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Poll: Who were the winners, losers of the 2014 NHL Draft?

Leon Draisaitl, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart

From left, Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl, Florida Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad and Buffalo Sabres’ Sam Reinhart pose for photographs during the first round of the NHL hockey draft, Friday, June 27, 2014, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

AP

After 210 picks with prospects hailing from 12 different countries, the 2014 NHL Draft is now over. Take a breath if you need it.

In any sport, it’s a folly to give report card letter grades in a process that can yield some highly unpredictable results. That’s especially true in hockey and baseball drafts in which teams are betting their futures on high school-age athletes. Really, it’s even risky to give a thumb’s up or down after free agent season, and many of the players being signed have been kicking around the league for a decade.

Still, silly things can also be a lot of fun, so praising or blaming a team’s scouts and executives for a job seemingly well or poorly done is just a good time. Besides, training camps won’t kick in until September, so we have to entertain our hockey minds with something, right?

Before we get to the winners and losers votes for this year’s drafts, here are a few interesting facts from the proceedings, with help from the NHL’s press release:


  • While there weren’t any goalies who were selected in the first round, five went in the second, including a hectic span in which four were selected from picks 34-39.
  • The OHL produced the most draftees with 41 players, slightly edging the WHL’s 37. The league’s most amusing moment might have come when Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon milked some tension with the No. 1 pick as he paused while a handful of possible OHL top picks were presented in an Academy Awards-like split-screen.
  • If you enjoy quality vs. quantity debates, consider this: the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings had the most picks in 2014 with 10. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators were tied for the fewest with five apiece.

Check out a full list of the selections here.

Winners

Which team did itself the most favors in this draft? Use any criteria you’d like, although one recommendation would be to focus on the picks instead of the splashy trades.

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Losers

Conversely, who will regret this draft the most? Again, feel free to apply whatever reasoning you’d like, the more logical the better:

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Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins