one of the biggest offensive defensemen in the league, helping to complete the young guns and kickstart the Rock the Red era. He also was a hell of a quarterback on the power play.

Green also has a powerful slap shot to complement his game. One game I went to, he shot one right down the middle from way downtown. It was a slap shot that everyone knew was going to go in.

From 2007 to 2010, Green put up some impressive offensive statistics for a defenseman and earned the nickname “Game Over Green” for his heroics in overtime.

In 2008-09, Green had quite the streak. He scored in eight consecutive games, completing the mark on Feb. 14 which set the NHL record for most consecutive games with a goal by a defenseman.

Green played in 575 games with the Caps scoring 113 goals and adding 247 assists for 360 points. His best season was easily that 2008-09 season where he scored 31 goals and added 42 assists for 73 points.

#8 Tom Wilson

The Caps drafted Tom Wilson in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft with the 16th overall pick. Many thought it was a good selection as Wilson is a powerful and physical forward.

His career began as more of an enforcer but after cleaning up his game after multiple incidents with the NHL Department of Player Safety has since shown the hockey world that he can score goals too.

Wilson will be out at the beginning of the season after getting surgery on his ACL. He should be back around the holiday season. Last season up until that injury he had his best season offensively with a career high 24 goals and 28 assists for 52 points.

Wilson has recorded 115 career goals and 158 assists for 273 points in 647 career games with the Capitals. Last season he skated in his 600th career game. A big accomplishment for someone who just turned 28 in March.

Wilson has had at least 21 goals in three of his last four seasons. The 2021 season was shortened by COVID 19 and in that season he only had 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points.

Wilson had 22 goals in 2018-19 after he began the season with another suspension. It was that suspension where he knew he had to start showing off his scoring touch.

#7 Evgeny Kuznetsov

Evgeny Kuznetsov was drafted in the first round at 26th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Caps. He was another Russian expected to be a star and he has been exactly that and more.

Kuznetsov payed in the KHL for a couple of seasons before signing an entry level contract with the Capitals on March 8, 2014. He scored his first career NHL goal shorthanded in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on March 25.

Kuznetsov scored three goals and six assists for nine points in 17 games that season. In his first full season he had 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points. He also had five goals and two assists in the playoffs including a game winning goal in Game 7 of the first round against the New York Islanders that helped clinch the series.

Fast forward to 2018 and Kuznetsov was an integral part of the Caps Cup run. He led the team with 20 assists and 32 points while adding 12 goals including the biggest goal in Caps history to get them past the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On Opening Night Kuznetsov will suit up for his 600th NHL game. In his career so far he’s scored 153 goals and added 343 assists for 496 points.

#6 Braden Holtby

Perhaps no player that was drafted so late for the Washington Capitals panned out better than Braden Holtby. He was taken in the fourth round at 93rd overall in 2008.

Holtby made his NHL debut on Nov. 5, 2010 and made his first NHL start two days later. Holtby made 23 saves on 25 shots in a win over the Philadelphia Flyers. That season saw Holtby go 10-2-2 with a 1.79 goals against average and a .934 save percentage.

Many people thought Holtby’s selection was the steal of the draft. It was. Let’s look at how the goalies taken before him have fared in the NHL. We’ll go round, pick, player name, and number of NHL games played.

1 18 Chet Pickard 0

1 30 Tom McCollum 3

2 31 Jacob Markstrom 378

2 34 Jake Allen 353

2 59 Tyler Beskorowany 0

2 61 Peter Delmas 0

3 77 Michael Hutchinson 137

3 83 Marco Cousineau 0

3 84 Jacob De Serres 0

That’s crazy. Out of the nine goalies drafted ahead of Holtby, including the first goalie, five of them had never played in an NHL game. Holtby has more wins by himself than the other nine goaltenders combined.

As far as that draft class goes, only Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty have had similar successful careers like the Holtbeast did. Sadly his injury last season with the Dallas Stars might’ve ended his career or he may just take a break for a while.

#5 Mike Gartner

Mike Gartner was selected by the Caps int eh first round at fourth overall in the 1979 NHL Draft. He spent the first 10 seasons of his 19 year NHL career with the Capitals and is the last player to get his number retired by the team. That came on Dec. 28, 2008.

Gartner led the Caps in goals five times and in points four times, scoring at least 35 goals in each of his first nine years in Washington. He scored 26 goals before he was traded 56 games into 1988-89. Gartner left the Caps as their all time leader in games played, goals, assists, points, power play goals, and game winning goals.

Gartner was also a member of the first six Capitals playoff times, leading four of those teams in playoff scoring. He recorded 43 points with 16 goals and 27 assists in 47 playoff games with the Caps and at the time of his trade was the Caps all time leading playoff scorer.

Gartner played in 1,432 career games with five NHL teams, recording 708 goals and 627 assists for 1,335 points. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 and holds the NHL record for the most 30 goal seasons with 17 and shares the record for most consecutive 30 goal seasons with 15.

#4 Olaf Kolzig

The Caps drafted Olaf Kolzig in the first round at 19th overall in the 1989 NHL Draft. Whether you called him Ollie the Goalie or Godzilla, Kolzig is easily the best goaltender in Capitals history. Although he didn’t win a Stanley Cup, he did get his name on it after he remained in the organization.

In 1995-96, Kolzig got his shot as he was called up as a backup to then starting net minder Jim Carey. He wouldn’t become an established starter, however, until the 1997-98 season after their new acquisition Bill Ranford suffered an injury.

Kolzig went 33-18-10 that season with a 2.20 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. That spring he helped backstop the Caps all the way to their first ever Stanley Cup Finals before they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. Kolzig went 12-9 with a .941 save percentage and a 1.93 goals against average.

In 1999-00, Kolzig took home the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender with a 41-20-11 record with a. 2.24 goals against average and a .917 save percentage with five shutouts.

In 711 career games with the Capitals spanning 16 years, Kolzig went 301-293-86 with a 2.70 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. He spent one season with the Tampa Bay Lightning before hanging up his skates and pads.

#3 Peter Bondra

Peter Bondra was drafted in the eighth round at 156th overall in 1990. He spent 14 seasons with the Capitals, scoring 472 goal in 961 games. He also led the Caps to an Eastern Conference championship in 1998 before they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Bondra not only didn’t speak English when he was first drafted, he also hadn’t watched a single NHL game as he said to Alan May last year on Capitals Pregame Live:

“Well, first of all, I was surprised I was drafted by the Washington Capitals. I was discovered…in the middle of nowhere actually, in Czechoslovakia. I didn’t have any knowledge of the National Hockey League, obviously, I didn’t speak any English. There was no social media, so the first [NHL] game ever I saw ever with my eyes, I was in it. So, great seats.”

Bondra also talked about his struggles playing in the U.S. It wasn’t that he was bad, he was far from that. He just had trouble adjusting to the new country and language.

“I was so nervous, but I was fortunate and lucky to have great teammates and those teammates helped me. For example, before a game, [former Capitals head coach] Terry Murray had a coach’s presentation speech, and I didn’t understand anything. I just remember where Terry just kinda pointed to Mike Pivonka and said ‘Hey, just take him on the side and explain to him what we’re going to do in the game.’ To have teammates like that, it was a much better and easier transition to become an NHL player.”

#2 Nicklas Backstrom

Nicklas Backstrom was selected by the Capitals with the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2006 NHL Draft. The pick was announced by none other than Alex Ovechkin and the two future best friends met on the stage for the first time.

At the time of his selection, Backstrom was six foot and 183 pounds. N native from Gavle, Sweden, Backstrom played both junior and senior hockey with Brynas in the Swedish league in 2004-05 and was named best forward on Brynas in 2005-06. He was also named Swedish league rookie of the year that season.

Central Scouting said that Backstrom was a good offensive talent and an excellent playmaker and passer. No surprise. They also noted that he had incredible hockey sense and hands and likened his style to fellow Swede Peter Forsberg.

There were a number of good players in the 2006 draft class including Phil Kessel, Jordan Staal, Claude Giroux, Brad Marchand, and Jonathan Toews. Defenseman Erik Johnson was the number one pick that year.

Things could’ve gone south though. There was a slight and scary possibility that Backstrom would’ve gotten drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins but they passed on him and went with Staal instead. Thank God.

#1 Alex Ovechkin

Number one is a slam dunk and a no brainer. Alex Ovechkin was selected with the number one overall pick in 2004 thanks in large part to the Capitals tanking and trading away their players in the previous season. It was a draft pick that changed the Capitals franchise forever.

Ovechkin was 18 when he was drafted and there was a slight possibility that he could’ve entered the 2003 draft. However, he was eligible despite the Florida Panthers efforts.

The 2004 draft was held at the Carolina Hurricanes RBC Center and it was the last NHL event before a year long lockout. Many Capitals fans made the trip including Sam “The Horn Guy” Wolk.

Then general manager George McPhee came up to the stage and said, “With the first selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals are pleased to select Alexander Ovechkin.”

McPhee said this to ESPN about the pick:

“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.”

Those are the top 25 draft picks in Washington Capitals history. How did we do with this list and who did we miss?