Will Islanders' No. 13 pick be lucky? These names were selected at that spot in history of NHL Draft.
Rangers alumnus Ron Duguay skates with the puck against the Islanders alumni at Northwell Health Ice Rink in East Meadow on Jan 22, 2023. Credit: Brad Penner
The Islanders own the 13th pick in the NHL Draft in Buffalo on June 26-27 and it will be the third time in their history they select in that spot, provided general manager Mathieu Darche doesn’t trade the selection.
In 1985, the Islanders took Derek King at No. 13 and the left wing went on to play 11 of his 14 NHL seasons on Long Island, compiling 261 goals and 251 assists in 830 games. Two years later, Dean Chynoweth was picked 13th and the defenseman played seven of his nine NHL seasons with the Islanders, totaling four goals, 18 assists and 667 penalty minutes in 241 games and later serving the team as an assistant coach from 2009-12.
Various NHL mock drafts have the Islanders picking either Peterborough (OHL) forward Adam Novotny, Vancouver (WHL) defenseman Ryan Lin, Boston University center Tynan Lawrence, Finnish center Oliver Suvanto or left wing Wyatt Cullen of the U.S. National Development team.
Interestingly, no Hall of Famer has ever been selected at No. 13 since the first NHL Draft was conducted in 1963.
But there have certainly been impactful and interesting choices made at No. 13. Here, then, in chronological order, are some of them:
1966: Garnet ‘Ace’ Bailey
The Bruins selected the skilled forward with the first pick of the third round with just the Original Six teams drafting. Bailey won two Stanley Cups with the Bruins and compiled 107 goals, 171 assists and 633 penalty minutes in 568 games for five teams. He was serving as the Kings director of professional scouting when he was killed on Sept. 11, 2001 as a passenger on the plane that was crashed into the World Trade Center’s south tower.
1969: Jean-Pierre Bordeleau
Chicago’s selection of the forward, who had 97 goals and 116 assists in 519 NHL games, marked the first time No. 13 was a first-round pick after expansion.
1972: Phil Russell
Chicago took the feisty defenseman, who went on to play 1,016 games for four teams over 15 seasons with 99 goals, 325 assists and 2,038 penalty minutes.
1977: Ron Duguay
The Rangers made a solid choice with the forward, who had 274 goals and 346 assists in 864 games over 12 seasons with four teams, eight of them on Broadway. But the Islanders took Hall of Famer Mike Bossy two picks later.
1983: Dan Quinn
The Flames picked the forward, who had 266 goals and 419 assists in 805 games for eight teams, including a career-high 40 goals for the Penguins in 1987-88 and a career-high 90 points the following season as Mario Lemieux’s linemate.
1986: Craig Janney
The Bruins picked the playmaking center and he went on to notch 188 goals and 563 assists in 760 games for seven teams, finishing his career with an 18-game stint as an Islander in 1998-99.
1994: Mattias Ohlund
The Canucks selected the Swedish defenseman, who had 93 goals and 250 assists in 909 games and held the organization’s record for points by a defenseman until Quinn Hughes passed him.
1995: Jean-Sebastien Giguere
The Hartford Whalers took the goalie, who played 16 seasons for five teams and is best known for winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in 2003 despite his Ducks losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Devils.
Anaheim Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere can't stop a shot by the Ottawa Senators' Dean McAmmond during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final hockey game in Ottawa on June 2, 2007. Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Chris Carlson
1996: Derek Morris
The Flames drafted the offensive-minded defenseman, who played 1,107 games for five teams and compiled 92 goals and 332 assists.
1997: Daniel Cleary
Chicago took the forward, who had 165 goals and 222 assists in 938 games and, in 2008 with the Red Wings, became the first player from Newfoundland and Labrador to win the Stanley Cup.
2000: Ron Hainsey
The Canadiens picked the defenseman, who played 1,132 games with 59 goals and 242 assists for seven teams and finally won the Cup with the Penguins in 2017.
2003: Dustin Brown
The big right wing played all 18 of his seasons for the Kings after they drafted him, notching 325 goals and 387 assists in 1,296 games and winning the Cup in 2012 and 2014.
2007: Lars Eller
The Blues took the still-active center, who has 193 goals and 246 assists in 1,184 games for six teams.
2013: Josh Morrissey
One of the NHL’s top defensemen, has played all 11 seasons with the Jets after they drafted him, with 94 goals and 334 assists in 739 games.
2017: Nick Suzuki
Vegas picked the current Canadiens captain but traded him to Montreal the following year as part of the package for Max Pacioretty. The center set career highs with 72 assists and 101 points this season.
2021: Matt Coronato
The Flames took the Greenlawn right wing and he has 45 goals and 56 assists in 192 games, having just completed the first season of a seven-year, $45.5 million deal.
Matt Coronato of the Calgary Flames skates during the first period against the Islanders at UBS Arena on March 14. Credit: Jim McIsaac
2022: Frank Nazar
He is already a top-six forward for Chicago as part of the team’s solid young core with 28 goals and 40 assists in 122 games. This pick originally belonged to the Islanders before they sent it to the Canadiens as part of the draft-day deal for defenseman Alexander Romanov. Montreal then flipped the pick for Kirby Dach.
2023: Zach Benson
The Sabres took the left wing, who has contributed to the team’s turnaround with 34 goals and 67 assists in 211 games.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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