2014 NHL Draft: The Recent History of the No. 14 Overall Pick

With the Dallas Stars just hours away from, potentially, making the No. 14 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, we thought we’d play a fun game and take a quick look back at the last ten drafts and who came out of that 14th spot. While past selections are certainly no indicator of future success, it seems this spot has been fairly fruitful the past for teams looking for solid NHL hockey players.

Of course, we all remember 2011 and the selection of Oleksiak that summer. The top defensive prospect in the system the past few years has seen his stock drop as his actual development has failed to reach the levels his actual potential promised. Oleksiak looked very good at times in the playoffs and it seems his size — 6-7, 260 — have set expectations at a level his playing style and ability can never live up to.

Alex Wennberg (2013) is going to be a heck of a player at the NHL level soon and is a good example of just how deep that draft was last year. He’s also the first example of what does stand out on this list — other than perhaps Oleksiak, many of these players made it to the NHL sooner than later in their development and some made a very quick jump after being drafted.

While there are no clear superstars on this list, there are some very solid players and it seems the percentage of “success” here for teams picking at this spot is certainly favorable.

The past ten picks at this spot: