Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The 2014 NHL draft class is turning out to be one to remember.
By now, we’ve seen the stories about how the first four selections in that draft will be playing in the 2024 Stanley Cup final. Other members from the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers were drafted then as well — Brandon Montour went 55th overall to Anaheim, Warren Foegele went 67th to Carolina and Gustav Forsling went 126th to Vancouver.
The Panthers, back-to-back Eastern Conference Champions, have three of the first four selections on their roster. The team drafted Aaron Ekblad first overall, and then they made savvy trade acquisitions for Sam Reinhart (who went second overall to the Buffalo Sabres) and Sam Bennett (who went fourth overall to the Calgary Flames).
Then there’s Leon Draisaitl, arguably one of the best players in the world, who went third overall to the Edmonton Oilers.
𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟒 𝐍𝐇𝐋 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
1. Aaron Ekblad
2. Sam Reinhart
3. Leon Draisaitl
4. Sam Bennett10 years later, the #StanleyCup Final will feature the first four picks of the 2014 NHL Draft! #LetsGoOilers | #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/ZsyYiJshj7
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) June 4, 2024
But where would they rank in a 2014 re-draft knowing what kind of careers these four have made up to this point?
Below is this writer’s take on how the top 15 of the 2014 NHL draft would look nowadays.
2014 NHL Re-Draft |
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1. Florida Panthers – C, Leon Draisaitl |
2. Buffalo Sabres – RW, David Pastrnak |
3. Edmonton Oilers – C, Brayden Point |
4. Calgary Flames – G, Igor Shesterkin |
5. New York Islanders – C/RW, Sam Reinhart |
6. Vancouver Canucks – RW, William Nylander |
7. Carolina Hurricanes – D, Aaron Ekblad |
8. Toronto Maple Leafs – G, Thatcher Demko |
9. Winnipeg Jets – G, Ilya Sorokin |
10. Anaheim Ducks – D, Devon Toews |
11. Nashville Predators – C, Dylan Larkin |
12. Arizona Coyotes – D, Brandon Montour |
13. Washington Capitals – D, Gustav Forsling |
14. Dallas Stars – RW, Adrian Kempe |
15. Detroit Red Wings – C, Sam Bennett |
There was little debate as to who would be the first overall selection. Draisaitl has proven himself to be not only one of the best players in the world but also one of the best playoff performers of this era.
The German forward became the third-fastest player in NHL history to record 100 playoff points after helping Edmonton defeat Vancouver in Game 7 of its second-round series. Draisaitl has appeared in six post-seasons and has yet to finish with less than a point-per-game average.
Leon Draisaitl
First member of the Oilers with 10 goals in back-to-back postseasons since Esa Tikkanen in 1990 & 1991 pic.twitter.com/vr3c1ikIE0
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 30, 2024
Reinhart finds himself moving from second to fifth overall. It’s hard to have him slotted over one of the best goal-scorers in the world, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the best goaltenders currently in the NHL.
However, fifth overall is a fair spot and well-deserved. Reinhart has turned into one of the better two-way forwards in the game and has received praise from coach Paul Maurice as the type of player who does everything right and nothing wrong.
He’s also unlocked his goal-scoring potential over the last four seasons. In the shortened 2020-21 season, he scored 25 goals in 54 games with the Buffalo Sabres. That’s on pace for a 38-goal year if he played 82 games. He followed up that season with 33 in 2021-22 and 31 in 2022-23 before exploding this past year with 57.
Ekblad fell from first overall to seventh, but it’s more of a testament to how incredible the players above him have become. He was very close to leap-frogging Toronto Maple Leafs star right winger William Nylander.
The Panthers made a good choice in selecting Ekblad first overall. He’s started to morph his game into becoming more of a shutdown defenseman over the last two seasons. He had one of the best plus/minus turnarounds from the previous season, going from a minus-14 to a plus-27 this year. He uses his size and strength so effectively in the dirty areas of the defensive zone to not allow his opponents any ‘easy’ ice.
Although he dropped six spots, teams need a defenseman like him with the grit, competitiveness, and physicality to win the Stanley Cup.
Bennett took the biggest hit in our re-draft. Even though he has revitalized his career in Florida, it wasn’t smooth sailing in Alberta to start.
He has played the sixth-most games in his draft class with 615, not including playoffs. However, 11 players have scored more goals than him, and 14 are ahead of him in career points. His lack of offensive production is why he dropped.
Bennett does rank first in one category among his draft class peers, however. Unsurprisingly, his 580 penalty minutes are the most, and his teammate Ekblad isn’t too far behind him with the fourth-most (452).
However, Bennett really steps his game up come playoff time, and that’s where he is at his best. His physical abrasiveness and ability to get under his opponents’ skin throws them off their game. He can be a dirty player at times and cross the line, but he’s far from being the only one who looks to gain an edge with a cheap shot on an opposing star player.
Sam Bennett 🎯 pic.twitter.com/uYur4hJN7l
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) June 2, 2024
There’s even an argument that players like Viktor Arvidsson, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kevin Fiala or Alex Tuch should be slotted above Bennett. But his impact in the post-season trumps those four players despite his lack of production during the regular season.
A lot has happened since 2014, but the 2024 Cup final will go a long way in defining the careers of the top four players from that draft.
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News Summary:
- Where Would the Top 2014 NHL Draft Picks in the Stanley Cup Final Rank Today?
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