New York Islanders: Re-Drafting Class of 2009 NHL Entry Draft

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 08: Anders Lee #27 of the New York Islanders scores a powerplay goal at 14:34 of the second period against the San Jose Sharks at the Barclays Center on October 08, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Anders Lee (C) | Round: 6 Pick: 152

Scouts weren’t sure if Anders Lee would decide to play football or play hockey professionally. Before the draft, he had both going for him.

But Lee decided to play hockey, and the New York Islanders found themselves with one of the best power forwards in the game, and a future 40 goal scorer. With 258 points in 425 games played, Lee is easily the standout player in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL draft.

Of the 29 other players taken in the sixth round in 2009, only 12 have played at least a single game in the NHL. All 12 have combined for 469 games played, Lee has played 425 on his own. Those 12 players have combined to score 54 points. Lee has almost five times that production.

There’s no way to argue that the New York Islanders should pick anyone else but Anders Lee with the 152nd pick of the 2009 NHL Draft. There’s no one even remotely as good as Lee left in the sixth round of the draft.

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Just for the fun of it, I looked at the seventh round. The Islanders didn’t have a seventh-round pick but I wanted to see if they missed out on anything. Only three picks have played a significant amount of time in the NHL: Erik Haula, Jordan Nolan, and Nic Dowd.

The Isles lost that pick in their attempt to get Calvin de Haan. Who knows if the Islanders would have even taken one of those three players with their 182nd overall pick. Trading that seventh-round pick in a package for a first rounder was a good move.