Washington Capitals: Nicklas Backstrom and Their Top 10 NHL Draft Picks Ever

Alexander Ovechkin may just be the most dynamically electrifying player we have seen enter the National Hockey League in quite some time. The way he dominates the game and displays that natural goal-scoring ability on a nightly basis is truly a spectacle all sports fans should witness.

Since the days when Peter Bondra, Steve Konowalchuk and Joe Juneau led the Washington Capitals to the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, the Caps went through some rough patches.

However, a new breed of Caps, including Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green have the D.C. faithful ready for a Stanley Cup with consecutive years of regular season success.

It's debatable as to which way is the best to build a franchise, but effective drafting can set you up for decades, as seen with clubs like the Red Wings.

Ovechkin is undoubtedly one of those elite draft picks. But where does "The Great Eight" stack up against other Capital greats?

10. Alexander Semin

Drafted 13th overall in 2002, the Russian dynamo Alexander Semin has came into the league to from a dynamic duo with fellow Russian sniper Alex Ovechkin. Although he is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, likely to desire top dollar, Semin hopes he can stay in Washington long-term.

Through 392 career games, Semin has tallied 354 career points. 

9. Mike Green

The 26-year-old Mike Green has established himself as a premier offensive defenseman in the NHL today. Although often criticized for his defensive play, the game hasn't seen such a high-scoring defender in quite some time.

Green holds the record for the longest consecutive goal-scoring streak as a defenseman, when he scored in eight straight games in 2008-09, a season that saw him tally an astonishing 31 goals.

Drafted 29th overall in 2004, this was surely one of the best draft picks Washington has ever made. 

8. Kevin Hatcher

Kevin Hatcher, the elder of the two Hatcher brothers, is arguably one of the best American defenders to ever play the game.

Drafted 17th overall back in 1984, Hatcher was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in October of 2010. 

In 1,157 career games, Hatcher amassed 677 points, most of which came in a Washington Capitals sweater.

7. Nicklas Backstrom

Drafted fourth overall in 2006, Nicklas Backstrom is the franchise center the Washington Capitals desperately needed down the middle alongside Alex Ovechkin.

The Swede was a finalist for the Calder Trophy in 2008, when he posted an impressive 69 points in 82 games as a rookie. Over the course of his young career, through four full seasons in Washington, Backstrom has been a perfect point-per-game player, with 323 points in 323 games.

And this is just the start of what's sure to be a lengthy, storied career for Backstrom.

6. Sergei Gonchar

If you were to make an all-time team, you could see that the Washington Capitals have pumped out quite a bit of solid defensemen via drafting. 

Sergei Gonchar is no exception, who has amassed 711 points through an impressive 1,058 game career.

The former 14th-overall draft pick in 1992, the 37-year-old Russian rearguard has been a top defenseman in the league throughout his entire career.  

5. Olaf Kolzig

"Ollie the Goalie" holds virtually all the records for goaltending in the Washington Capitals franchise history.

Kolzig currently holds the franchise goaltending records for most career games played between the pipes with 711, most career wins (301), career minutes played (41,261), most shutouts (35), as well as most career points scored with 17.

Kolzig was drafted 19th overall in 1989, and would serve the Caps very well from 1992-2008, leading them to their first and only Stanley Cup Final in 1998.

4. Peter Bondra

Peter Bondra is arguably the greatest Washington Capitals forward the franchise has ever seen. There's some debate about it, but I'd be willing to guess that, somewhere down the road, his number gets retired at the Verizon Center, along with Olaf Kolzig's. 

A 500-goal scorer, Bondra is part of a truly elite group of NHL players. He recorded 503 goals and 892 points in a 1,081 game career, in which he spent 14 of 17 seasons with the Caps.

A longtime fan favorite, Bondra put together a magnificent career in the United States capital. 

3. Scott Stevens

Scott Stevens will go down as one of the most memorable defensemen of all-time, most known for his bone-crunching hits. 

He essentially split his career between the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils, where he had his No. 4 retired to the rafters of the Prudential Center in New Jersey.

Stevens was drafted fifth overall by the Caps in 1982. The Hall of Famer registered 908 points in 1,635 career games. To go along with that, Stevens has never been a minus player in his entire 22-year NHL career, for a career rating of plus-393.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility, Stevens currently has the highest penalty minute total of any member in the historical, glorious sanctuary (2,785).

2. Alexander Ovechkin

As legendary as Peter Bondra was for the Washington Capitals all those years, I think Alexander Ovechkin has proven he will go down in history as the top forward to ever throw on a Caps sweater should he continue his current scoring pace for the rest of his career.

What makes him so special, in my eyes, is that Ovechkin, the former first-overall pick in 2004, is dominating a league that is much different than it was back then.

Nowadays, the NHL is much faster, the players take care of themselves 365 days a year, and goaltending equipment has dramatically increased in size. It's a transformed game from even the pre-lockout era. 

With 614 points in 475 games, the 26-year-old Russian sniper has established himself quite the resume with a Calder Trophy, an Art Ross Trophy, two Rocket Richard Trophies, and two Hart Trophies as MVP of the league. All of this comes in his first six years in the league.   

1. Mike Gartner

In his 20-year career, Mike Gartner established a remarkable NHL career, sitting 30th in all-time league scoring and sixth all-time in goal scoring (708).

Drafted by the Washington Capitals fourth overall in 1979, Gartner is now a Hall of Famer with 1,335 points in 1,432 career games. Sadly, he never won a Stanley Cup, but he boasts a boatload of other records. Should Alex Ovechkin stay healthy, he's probably the only one with a chance to catch Gartner in that right.

Gartner holds the record, not only the most 30-goal seasons with 17, but the most consecutive 30-goal seasons with 15, along with Jaromir Jagr. A dynamic skater, he also holds the fastest time for a skater at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, with a blazing-fast time of 13.386 seconds. His 17-game consecutive point streak is a franchise-best for the Caps, too.

On December 28, 2008, the Caps properly raised Gartner's No. 11 to the rafters of the Verizon Center. Right now, he stands as the greatest Capitals draft pick of all-time without a doubt.  

Honorable Mentions

Andrew Brunette is one of today's most journeyed NHL players, having played for six different clubs now. Having been drafted 174th overall in 1993 by the Washington Capitals, the 38-year-old has amassed 706 points in 1,036 career games, with the bulk of his time spent with the Minnesota Wild.

Although Brunette didn't play too much with the Caps, he's sure caught on as a valuable depth forward elsewhere since, quietly putting together a solid career.

–Dimitri Khristich spent five seasons with the Caps after being drafted 120th overall in 1988. He went on to score 596 points in 811 games.

–Michael Pivonka spent his entire career with the Washington Capitals, who drafted him 59th overall in 1984. Pivonka would score 599 points in 825 career games. It's too bad he couldn't get one more point.

–Bobby Carpenter was one of the greatest Caps to ever play. He played in the All-Star Game in 1985 after being drafted third overall in 1981. His 728 points in 1178 career games comprise what was a great career.

–I also want to include Brendan Witt on this list (drafted 11th overall in 1993), having been a fan favorite in Washington for nine years of his career. He didn't put up the most sparkling numbers, but the shutdown defender wasn't afraid to drop the gloves, amassing 1,424 penalty minutes over the course of his career.