The 2011 Rookie Draft is fast approaching and it should come as no surprise that the first overall pick is a two-horse race between forwards Taylor Hall and Jeff Skinner. But it’s never quite that simple, is it? The Nashville Knights own the top pick, and if they go off the board… well, they wouldn’t be the first.
But they also wouldn’t be the first to play it safe, as we’ll see when we look back at #1s through the ages.
- The first ever GWMHL #1 was Teemu Selanne, who’s been racking up the milestones ever since
- The first North American #1 came the following year, in 1994, with Jason Arnott
- In fact, Europeans are popular firsts: there have been three Russians, two Finns, a Czech, and a Swede draft in the top spot
- The first defenseman taken at #1 was Bryan Berard in 1997; the most recent was Tyler Myers just last year
- Just one goaltender – Roberto Luongo – has ever been taken first overall
- #1s have made immediate impacts, and three have topped 100 points in their first seasons – Alexander Ovechin (127 points), Selanne (112), and Patrick Kane (101)
- Vincent Lecavalier holds the dubious record of fewest points in a rookie season, with just 6
- 2004 #1 Tuomo Ruutu, meanwhile, started well but has the lowest points per game among forwards, at just 0.40
- Only three #1s are no longer active GWMHLers – Berard, Petr Sykora, and Peter Forsberg
2010 - Tyler Myers, Ice Harbor
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
10-11 Ice Harbor Storm 82 2 41 43 -12 36
Totals 82 2 41 43 -12 36
2009 - Steven Stamkos, Charleston
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
09-10 Charleston Chiefs 79 26 47 73 32 47
10-11 Charleston Chiefs 82 55 29 84 45 40
Totals 161 81 76 157 77 87
2008 - Patrick Kane, Sacramento
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
08-09 Nashville Knights 82 28 73 101 1 98
09-10 Nashville Knights 80 24 61 85 -3 38
10-11 Nashville Knights 82 31 56 87 -53 18
Totals 244 83 190 273 -55 154
2007 - Evgeni Malkin, California
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
07-08 California Sun Cats 78 34 65 99 31 96
08-09 Midland Bulldogs 82 54 58 112 38 122
09-10 Midland Bulldogs 82 52 87 139 78 104
10-11 Baltimore Crab 67 24 49 73 4 96
Totals 309 164 259 423 151 418
2006 - Alexander Ovechkin, El Dorado
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
06-07 El Dorado Lynx 81 55 72 127 17 86
07-08 El Dorado Lynx 82 43 62 105 28 53
08-09 El Dorado Lynx 82 65 33 98 16 32
09-10 El Dorado Lynx 79 62 41 103 0 72
10-11 El Dorado Lynx 73 50 34 84 34 101
Totals 397 275 242 517 95 344
2004 - Tuomo Ruutu, Portland
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
04-06 Portland Winterhawks 82 23 33 56 -17 71
06-07 Did Not Play
07-08 Portland Winterhawks 49 6 7 13 7 28
08-09 Portland Winterhawks 38 2 2 4 -6 20
09-10 Portland Winterhawks 44 3 8 11 -4 10
10-11 El Dorado Lynx 54 7 16 23 -1 55
Totals 267 41 66 107 -21 184
2003 - Jay Bouwmeester, Oregon
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
03-04 Oregon Rugrats 82 4 7 11 -55 30
04-06 Oregon Rugrats 52 1 5 6 -27 10
06-07 Oregon Rugrats 70 4 37 41 0 68
07-08 Oregon Rugrats 82 12 25 37 9 78
08-09 Oregon Rugrats 82 14 27 41 17 78
09-10 Oregon Rugrats 78 9 29 38 -24 42
10-11 Oregon Rugrats 81 3 18 21 -4 60
Totals 527 47 148 195 -84 366
2002 - Dany Heatley, Chesapeake
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
02-03 Chesapeake Icebreakers 82 25 27 52 -10 128
03-04 Chesapeake Icebreakers 77 42 24 66 -1 54
04-06 Montreal Smashers 29 17 20 37 9 22
06-07 Salem Wannbees 82 48 49 97 21 106
07-08 Salem Wannabees 82 49 54 103 35 112
08-09 Salem Wannabees 71 35 34 69 30 102
09-10 S Carolina Fire Ants 82 38 51 89 20 74
10-11 S Carolina Fire Ants 82 40 40 80 4 104
Totals 587 294 299 593 108 702
2001 - Brad Richards, Bridgewater
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
01-02 Bridgewater Rangers 82 28 33 61 -7 42
02-03 San Diego Gulls 82 23 36 59 10 73
03-04 San Diego Gulls 82 8 17 25 -47 24
04-06 San Diego Gulls 82 24 39 63 2 12
06-07 San Diego Gulls 82 18 74 92 11 18
07-08 San Diego Gulls 82 23 66 89 -1 25
08-09 San Diego Gulls 72 14 36 50 -13 29
09-10 San Diego Gulls 64 18 28 46 6 6
10-11 San Diego Gulls 82 25 40 65 3 10
Totals 710 181 369 550 -36 239
2000 - Roberto Luongo, South Park
Year Name GP W L T GAA SAV% SO
00-01 South Park Cows 24 8 15 1 3.34 .909 1
01-02 South Park Cows 46 13 27 6 2.90 .916 2
02-03 South Park Cows 58 25 26 6 2.55 .914 3
03-04 South Park Cows 53 35 13 5 2.39 .900 4
04-06 South Park Cows 72 51 15 6 1.96 .926 5
06-07 South Park Cows 75 35 33 7 2.83 .904 4
07-08 South Park Cows 76 45 24 7 2.66 .910 4
08-09 South Park Cows 73 36 26 11 2.71 .913 11
09-10 South Park Cows 54 29 20 4 2.79 .914 7
10-11 South Park Cows 52 19 29 4 3.04 .907 2
Totals 583 296 228 57 2.66 .912 43
1999 - Vincent Lecavalier, Brooklyn
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
99-00 Brooklyn Blackhawks 59 4 2 6 -10 15
00-01 Brooklyn Blackhawks 69 19 23 42 8 30
01-02 Brooklyn Blackhawks 67 13 14 27 -5 43
02-03 Brooklyn Blackhawks 75 3 8 11 -9 42
03-04 Illinois Chiefs 79 35 31 66 24 65
04-06 California Sun Cats 81 20 36 56 -1 41
06-07 California Sun Cats 80 22 56 78 -2 85
07-08 California Sun Cats 82 41 69 110 43 34
08-09 Midland Bulldogs 79 28 48 76 29 49
09-10 Midland Bulldogs 77 31 50 81 57 88
10-11 Midland Bulldogs 79 19 28 47 -7 86
Totals 827 235 365 600 127 578
1998 - Sergei Samsonov, North Maine
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
98-99 North Maine Ravens 84 27 32 59 -14 24
99-00 Ann Arbor Ravens 79 33 32 65 10 18
00-01 Ann Arbor Ravens 49 12 11 23 -15 18
01-02 South Park Cows 42 14 12 26 -6 10
01-02 Oregon Rugrats 40 13 8 21 -7 12
02-03 South Park Cows 74 24 24 48 4 70
03-04 Did Not Play
04-06 Vancouver Sea Otters 53 16 25 41 -2 6
06-07 Vancouver Sea Otters 74 29 38 67 6 34
07-08 West Virginia River Rats 39 8 6 14 5 8
08-09 West Virginia River Rats 47 8 10 18 -1 8
09-10 W Virginia River Rats 81 8 29 37 1 16
10-11 W Virginia River Rats 52 12 16 28 11 16
Totals 714 204 243 447 -8 240
1997 - Bryan Berard, Madison
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
97-98 Madison River Rats 84 5 33 38 17 151
98-99 Madison River Rats 76 15 31 46 -11 70
99-00 Staten Island Gems 64 9 31 40 -5 60
00-01 Staten Island Gems 60 8 17 25 1 99
01-02 Did Not Play
02-03 Staten Isle Gems 82 3 27 30 0 62
03-04 Staten Island Gems 82 7 26 33 -1 66
04-06 Altoona Railroaders 42 7 14 21 -8 31
06-07 Altoona Railroaders 44 9 19 28 7 34
Totals 534 63 198 261 0 573
1996 - Petr Sykora, Columbus
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
96-97 Colombus Owls 65 15 22 37 -30 34
97-98 Chicago Wolves 21 0 2 2 -4 4
98-99 South Carolina Fire Ants 50 9 14 23 -13 16
99-00 South Carolina Fire Ants 82 31 38 69 10 38
00-01 South Carolina Fire Ants 57 8 14 22 9 18
01-02 South Carolina Fire Ants 72 13 11 24 -1 32
02-03 South Carolina Fire Ants 73 10 14 24 10 44
03-04 South Carolina Fire Ants 62 13 8 21 -9 18
04-06 South Carolina Fire Ants 62 10 6 16 -1 14
06-07 South Carolina Fire Ants 57 7 6 13 -10 10
07-08 South Carolina Fire Ants 82 15 18 33 1 42
08-09 S Carolina Fire Ants 78 32 32 64 8 35
09-10 S Carolina Fire Ants 76 21 12 33 -7 52
Totals 837 184 197 381 -37 357
1995 - Peter Forsberg, Spokane
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
95-96 Spokane Chiefs 82 22 27 49 -1 34
96-97 Spokane Chiefs 84 26 31 57 -13 26
97-98 Delta Sturgeon 67 30 30 60 -10 141
98-99 Delta Sturgeon 74 29 51 80 18 94
99-00 Delta Sturgeon 78 43 41 84 22 114
00-01 Delta Sturgeon 49 12 27 39 15 54
01-02 Delta Sturgeon 73 27 52 79 39 62
02-03 Did Not Play
03-04 Delta Sturgeon 75 21 54 75 41 78
04-06 Delta Sturgeon 39 13 19 32 24 24
06-07 Delta Sturgeon 51 19 52 71 8 46
07-08 Delta Sturgeon 57 11 36 47 18 68
08-09 Delta Sturgeon 9 1 2 3 -4 6
Totals 738 254 422 676 157 747
1994 - Jason Arnott, Spokane
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
94-95 Spokane Chiefs 75 31 38 69 -11 196
95-96 Spokane Chiefs 71 17 24 41 -4 200
96-97 Lodi Dekes 66 28 25 53 8 121
97-98 North Maine Ravens 67 20 22 42 -3 89
98-99 North Maine Ravens 71 8 28 36 -7 85
99-00 Ann Arbor Ravens 74 29 32 61 5 78
00-01 Ann Arbor Ravens 69 12 22 34 -21 49
01-02 Oregon Rugrats 49 17 31 48 -18 91
02-03 South Park Cows 42 10 16 26 -4 70
02-03 Oregon Rugrats 30 11 7 18 -9 37
03-04 Rosemont Revolution 72 27 29 56 0 76
04-06 Rosemont Revolution 73 26 44 70 28 64
06-07 Charleston Chiefs 82 37 66 103 16 133
07-08 Charleston Chiefs 58 23 18 41 12 30
08-09 South Park Cows 79 16 47 63 -1 44
09-10 South Park Cows 63 21 30 51 11 18
10-11 South Park Cows 63 16 16 32 3 16
Totals 1104 349 495 844 5 1397
1993 - Teemu Selanne, Rochester
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
93-94 Rochester Chenes Royale 84 73 39 112 -25 55
94-95 Rochester Chenes Royale 42 26 19 45 -1 26
95-96 Rochester Chenes Royale 74 27 29 56 8 12
96-97 Rochester Chenes Royale 79 20 34 54 8 22
97-98 Morgan Hill Lynx 80 59 42 101 17 56
98-99 Morgan Hill Lynx 75 50 33 83 19 50
99-00 Morgan Hill Lynx 75 55 40 95 30 38
00-01 Morgan Hill Lynx 79 40 34 74 29 20
01-02 Morgan Hill Lynx 73 31 47 78 45 44
02-03 Morgan Hill Lynx 82 35 30 65 19 66
03-04 Morgan Hill Lynx 82 24 28 52 28 38
04-06 El Dorado Lynx 78 11 8 19 -22 44
06-07 El Dorado Lynx 80 48 64 112 16 76
07-08 El Dorado Lynx 82 57 55 112 32 124
08-09 El Dorado Lynx 26 12 19 31 7 18
09-10 El Dorado Lynx 69 29 35 64 -11 56
10-11 El Dorado Lynx 54 26 34 60 21 16
Totals 1214 623 590 1213 220 761
Gump Worsley Memorial Hockey League 
great retrospective piece