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Best recent late round NHL draft picks
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Draft Day Steals And Fails: Best Recent Late Round Picks

Michel Anderson Published on: Jan 15, 2024 4:15 PM ET

Keep your eyes focused on Draft Day Steals and Fails to read the latest edition of our NHL Draft series. 

Drafting in the late rounds - by that I mean the 6th and 7th rounds - of the NHL Draft is like asking someone who’s never played darts to hit the board. They’re rarely going to get that dart to stick. 

But every year, NHL teams try to defy the odds and find a player who's not just going to make the show but become an impact player. Here’s a look at five of the biggest late-round steals from 2008 through to 2018.

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I didn’t go past 2018 because it’s still early for players drafted four years ago.
I’m also not taking anyone who didn’t play for the team that drafted them, so no Jared Spurgeon.

(1) Mark Stone - 2010 6th Round Pick (Ottawa Senators)

Drafted 178th overall in 2010 by the Ottawa Senators, Stone has gone on to have an incredible NHL career. Since making his full-time start in 2014-15, Stone has played 600 games and scored 544 points. He’s the King of takeaways with 4.08 takeaways per 60 a full takeaway more than the next player.

Stone is the captain of the Vegas Golden Knights and won the Stanley Cup a few years back. Mark Stone is the definition of a late-round steal.

(2) Ondrej Palat - 2011 7th Round Pick (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Only three players were drafted after Ondrej Palat in 2011. Scott Wilson by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Henrik Temmernes by the Vancouver Canucks and Johan Mattsson by the Chicago Blackhawks. Only Wilson hit the NHL but hasn’t played in the league since 19-20.

Palat was never an elite player scoring an average of 54 points per year since his full-time debut in 2013-14. But what made Palat so good was his strong play at both ends of the ice. Having players like Palat to supplement superstar talent is how the Tampa Bay Lightning won back-to-back Stanley Cups (and challenged for a third). 

You might have Palat first over Stone and I can't fault you for that. Stone, in my opinion, is the better player and that's why Palat is second.

(3) Mackenzie Weegar - 2013 7th Round Pick (Florida Panthers)

Defensemen take longer to develop than any other position. That much was true for Mackenzie Weegar. The Halifax Moosehead product didn’t crack the Panthers squad until his age-24 season. It took him a few more years to blossom into that top-four offensive defenseman we know today.

Only five players were drafted after Weegar who went 206th overall to Florida. None have yet to play in the NHL and likely never will.

(4) Jesper Bratt - 2016 6th Round Pick (New Jersey Devils)

Since 2021-22, Bratt has been an excellent player in this league. He's scoring no less than 26 goals and 73 points a season. It took a while for him to become this player, I get it. He was drafted in 2016 and didn't make much of an impact until his fifth year in the league. 

Sixth-round picks are sixth-round picks for a reason because they aren't sure things. It takes a while for them to develop. But if scouts did their job, a bit of time can turn a player with solid fundamentals (like Bratt) into an NHLer.

Now the Devils have a top-6 winger from deep in the 2016 draft. Massive win for them and their rebuild.  

(5) Anders Lee - 2009 6th Round Pick (New York Islanders)

There was no doubt that Anders Lee was a good hockey player. But no scout was certain he'd play hockey. In high school, Lee was as good on the ice as he was on the gridiron.

But Lee did decide to play hockey and joined Notre Dame's hockey program scoring 61 goals and 116 points in 125 games.

Since making the NHL full-time, he's become a premier modern power forward in the game scoring 40 goals in 17-18 and averaging 50 points per year. Now, he's the Islanders captain. A hell of a steal for the Isles.

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