Every pick from 1980 to 2026 — 10,942 players taken, 4,636 of them made it to an NHL game. Pick a draft year, pick a team, or start with the steals and the busts below.
| Round | Picks | Reached NHL | Hit rate | Avg value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 1,090 | 1,024 |
94%
|
782 |
| Round 2 | 1,130 | 811 |
72%
|
300 |
| Round 3 | 1,103 | 602 |
55%
|
190 |
| Round 4 | 1,113 | 477 |
43%
|
154 |
| Round 5 | 1,127 | 387 |
34%
|
100 |
| Round 6 | 1,091 | 365 |
33%
|
120 |
| Round 7 | 1,107 | 301 |
27%
|
79 |
| Round 8 | 618 | 171 |
28%
|
88 |
| Round 9 | 620 | 162 |
26%
|
84 |
| Round 10 | 325 | 75 |
23%
|
76 |
| Round 11 | 287 | 55 |
19%
|
39 |
| Round 12 | 210 | 33 |
16%
|
31 |
| Country | Picks | Share of picks | Reached NHL | Hit rate | #1 picks | Best pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 5,047 |
|
2,350 | 49% | 28 | Ron Francis · 1981 #4 |
| United States | 2,518 |
|
921 | 39% | 8 | Mike Modano · 1988 #1 |
| Sweden | 859 |
|
349 | 45% | 2 | Nicklas Lidstrom · 1989 #53 |
| Russia | 798 |
|
279 | 38% | 3 | Alex Ovechkin · 2004 #1 |
| Finland | 528 |
|
223 | 47% | — | Teemu Selanne · 1988 #10 |
| Czechia | 498 |
|
228 | 50% | 2 | Jaromir Jagr · 1990 #5 |
| Slovakia | 183 |
|
83 | 49% | 1 | Marian Hossa · 1997 #12 |
| Germany | 86 |
|
33 | 45% | — | Leon Draisaitl · 2014 #3 |
| Switzerland | 80 |
|
34 | 48% | 1 | Roman Josi · 2008 #38 |
| Belarus | 45 |
|
13 | 37% | — | Ruslan Salei · 1996 #9 |
| Latvia | 44 |
|
22 | 59% | — | Sandis Ozolinsh · 1991 #30 |
| Ukraine | 35 |
|
15 | 43% | — | Peter Bondra · 1990 #156 |
| Denmark | 29 |
|
16 | 60% | — | Lars Eller · 2007 #13 |
| Kazakhstan | 29 |
|
8 | 32% | — | Nik Antropov · 1998 #10 |
| Team | Picks | 1st rd | Made NHL | Hit rate | Best pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🦑 Kraken | 50 | 6 | 10 |
71%
|
Matty Beniers · 2021 |
| 🏛️ Senators | 263 | 37 | 129 |
55%
|
Marian Hossa · 1997 |
| 🧥 Blue Jackets | 201 | 30 | 96 |
54%
|
Rick Nash · 2002 |
| ⚜️ Nordiques | 174 | 17 | 91 |
52%
|
Joe Sakic · 1987 |
| 👑 Kings | 412 | 40 | 190 |
50%
|
Larry Murphy · 1980 |
| 😈 Devils | 401 | 44 | 189 |
50%
|
Brendan Shanahan · 1987 |
| 🐻 Bruins | 370 | 44 | 174 |
50%
|
Joe Thornton · 1997 |
| 🦆 Ducks | 255 | 40 | 113 |
50%
|
Corey Perry · 2003 |
| 🌵 Coyotes | 87 | 15 | 40 |
50%
|
Clayton Keller · 2016 |
| 🏔️ Avalanche | 236 | 28 | 103 |
49%
|
Ryan O'Reilly · 2009 |
| 🌪️ Hurricanes | 225 | 22 | 94 |
49%
|
Eric Staal · 2003 |
| 🌲 Wild | 177 | 25 | 79 |
49%
|
Brent Burns · 2003 |
| ✈️ Jets | 98 | 17 | 40 |
49%
|
Mark Scheifele · 2011 |
| 🦈 Sharks | 283 | 39 | 124 |
48%
|
Patrick Marleau · 1997 |
| ⚔️ Sabres | 440 | 58 | 193 |
47%
|
Dave Andreychuk · 1982 |
| 🐧 Penguins | 390 | 41 | 172 |
47%
|
Jaromir Jagr · 1990 |
| 🐆 Panthers | 264 | 30 | 112 |
46%
|
Radek Dvorak · 1995 |
| 🐯 Predators | 232 | 29 | 93 |
46%
|
Ryan Suter · 2003 |
| ✈️ Jets | 188 | 15 | 86 |
46%
|
Teemu Selanne · 1988 |
| 🔔 Flyers | 414 | 43 | 178 |
45%
|
Claude Giroux · 2006 |
| 🍁 Maple Leafs | 413 | 39 | 178 |
45%
|
Vincent Damphousse · 1986 |
| 🎰 Golden Knights | 66 | 9 | 21 |
45%
|
Nick Suzuki · 2017 |
| 🇨🇦 Canadiens | 459 | 52 | 192 |
44%
|
Chris Chelios · 1981 |
| 🏝️ Islanders | 421 | 52 | 175 |
44%
|
John Tavares · 2009 |
| 🛢️ Oilers | 407 | 50 | 169 |
44%
|
Paul Coffey · 1980 |
| 🎵 Blues | 392 | 36 | 163 |
44%
|
Doug Gilmour · 1982 |
| 🗽 Rangers | 421 | 42 | 174 |
43%
|
Alex Kovalev · 1991 |
| 🔥 Flames | 416 | 45 | 167 |
43%
|
Al MacInnis · 1981 |
| 🦅 Capitals | 396 | 51 | 164 |
43%
|
Alex Ovechkin · 2004 |
| ⚡ Lightning | 283 | 24 | 111 |
43%
|
Steven Stamkos · 2008 |
| 🐳 Whalers | 171 | 17 | 73 |
43%
|
Ron Francis · 1981 |
| 🌵 Coyotes | 133 | 22 | 56 |
42%
|
Blake Wheeler · 2004 |
| ⭐ Stars | 246 | 26 | 92 |
41%
|
Jarome Iginla · 1995 |
| 🌌 North Stars | 148 | 11 | 60 |
41%
|
Mike Modano · 1988 |
| 🪶 Blackhawks | 455 | 54 | 180 |
40%
|
Patrick Kane · 2007 |
| Canucks | 390 | 44 | 150 |
40%
|
Henrik Sedin · 1999 |
| 🐦 Thrashers | 98 | 12 | 39 |
40%
|
Ilya Kovalchuk · 2001 |
| 🐙 Red Wings | 424 | 38 | 151 |
38%
|
Steve Yzerman · 1983 |
| ⛰️ Rockies | 19 | 2 | 13 |
68%
|
Bruce Driver · 1981 |
| 🏒 Hockey Club | 24 | 4 | 2 |
0%
|
Tij Iginla · 2024 |
About 45% of them. Of the 9,821 players picked between 1980 and 2021, 4,463 have played at least one regular season NHL game. Drafts from the last 5 years are left out of that number because those players are still developing.
No, but most do. 94% of first-round picks have played an NHL game, against 31% of picks from round four and later. The first round is the safe part of the draft, not a promise.
By career points and games played, Jaromir Jagr — taken #5 overall in 1990 by the Penguins. Puckey ranks players by their career totals, so long careers rank high.
Mark Recchi is the best of them here: picked #67 overall in 1988, then 1,652 NHL games and 1,533 points.
Canada. Of the 10,925 picks with a known birthplace, 46% were born in Canada, then 23% in United States and 8% in Sweden. Canada's share has moved from 64% in the 1980–1984 drafts to 37% in the 2022–2026 ones.
A steal is a player taken outside the first round who went on to a big NHL career. A bust is a top ten pick who played few or no NHL games. Both are measured with career points plus career games, and only drafts older than 5 years are judged.
The NHL draft is held every summer, usually in late June or early July, after the Stanley Cup Final. The newest class on Puckey is 2026.
Hit rate counts a pick as a hit when the player has played at least one NHL regular season game. Career value is career points plus career games played, so goalies are ranked on games.