NY Islanders: The 5 best players selected with the 49th pick since 2000

The NHL Draft begins this Wednesday, and the Islanders - stop me if you've heard this before - don't have a first round pick. For the third year in a row, their highest pick will be in the second round (in 2020, they didn't pick until the third). Specifically, the Islanders will have the 49th overall pick. What kind of player can they expect?

NY Islanders: The 5 best players selected with the 49th pick since 2000

The 49th overall pick is usually unimpressive. Many of the recent 49th overall picks were players you've never heard of, unless you're a fan of the team that drafted them - players like Vaclav Karabacek (Buffalo, 2014), Stefan Elliott (Colorado, 2009), and Chad Denny (Atlanta, 2005). But the pick can also occasionally turn into a good NHL player.

Near Misses

Before I reveal the Top-5 49th overall picks since 2000, just for fun, here are the five best players to be drafted with the 47th, 48th, 50th, or 51st overall picks since 2000:

5. Carter Hart, 48th in 2016, Philadelphia
4. Samuel Girard, 47th in 2017, Nashville
3. Derek Stepan, 51st in 2008, NY Rangers
2. Tyler Toffoli, 47th in 2010, Los Angeles
1. Milan Lucic, 50th in 2006, Boston

Alright, now let's look at the five best 49th overall picks since 2000 - there's a superstar on this list, so stick around. We'll find out years from Thursday if the Isles have one as good as these five second-rounders.