Being selected by a team during the NHL Entry Draft is a great step towards playing in the NHL; however, being drafted is no guarantee you will ever suit up in the big league. The inverse is also true - not being selected in the Entry Draft does not mean you will never play in the NHL. Two players featured in this post, Charlie Huddy and Steve Duchesne, were never drafted. Both went on to long and successful careers, each playing over 1000 games, and each winning a Stanley Cup, or in Huddy’s case, five!
In honour of those undrafted NHLers, let’s put together first and second team all undrafted 1990s all stars. The only qualifying factor is the player had to play in a majority of seasons in the 1990s (i.e. over five).
First team
Goaltender: Ed Belfour. Hall of Famer, two time Vezina winner, four time Jennings winner, Calder winner, Stanley Cup champion, and three time all-star (two first team and one second team). Belfour also sits top ten all-time in wins, games played, shots against, saves and shutouts.
Defence: Steve Duchesne and Charlie Huddy.
Left winger: Steve Thomas. 1235 games, 421 goals and 933 points. 11 times scored 20+ goals, including two 40+ goal seasons and ranks top 50 in career game winning goals with 78.
Centre: Adam Oates. Hall of Famer, 1991 second team all-star, played in five all-star games, eighth all time in assists (1079), 20th in points (1420). Oates led the NHL in assists and was named one of NHL’s 100 greatest players.
Right winger: Dino Ciccarelli. Hall of Famer, played in four all-star games, 19th all time in goals (608), 52nd in points (1200), 10th in power play goals (232). Ten times scored 30+ goals, including two 50 or more goal seasons
Second team
Goalie: Curtis Joseph. Clancy Trophy winner, three time Vezina finalist, played in two all-star games. Ranks seventh all-time in games played (943), wins (454) and saves (24279).
Defenceman: Mark Tinordi and Marty McSorley. Tinord played in 663 career games, recording 200 points and played in the 1992 all-star game. McSorley won two Stanley Cups with Edmonton, played in 961 games, scoring 359 points and ranks fourth all-time in career penalty minutes (3381).
Centre: Dave Poulin. Selke and Clancy Trophy winner, appeared in two all-star games. Played over 700 games, scoring 205 goals and 530 points. Ranks fifth all-time in career short-handed goals with 39.
Left winger: Geoff Courtnall. 1048 games played, 367 goals and 799 points. Won Stanley Cup in 1988 with Edmonton. Five seasons with 30+ goals.
Right winger: Joe Mullen. Hall of Famer, two time Byng Trophy winner, three time Stanley Cup champion, 1989 first team all-star, and played in three all-star games. Played 1062 games, scoring 502 goals and 1063 points. First US born NHLer to score 500 career goals and 1000 career points.
568 - Tod Hartje
A centre, Hartje was drafted 142nd overall by Winnipeg in 1987. After playing four years of college hockey at Harvard, he became the first North American to play in the Soviet Elite League, joining Sokil Kyiv during the 1990-91 season. He documented this experience in his 1992 book, From Behind the Red Line: An American Hockey Player in Russia.
After his one year sojourn, Hartje returned to North America for the 1991-92 season with Moncton in the AHL. Proving his wanderlust wasn’t limited to transcontinental travel, over the next three seasons Hartje played in the AHL (Providence and Adirondack), IHL (Fort Wayne, Minnesota and Atlanta) and the ECHL (Nashville). In the 1995-96 season he stayed put in Providence, scoring 41 points and recording 106 penalty minutes. Hartje would play sparingly the next two seasons, appearing in seven games with Dayton in the ECHL. Following a three year break in which he earned an MBA from the University of Michigan, Hartje returned to pro hockey to play seven games with Toledo in the ECHL between 2001-2003.
Hartje would never play an NHL game, but did live a full pro hockey life. In retirement he has operated several businesses and coaches youth hockey in Michigan.
YouTube clip: an interview with David Letterman from January 1991 discussing his time in the Soviet Elite League.
569 Charlie Huddy
A defenceman, Huddy went undrafted, signing as a free agent with Edmonton in 1979 after his second season in the OHL with Oshawa. His rookie pro season was spent with Houston in the CHL before making his NHL debut in the 1981-82 season, playing in 12 games with the Oilers, scoring two goals and seven points.
In Huddy’s first full NHL season of 1982-83 he recorded career highs in goals (20) and points (57) and led the NHL with a +61 rating. This performance earned Huddy both postseason all-star and Norris Trophy votes. The Oilers would also make their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance, but were swept by the end of the New York Islanders dynasty.
Over his next eight seasons with the Oilers (1983-1991), Huddy would score 40+ points five times and record a +20 or better rating five seasons in a row, with a total +165 rating over that time span. There is also the little matter of the five Stanley Cups he would win, playing in a total of 118 playoff games, scoring 14 goals and 67 points while earning a +74 rating.
In 1991 Huddy was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was selected by the Minnesota North Stars. Less than a month later he was traded to Los Angeles with Randy Gilhen, Jim Thomson and a draft pick for Todd Elik. Reunited with Wayne Gretzky in LA, Huddy scored 20+ points in his first two seasons as a King, developing into a defensive defenceman with this new team. He also made his seventh Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1993, as the Kings would lose to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
In February 1995 Huddy was traded to Buffalo in a six player swap that saw the Kings land his former Oilers’ teammate Grant Fuhr. Over parts of two seasons as a Sabre, Huddy played in 84 games, scoring seven goals and 16 points. In March 1996 he was traded to St. Louis, where he played 12 regular and 13 playoff games before returning to Buffalo as a free agent for the 1996-97 season. Huddy played one final NHL game with the Sabres, spending most of the season with Rochester in the AHL before retiring.
In 17 NHL seasons, Huddy played in 1017 games, scoring 99 goals and 453 points. He ranks 55th all time with a +235 career rating. In retirement he entered the coaching world, starting as the head coach of Huntington in the ECHL in 1997-98. Since that time he has been an assistant coach with the New York Rangers (1998-2000), Edmonton (2000-09), Dallas (2009-11) and Winnipeg (2011-22).
YouTube clip: video from his induction in the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.
570 - Steve Duchesne
Another undrafted defenceman, Duchesne signed with Los Angeles in October 1984. He played one more season with Drummondville in the QMJHL before turning pro in 1985-86 with New Haven in the AHL.
Duchesne made his NHL debut in the 1986-87 season, playing in 75 games, scoring 13 goals and 38 points, earning a spot on the all-rookie team. His breakout season came in 1988-89 when he scored 25 goals and 75 points, finishing fifth in both postseason all-star and Norris Trophy voting. Over his next two seasons in LA he scored 20+ goals and 60+ points each season; the Kings would lose to Edmonton in the Smythe Division Finals in both seasons, with Duchesne finishing second (11 points) and third (12 points) in team scoring each postseason.
In May 1991 he was sent to Philadelphia as part of a three way trade involving Edmonton, with Los Angeles landing Jari Kurri and Jeff Chychrun. Duchesne played only one season with the Flyers, scoring 18 goals and 56 points before he was sent to Quebec as part of the Eric Lindros trade. In his one season in his home province, Duchesne scored 20 goals and a career-high 82 points. Despite this individual success, he was traded for the fourth time in as many years in January 1994, going to St. Louis in a five-player swap.
Duchesne lasted slightly longer with the Blues, playing 83 games over two seasons, scoring 24 goals and 69 points. In August 1995 he was traded to Ottawa for a second round draft pick. Named an assistant captain with the Senators, Duchesne was a key part of an emerging team, scoring 19 goals and 47 points in his second season as the franchise made the playoffs for the first time.
He would be on the move again, making second stops with St. Louis (80 games), Los Angeles (60 games) and Philadelphia (11 games) between 1997 and 1999. In September 1999 Duchesne signed with Detroit. In his second season with the Red Wings he won his first Stanley Cup, playing in 23 playoff games, contributing six assists. He promptly went out a champion, retiring at the end of the season.
In 16 NHL seasons he played in 1113 games, scoring 227 goals and 752 points, and playing in three all-star games (1989, 1990 and 1993). From 2009 to 2014 he was the part owner of the Allen Americans in the CHL. According to a 2016 CBC article, he was involved in the green energy sector in Texas, his wife’s home state.
YouTube clip: scoring the only goal in Ottawa’s 1-0 victory over Buffalo on April 12, 1997, clinching the Senators’ first playoff berth in modern franchise history.
571 - Sergio Momesso
A left winger, Momesso was drafted 27th overall by Montreal in 1983. Following the draft he played two more seasons of junior hockey, scoring 130 and 146 points respectively each season. During this time he squeezed in his first NHL game with Montreal during the 1983-84 season, joining the team full time for the 1985-86 season.
After two additional seasons with his hometown Habs, Momesso was traded in August 1988 to St. Louis with Vincent Riendeau for Jocelyn Lemieux, Darrell May and a second round draft pick. In his second season with the Blues Momesso scored a career-high 24 goals and 56 points, along with 199 penalty minutes. These career high totals were aided by playing on the same line as future Hall of Famers Adam Oates and Brett Hull.
In March 1991 Momesso was traded to Vancouver in a six-player deal that landed the Blues Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn. The Canucks would be Momesso’s longest stay with a single franchise, lasting parts of five seasons. During this time he recorded four straight seasons with 10 + goals and 100+ penalty minutes, including 18 goals and 200 penalty minutes in 1992-93. During the 1994 playoffs Momesso scored three goals and seven points as the Canucks would lose to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Momesso was traded to Toronto during the 1995 off-season. He lasted 54 games with the Leafs before a mid-season trade to the Rangers for Wayne Presley. Momesso played 28 games with New York over two seasons before he was traded back to St. Louis for Brian Noonan. 1996-97 would be his final NHL season, playing in 31 games with the Blues, scoring four points and earning 37 penalty minutes. He continued his career in Germany for four more seasons, winning the 1999 DEL Player of the Year.
In 13 NHL seasons Momesso played in 710 games, scoring 152 goals and 345 points while recording 1557 penalty minutes. He has coached Canadian university and senior league hockey in Quebec since his playing days ended, as well as one season (2008-09) as an assistant coach with Hamilton in the AHL. Momesso helped operate the family restaurant in Montreal, which closed in January 2024, but these days works primarily as a commentator for Canadiens’ games.
YouTube clip: taking a swing at the feet of Joey Kocur (who deftly dodges) during the final minutes of a March 1994 game between New York and Vancouver.
572 - Brian Lawton
A left winger, Lawton was drafted first overall by Minnesota in the 1983 draft, becoming the first non-Canadian, first American and first high school player drafted first overall. With such pressure on his shoulders, Lawton played in the NHL immediately as an 18 year old, playing in 58 games, scoring 10 goals and 31 points.
Perhaps wisely, he spent his sophomore season of 1984-85 split between Minnesota and the AHL with Springfield, returning to full-time NHL duty the following season. In the 1986-87 season he scored a career-high 21 goals and 44 points, a far cry from the heady totals expected of the young phenom.
In October 1988 the North Stars moved on from Lawton, trading him to the New York Rangers in a seven player swap, with Mike Sullivan and Mark Tinordi being the most significant players received in return. Lawton lasted 30 games with the Rangers, scoring 17 points, before he was traded to Hartford with Norm Maciver and Don Maloney for Carey Wilson and a fifth round pick.
Lawton lasted just over one year with the Whalers, scoring 29 points in 48 games before being claimed off waivers by Quebec. He scored 11 points in only 14 games with the Nordiques before being released; he returned to the NHL with Boston, playing eight games after signing with the Bruins in February 1990.
Again a free agent, Lawton signed with Los Angeles for the 1990-91 season, but never suited up for the Kings, instead scoring 66 points in 60 games with Phoenix in the IHL. His NHL career seemed over, but the expansion San Jose Sharks provided a temporary reprieve. Lawton suited up with the Sharks for 59 games in their inaugural season, scoring 37 points, placing him fourth in team scoring. 1992-93 proved to be his final pro season, split between the NHL and IHL, including a trade to New Jersey.
In nine NHL seasons, Lawton played in 483 games, scoring 112 goals and 266 points. In retirement Lawton became a successful player agent with Octagon, representing stars like Mike Modano and Sergei Fedorov. From 2008 to 2010 he was briefly the vice-president of hockey operations and general manager for Tampa Bay. Lawton currently works as an analyst for the NHL Network.
YouTube clip: video from induction into Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
573 - Ray Sheppard
Sheppard left New York as a free agent in 1991, signing with Detroit. For the purposes of this post, let’s look at the October 1995 trade that sent him to San Jose for Igor Larionov.
Ray Sheppard: played only 51 games with the Sharks in 1995-96, scoring 27 goals and 46 points. In March 1996 he was traded to Florida with a fourth round pick (Joey Tetarenko) for a second round draft pick (Geoff Peters) and fourth round pick (Matt Bradley).
Igor Larionov: played parts of six seasons with Detroit, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998. Although Larionov wasn’t the superstar he was during his international playing days, he was a crucial component to Detroit’s Russian Five line up. In December 2000 he was traded to Florida for Yan Golubovsky, only to return to Detroit as free agent in 2001.
Detroit is the winner in this trade. While Sheppard was productive in his brief time with the Sharks, not much was received in the trade that sent him away. Larionov was a key leadership component on two Stanley Cup winning team in Detroit.
YouTube clip: scoring a hat trick during Game 4 of 1992 Norris Division Semi-Finals against Minnesota.
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