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Backdraft 2005: Ranking the forwards, defensemen & goalies from the 2005 NHL draft

Backdraft 2005: Ranking the forwards, defensemen & goalies from the 2005 NHL draft

Take a look back at the 2005 NHL draft: We've ranked the top 10 forwards and top 10 defensemen by career NHL points and goalies by career NHL wins.

FORWARDS: Here are the top 10 highest-scoring forwards selected in the 2005 NHL draft, with draft position and NHL games played:

FORWARDS

Draft position

NHL GP

NHL Points

Sidney Crosby

1st overall

707

938

Anze Kopitar

11th overall

764

684

Paul Stastny

44th overall

676

553

Bobby Ryan

2nd overall

607

447

James Neal

33rd overall

562

410

T.J. Oshie

24th overall

523

361

Patric Hornqvist

230th overall

509

318

Andrew Cogliano

25th overall

704

298

Martin Hanzal

17th overall

557

287

Mason Raymond

51st overall

542

251

NOTES:

--Sidney Crosby, first overall: In hindsight, the Pittsburgh Penguins chose wisely.

--Anze Kopitar, the first Slovenian player to appear in the NHL, has clearly emerged as the second-best forward from the 2005 NHL draft. And, in all likelihood, the best Slovenian forward for a long, long time.

--Patric Hornqvist was Mr. Irrelevant in 2005, the last overall pick in the draft at No. 230 by the Nashville Predators. Also notable: Hornqvist was later traded to the Penguins for James Neal, the 33rd overall pick in 2005.

DEFENSEMEN: Here are the top 10 highest-scoring defensemen selected in the 2005 NHL draft, with draft position and NHL games played: 

DEFENSEMEN

Draft position

NHL GP

NHL Points

Keith Yandle

105th overall

661

369

Kris Letang

62nd overall

562

 352

Jack Johnson

3rd overall

629

 244

Matt Niskanen

28th overall

655

 230

Marc-Edouard Vlasic

35th overall

737

 226

Cody Franson

79th overall

459

 186

Anton Stralman

216th overall

549

 185

Kris Russell

67th overall

573

177

Marc Staal

12th overall

617

146

Niklas Hjalmarsson

108th overall

550

 125

 NOTES:

--Kris Letang, 62nd overall: In hindsight, the Pittsburgh Penguins chose wisely.

--A total of 11 defensemen were selected in the first round, but only three turned into NHL regulars: Jack Johnson (third overall pick, 629 NHL games), Marc Staal (12th overall, 617 NHL games) and Matt Niskanen (28th overall, 655 games).

--Keith Yandle, the 39th defensemen picked and the 105th overall selection by the Phoenix Coyotes, leads all 2005-drafted blueliners with 369 points in 661 games. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the 13th defensemen picked and the 35th overall selection by the San Jose Sharks, leads all 2005-drafted blueliners with 737 NHL games played.

GOALIES: A total of 11 goalies selected in the 2005 NHL draft have appeared in at least one NHL game. Here they are ranked by NHL wins, with draft position and NHL games played:

GOALIES

Draft position

NHL GP

NHL Wins

Jonathan Quick

72nd overall

475

252

Carey Price

5th overall

447

233

Tuukka Rask

21st overall

330

167

Ondrej Pavelec

41st overall

371

148

Ben Bishop

85th overall

231

130

Alex Stalock

112th overall

62

24

Tomas Popperle

131st overall

2

0

Jeff Frazee

38th overall

1

0

Jeremy Duchesne

119th overall

1

0

Matt Keetley

158th overall

1

0

Brian Foster

161st overall

1

0

NOTES:

--Carey Price, the fifth overall pick by the Montreal Canadiens, appears to be the best goalie from the 2005 NHL draft (and the best goalie in the world, period). But it's Jonathan Quick, a third-round grab by the Los Angeles Kings at 72nd overall, who has won the most NHL games among 2005-drafted netminders.

--Tuukka Rask, taken 21st overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs (who later traded him to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft), is the only other goalie who was drafted in the first round in 2005. Four goalies were picked in the second round, with only Ondrej Pavelec (41st overall) establishing himself as a big-leaguer.

--Among the best in the business: Ben Bishop was a runner-up for the Vezina Trophy this past season, Price won it in 2015, Rask won it in 2014 and Quick was a runner-up in 2012.

More in the 'Backdraft' series:

Backdraft 2004: Ovechkin, Streit and Rinne lead the pack

Backdraft 2003: Staal, Weber and Fleury rank No. 1 by position

Backdraft 2002: Nash, Keith and Lehtonen at head of class

Backdraft 2001: Kovalchuk, Zidlicky and Anderson on top

Backdraft 2000: Heatley, Visnovsky and Lundqvist lead the rankings

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