Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now. Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?
The results of our redraft so far are as follows, with their original draft position in parentheses:
1st Overall: Victor Hedman, New York Islanders (2)
2nd Overall: John Tavares, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
3rd Overall: Ryan O’Reilly, Colorado Avalanche (33)
4th Overall: Matt Duchene, Atlanta Thrashers (3)
5th Overall: Chris Kreider, Los Angeles Kings (19)
6th Overall: Nazem Kadri, Phoenix Coyotes (7)
7th Overall: Mattias Ekholm, Toronto Maple Leafs (102)
8th Overall: Evander Kane, Dallas Stars (4)
9th Overall: Brayden Schenn, Ottawa Senators (5)
10th Overall: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Edmonton Oilers (6)
11th Overall: Ryan Ellis, Nashville Predators (11)
12th Overall: Dmitry Orlov, New York Islanders (55)
13th Overall: Anders Lee, Buffalo Sabres (152)
14th Overall: Tyson Barrie, Florida Panthers (64)
15th Overall: Reilly Smith, Anaheim Ducks (69)
It’s a nice jump for Smith who goes from being an early third-round pick to a mid first-rounder after being picked here. As was the case with the 14th pick, the margin of victory was quite narrow here with Smith receiving just under 20% of the votes.
Smith opted to forego the major junior route, instead spending his draft-eligible season at a tier below that level, retaining his NCAA eligibility. He was quite productive in his draft year with St. Michaels of the OJHL and then followed that up by averaging just over a point per game in three seasons at Miami University, earning him his entry-level deal in 2012 where he made the jump to the NHL right away, getting into three games with Dallas that season.
While Smith spent half of the following year at the AHL level, he hasn’t been there since then. However, his time with the Stars was limited as in the 2013 offseason, he was a key part of the trade that saw Tyler Seguin go to Dallas with Boston hoping that Smith could be an important piece of their future.
He fared pretty well with the Bruins, notching 20 goals and 51 points in his first full NHL season and followed that up with a 40-point showing the following year in 2014-15. But Boston opted to do in a different direction the following summer, using Smith as an incentive to move Marc Savard’s LTIR contract in exchange for Jimmy Hayes.
Smith responded with a 25-goal, 25-assist campaign in his first year with Florida, earning him a five-year, $25MM contract. Unfortunately for them, his production dipped again, this time to 37 points. At that point, Smith once again became a cap casualty with the Panthers sending Vegas a draft pick to incentivize the Golden Knights to take him in expansion.
The change of scenery worked out well for Smith who once again had a career year in his first season with his new team, picking up 60 points, following that up with two more 50-plus-point efforts. While his output dipped the next two years (one the COVID-shortened year and the other due to injury), the Golden Knights saw fit to give him a three-year, $15MM deal in 2022.
He rewarded them for that confidence with a 56-point performance just last season. But once again, Smith found himself a salary cap casualty this past summer as Vegas sent him to Pittsburgh for a third-round pick. He’s off to a nice start with his new team, picking up four points in as many games so far this season.
Smith sits tenth in scoring among players from this draft class and was the highest-producing player still left on the board.
Now, we turn our focus to the 16th selection which was held by the Minnesota Wild, who selected defenseman Nick Leddy but traded him before he even played an NHL game. Leddy remains available in our redraft; is he still the right pick for them or should someone else go in that slot? Make your selection by voting in our poll below.
If you can’t access the poll above, click here to vote.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
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