“I’m glad I got drafted first, because no one remembers number two.” These immortal words are attributed to Alexandre Daigle, the first overall pick in the 1993 entry draft. Billed as the next Mario Lemieux, Daigle never lived upto the hype, recording 129 goals and 327 points in 616 career games. The guy who was second in the 1993 draft, Chris Pronger, is definitely remembered. Pronger played almost double the number of games that Daigle did (1167), and almost had double the numbers of points (698)...as a defenceman! Pronger also won the Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy in 2000, was a four time all-star, won a Stanley Cup, two Olympic gold medals and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In honour of Daigle’s words that are more famous than his career, let’s see if there are other instances of number two being more memorable than number one:
1992: The year before Daigle was selected, Tampa Bay took defenceman Roman Hamrlik first overall, with Ottawa selecting centre Alexei Yashin second overall. Hamrlik played in more games (1395 to 890), but Yashin had more points (781 to 638). Both played in three all-star games, but Yashin has a second team all-star selection, and finished second in Hart Trophy voting in 1999.
1995: Ottawa took Bryan Berard first overall, and the New York Islanders selected Wade Redden second. After Berard refused to sign with Ottawa, the defencemen were swapped for each in a three team deal. Redden has the advantage in games (1023 to 619) and points (457 to 323), but this partially attributable to the severe eye injury Berard suffered in 2000 that caused him to miss a whole season. Berard won both the Calder Trophy and Masterton Trophy, while Redden played in one all-star game and finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting in 2006.
1999: The expansion Atlanta Thrashers selected centre Patrik Stefan first overall, while Vancouver acquired the second overall pick and selected left winger Daniel Sedin. Stefan is often argued (alongside Daigle) as the worst first overall pick of all-time. He played in 455 games, scoring 188 points. Daniel, playing alongside his twin Henrik, scored 1041 points in 1306 career games. He also won the Pearson Award and Art Ross Trophy in 2011, the Clancy Trophy in 2018, was an all-star twice, won an Olympic gold and is a Hockey Hall of Famer.
579 - Sylvain Turgeon
A winger, Turgeon was drafted second overall by Hartford in 1983. The older brother of Pierre, Sylvain scored 54 goals and 163 points with Hull in the QMJHL during his draft season. He jumped to the NHL as an 18 year old, scoring 40 goals and 72 points, finished third in Calder voting and was named to the all-rookie team. Following a decent sophomore season, Turgeon broke out for career highs in goals (45) and points (70) in his third season, which included an appearance in the NHL all-star game.
In the three seasons from 1986 to 1989 he played in only 42 games in a season once, but was still able to score 20+ goals each season, for a streak of five-straight seasons. In June 1989 Turgeon was traded to New Jersey for Pat Verbeek. In his one season with the Devils the elder Turgeon scored 30 goals and 47 points.
September 1990 saw Turgeon traded to his home province Montreal Canadiens for Claude Lemieux. In two seasons with the Habs he played in only 75 games, scoring 14 goals and 32 points. Turgeon’s drop in production led Montreal to leave him unprotected in the 1992 expansion draft, where he was claimed by Ottawa.
In the Senators’ first season he played in 72 games, the most in a single season for Turgeon since 1989-90. He scored 25 goals (leading the team), 43 points (third on the team) and recorded 104 penalty minutes. In two more seasons with the Sens he played in 80 games, scoring 22 goals and 45 points. During the 1995-96 season Turgeon played in the IHL with Houston, then moved to Europe, playing in Germany and Switzerland until retiring after the 2001-02 season.
In 12 NHL seasons, Turgeon played in 669 games, scoring 269 goals and 495 points. While arguably as talented as his younger brother Pierre, a combination of bad luck with injuries and poor attitude hampered Sylvain’s career. In retirement he has come to work in the home construction industry in Calgary. An additional fun fact: his trading card from the 1994-95 Pinnacle series briefly shot up in value when it was discovered that a young Patrick Kane was featured in the background.
YouTube clip: scoring the overtime winner for Hartford in Game 1 of the 1986 Adams Division Semi-Finals against Quebec.
580 - James Black
A left winger, Black was drafted 94th overall by Hartford in 1989 after scoring 45 goals and 96 points with Portland in the WHL. Following the draft Black turned pro, playing two seasons in the AHL. In the 1990-91 season he scored 96 points with Springfield as the team won the Calder Cup. During these two seasons Black appeared in two games with the Whalers.
1991-92 was Black’s true rookie season, playing in 30 games with Hartford, scoring four goals and 10 points. At the start of the following season he was traded to Minnesota for Mark Janssens. Over the next two seasons with Minnesota and then Dallas Black, played in 23 games, scoring four goals and eight points.
In December 1993 Black was traded to Buffalo for Gord Donnelly. He played two games for the Sabres, then spent the entire 1994-95 season with Rochester in the AHL, scoring 73 points. Black signed with Chicago in September 1995, scoring 12 goals and 23 points in his second season as a Blackhawk. In October 1998 he was traded to Washington for a draft pick, where his first season as a Capital was a career year, scoring 16 goals and 30 points.
Black played two more seasons in Washington, leaving in 2001 to play for Grand Rapids in the AHL. He finished his career in Europe, with one season each in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. In 11 NHL seasons Black played in 352 games, scoring 58 goals and 115 points.
YouTube clip: scuffling with Jim Paek after Paek’s Pittsburgh teammate, Bob Errey, runs over Hartford’s goalie, Peter Sidorkiewicz.
581 - Darrin Shannon
In November 1988 Shannon was traded by Pittsburgh, with Doug Bodger, to Buffalo for a third round pick (Joe Dziedzic) and Tom Barrasso.
Shannon: selected fourth overall in 1988, over parts of four seasons with Buffalo, he played in 55 games, scoring 10 goals and 24 points. Shannon was traded to Winnipeg in 1991 in a five player swap.
Bodger: played eight seasons with the Sabres, appearing in 479 games, scoring 54 goals, 287 points and recording 506 penalty minutes. In four of his first five season he scored 40+ points. In November 1995 Bodger was traded to San Jose for two draft picks, including a first rounder, and two prospects, including Vaclav Varada. San Jose later traded the first round pick to Phoenix for Michal Grosek and Darrin’s brother Darryl. The Coyotes used the selection on Daniel Briere, who would eventually play for the Sabres (2002-07).
Barrasso: played 12 seasons for the Penguins, posting a 226-153-53 record, .895 save percentage and 3.27 goals against. Barrasso was a second team all-star in 1993, and was a Vezina finalist in 1993 and 1998. Most importantly he was part of two Stanley Cup winning teams (1991 and 1992), with a career 56-42 playoff record, .907 save percentage and 2.91 goals against. In March 2000 he was traded to Ottawa for Ron Tugnutt and Janne Laukkanen.
Dziedzic: in two seasons with the Penguins played in 128 games, scoring 14 goals and 28 points. Dziedzic joined Phoenix as a free agent in 1998, where he played his final two NHL games.
While Bodger was a solid top three defenceman in his years with the Sabres, Pittsburgh is the clear winner. Barrasso was one of the top goalies of the early 1990s and backstopped the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups.
YouTube clip: Shannon scoring on a breakaway against Andre ‘Red Light’ Racicot during a February 1991 game against Montreal.
582 - Todd Krygier
In October 1991 Krygier was traded by Hartford to Washington for a fourth round pick (Jason Smith).
Krygier: played three seasons with the Capitals, equalling 210 games, scoring 36 goals and 83 points. Krygier was traded in February 1996 to Anaheim for a fourth round pick.
Smith: a defenceman, and not the one who captained Edmonton in the early 2000s, this Jason Smith played four seasons at Princeton and then one season in the AHL before retiring.
Based on the above, you would think Washington is the winner. Krygier played 200 games, and then returned to the franchise two seasons later and played another three seasons. But if you follow the trail, Hartford is the winner. The Whalers flipped the fourth round pick to Calgary, who drafted Smith, for Sergei Makarov. They then turned around and traded the aging Soviet superstar to San Jose with a first round pick and second pick to get San Jose’s first round pick in the 1993 draft. That pick would be used to select future Hall of Famer Chris Pronger.
YouTube clip: getting thrashed by Mario Lemieux during the 1996 playoffs. This was in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals, the infamous four overtime game. Lemieux was ejected after the scrap, which happened late in the second period. The game was the third longest in NHL history at the time, and has since been surpassed down to seventh.
583 - Dominic Roussel
A goaltender, Roussel was drafted 63rd overall by Philadelphia in 1988. After the draft he played two more seasons in the QMJHL, turning pro in 1990 with Hershey of the AHL. Roussel won 20 games in his first pro season, making the Flyers roster the following season, posting a 7-8-2 record, .908 save percentage and 2.60 goals against.
After starter Ron Hextall was sent to Quebec as part of the Eric Lindros trade, Roussel became the back up to Tommy Soderstrom. In the 1992-93 season he played in 34 games, with a 13-11-5 record. Roussel became the starter the following season, playing in a career high 60 games, winning 29. Soderstrom was gone by the start of the 1994-95 season, but Ron Hextall had returned. Roussel was relegated to a backup role for the next two seasons, and was traded to Winnipeg in February 1996 for Tim Cheveldae and a third round pick; he played in seven games for the Jets, winning two.
Roussel returned to Philadelphia for the 1996-97 season, but played the entire season in the AHL, where he led the league in save percentage. The following season he played with the Canadian National Team and club hockey in Germany. NHL expansion in the late 1990s gave Roussel another chance, as he was selected by Nashville in the expansion draft. He was traded to Anaheim for Chris Mason and Marc Moro before the start of the 1998-99 season. In parts of three seasons with the Mighty Ducks Roussel played in 51 games, posting a 12-15-9 record.
In January 2001 he was claimed off waivers by Edmonton, where he played his final eight NHL games, winning one. The final two seasons of Roussel’s career were split between senior hockey in his home province of Quebec and one final season in Germany. In eight NHL seasons he played in 205 games, earning a 77-70-3 record, .895 save percentage and 3.12 goals against. In retirement he has coached at various levels, including university, junior, and most recently semi-pro in the LNAH.
YouTube clip: attempting to fight the Whalers’ Sean Burke as part of a line brawl during a February 1993 game. You have to give Roussel credit for coming to defend a teammate, as he gave up four inches to Burke.
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