2011 NHL Draft: The Best Players of This Century at Each Lottery Pick

As the 2011 NHL Draft draws closer, it’s interesting to look back at the lottery picks of the past.

Everyone knows the Edmonton Oilers are going to get a very good player at No. 1, and the odds are also pretty strong for the Avalanche to have a similar fate picking second.

But what about the other picks? What kind of a player will the Ottawa Senators get at No. 6? How good of a player can the Minnesota Wild expect to get at No. 10? What about the last lottery pick of the draft? Can history tell us the calibre of player that the Dallas Stars might get picking 14th overall?

It’s hard to answer these questions without making, at best, an educated guess. But looking at what number certain players were picked at in previous draft years can reveal a lot about what lies ahead in the 2011 draft.

As a result, I’ve put together a list of the best players taken with each lottery pick since the year 2000. Who is the best No. 3 overall pick? How about the best No. 9 pick? We’ll get to those and, of course, the best No. 1 overall pick from the last 11 drafts. But first, we need to start at the last pick of the lottery: No. 14.

No. 14: Brent Seabrook (2003 Chicago Blackhawks)

Brent Seabrook is one of the many names you’ll find on this list from the incredibly deep draft class of 2003. Normally, if a team was able to pick a player like Seabrook with the final pick of the lottery, they’d be ecstatic. However, Seabrook was just one of many elite players taken in the 2003 NHL draft.

The Delta, BC native has played six extremely solid seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks thus far and makes up one half of possibly the top defence pairing in the NHL.

2009-2010 was by far Seabrook’s best season. He was named to the highly talented Canadian Olympic team, where he won a gold medal in Vancouver. Then, he won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks a few months later.

Other notable No. 14 picks include Chris Higgins in 2002 and Michael Grabner in 2006, who was nominated for the Rookie of the Year award this year.

No. 13: Alexander Semin (2002 Washington Capitals)

Due to contract conflicts and obligations to the Russian military, Alexander Semin’s NHL career started a bit later than most 2002 drafted players.

However, he proved he was worth the wait by notching 73 points in his first NHL season and putting up three campaigns with more than 30 goals.

Semin has also been an NHL All-Star and was a Russian Olympian in 2010. He beat out fellow All-Stars Dustin Brown (drafted in 2003) and Ales Hemsky (drafted in 2001) to become the top No. 13 pick of this century.

No. 12: Marc Staal (2005 New York Rangers)

It seems as though the 12th overall pick has provided us exclusively with elite NHL defensemen. Dan Hamhuis was picked at No. 12 in 2001, former Rookie of the Year Tyler Myers was selected in 2008 and Cam Fowler, a strong rookie this season, was picked in 2010.

However, none are quite as good as Marc Staal of the New York Rangers.

Marc is the middle brother when it comes to the three Staals who are playing in the NHL.

But unlike Eric and Jordan, he is a solid shutdown d-man who makes life very difficult on opposing forwards. He is also known for delivering some big body checks on opposing players.

Staal was in consideration to be selected for the Canadian Olympic team in 2010, despite being just 22 years old at the time the team was picked. He was also selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game this past February in which he played on the same team as his brother Eric.

No. 11: Anze Kopitar (2005 L.A. Kings)

Anze Kopitar is a player from the little country of Slovenia who many people knew little about heading into the 2005 NHL Draft. Luckily for the L.A. Kings, they took a chance on him with the 11th overall pick, and he has turned out to be the best of the number 11’s picked this century.

Ironically enough, Kopitar also wears No. 11 on his Kings jersey. He’s played his entire career in Los Angeles, where he has represented both the Kings and his country proud being the first ever Slovenian to play in the NHL.

The only other competition for Kopitar among No. 11 picks in this century is Jeff Carter. He was picked 11th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the deep draft of 2003.

No. 10: Andrei Kostitsyn (2003 Montreal Canadiens)

There isn’t a lot to choose from with the No. 10 picks this century.

However, the older of the two Kostitsyn brothers in the NHL has had a pretty solid career so far with the Montreal Canadiens. He has had four seasons with at least 20 goals and is a threat to score every time he steps on to the ice.

Andrei Kostitsyn was able to beat out 2006 No. 10 pick Michael Frolik to make this list. It’s also worth noting that the late Luc Bourdon was picked 10th overall in 2005 by the Vancouver Canucks. Many people feel that Bourdon would have been a great NHL defenseman one day, and his career was off to a good start before his tragic death at age 21.

No. 9: Dion Phaneuf (2003 Calgary Flames)

Dion Phaneuf is the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs and is a hard hitting d-man who can provide plenty of offense as well.

He was once thought of as one of the best young defenseman of our generation during his first couple of years in Calgary. His pace has slowed down a little since then, but he’s still among the NHL’s top 30 defensemen in my opinion.

Phaneuf didn’t have a huge amount of stiff competition to beat out in order to make this list. The other notable No. 9 draft picks are Tumo Ruutu in 2001, Ladislav Smid in 2004 and All-Rookie team member Logan Couture, who was drafted in 2007.

No. 8: Braydon Coburn (2003 Atlanta Thrashers)

The class of 2003 just keeps on giving, as Braydon Coburn is the top No. 8 pick since the year 2000.

Coburn only played 38 games with the team that drafted him, the Atlanta Thrashers, before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for the aging Alexei Zhitnik. That was a big mistake by the Thrashers, as Coburn has turned into an extremely solid defender while putting up as many as 36 points in a season from the back end.

Other stand-out players picked eighth overall this century include Devin Setoguchi in 2005 and Pierre-Marc Bouchard in 2001.

No. 7: Ryan Suter (2003 Nashville Predators)

Yet another defenseman from the outstanding draft class of 2003 makes this list.

Ryan Suter is the son of Bob Suter, who played for the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. He is also the nephew of Gary Suter, a former elite NHL defenseman. But believe it or not, Ryan has already matched most of his uncles’ accomplishments in just six NHL seasons.

Along with Shea Weber, he makes up one of the best defence pairings in the entire league, and he was also a key component of the 2010 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the silver medal.

The number seven hasn’t been so lucky to a lot of other players picked there recently, but a couple of other names worth mentioning are Mike Komisarek and the 2011 Rookie of the Year, Jeff Skinner.

No. 6: Mikko Koivu (2001 Minnesota Wild)

The number six appears to be unlucky for many players who have been picked there over the years. However, Mikko Koivu is the exception to that rule.

Mikko is the younger brother of NHL veteran Saku Koivu and has put up over 60 points in each of his last three seasons. He is currently the captain of the Minnesota Wild and is on his way to having perhaps an even more successful career than his brother.

The only other competition for Mikko Koivu among No. 6 picks was Milan Michalek, who was picked in 2003 and has put up similar numbers to Koivu.

No. 5: Thomas Vanek (2003 Buffalo Sabres)

Vanek beat out 2006 No. 5 pick Phil Kessel and goaltender Carey Price from the 2005 draft because of his incredible goal scoring abilities.

He has scored 40 or more goals twice in his NHL career and put up 84 points in just his second NHL season in 2007.

Other major achievements for Thomas Vanek include winning the 2007 plus/minus award, being named to the 2007 Second All-Star Team and being selected to play in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game.

Vanek is also the highest draft pick in Austrian history and is more than deserving of being on this list.

No. 4: Nicklas Backstrom (2006 Washington Capitals)

The fourth overall pick has consisted of mostly busts and unproven talents so far in this century. However, Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals is the one exception to that rule.

Most people know Nicklas Backstrom as Alex Ovechkin’s right hand man, even though he plays the centre position. Nevertheless, Backstrom has taken on the role as being one of the best sidekicks in the NHL since he entered the league in 2007.

Although he has only played four seasons to date, Backstrom has already racked up 323 points and is a combined plus-90.

His best season came in the 2009-2010 campaign, where he notched 101 points, good for fourth in the league, and was a plus-37.

He is a master at setting up goal scorers like Ovechkin, and even though he had no other competition among the No. 4 picks, he is an extremely elite player and an extremely deserving member of this list.

Look for 2009 fourth overall pick Evander Kane to possibly give Backstrom a run for his money in three or four years time.

No. 3: Jonathan Toews (2006 Chicago Blackhawks)

Simply put, Jonathan Toews is one of these best young hockey players in the world. At the age of 23, Toews has already accomplished more than most professional athletes dream of.

He’s won a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe trophy and a gold medal at the 2010 Olympics, where he was named to the All-Tournament team.

But Toews isn’t just an incredible goal scorer, passer and defensive forward. He is also a great leader, which was evidenced by the Chicago Blackhawks naming him team captain when he was just 20 years old. This made him the third-youngest team captain in NHL history.

Even though the group of third overall picks from this century features some great players like Jack Johnson from the 2005 draft, Marian Gaborik in 2000 and Matt Duchene in 2009,  Jonathan Toews is a no-brainer as the best of the bunch because of his many accomplishments.

No. 2: Evgeni Malkin (2004 Pittsburgh Penguins)

The second overall pick has also produced many great NHL players in the last 11 years, but choosing the best of the bunch is again a no-brainer.

Evgeni Malkin has established himself as arguably one of the top five hockey players in the world today. There has even been times when he has upstaged the best player in the world, Sidney Crosby.

In 2008, Malkin tallied 106 points in the regular season and was the runner-up for league MVP. Then in 2009, he outscored Crosby with 113 points to win the Art Ross trophy. He also outplayed Crosby again in the playoffs to win the Conn Smythe trophy when the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup.

I’m not saying he’s better than Crosby, but he has shown signs of brilliance early in his career that is almost unmatched by anyone.

The other elite players picked second overall that Malkin beat out to make this list are Dany Heatley in 2000, Eric Staal in 2003 and Drew Doughty in 2008.

No. 1: Sidney Crosby (2005 Pittsburgh Penguins)

The player dubbed by Wayne Gretzky to be "The Next One" is the number one player of all the top picks so far this century.

This should come as no surprise, considering he’s the best player in the world right now. He’s a Stanley Cup Champion, an Olympic gold medalist, a league MVP and a Rocket Richard trophy winner all at the age of 23.

There’s not much else to say about Sidney Crosby, as there shouldn’t be much debate to him being the number one of all the number one picks since the year 2000. Let's hope his post-concussion symptoms are completely gone by the time the 2011-2012 season starts and he gets back to the MVP pace he was on before his injury.

His chief rival Alex Ovechkin is right behind him, as he was picked No. 1 in 2004. Other big name players picked first overall this century include Rick Nash, Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrick Kane and Steven Stamkos.

As always, let me know what you think of this list!

For more 2011 NHL draft coverage, stay tuned to Bleacher Report for updated NHL mock drafts, NHL draft rumors, NHL draft results and draft grades.