This Day in Hockey History – June 21, 2003 – High Class Entry

Jun 21, 2019

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Of all the NHL Entry Drafts, the Class of 2003 really made the grade. Bridgestone Arena of the Gaylord Entertainment Center at Nashville hosted the draft and over 13,000 enthusiastic spectators. They were all in for a treat as the players drafted on June 21, 2003 produced one of the strongest and deepest pools of talent in NHL history.

To start things off, the Pittsburgh Penguins had first pick after switching turns with the Florida Panthers. It would be their only first pick other than 1984, when they chose Mario Lemieux who had become their owner. The Penguins chose goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, only the third goalie to take the No. 1 spot. (The previous No. 1 goalies were Michael Plasse of the Canadiens in 1968 and Rick DiPietro of the Islanders in 2000.) Fleury commented, “I think it’s great to be the second. I don’t know [Lemieux] personally, but I know he’s a great guy. I am looking forward to meeting him.” Penguins General Manager Craig Patrick explained their choice, “We think he is a tremendous, tremendous goalie. Very good quickness, very good style. I think he’s going to be a great NHL goaltender.” Further, “We’re in a rebuilding mode in Pittsburgh, we have made that pretty clear. We decided the best place to start building was in goal.” Fleury did indeed help with that, backstopping the Penguins to three Stanley Cups. In their inaugural season, he recently led the Vegas Golden Knights all the way to the Final.

For the No. 2 draftee, the Carolina Hurricanes selected center Eric Staal. The NHL’s Central Scouting Service deemed him North America’s top-rated player. At the time, Staal said, “I am just happy to go where I am. I’m glad it’s over.” But he was going places and brought the Hurricanes with him to a Stanley Cup in 2006. Of everyone in the Class of 2003, he has been the top scorer. After the 2018-19 season, he has 974 points, 51 more than the next-highest scorer, Ryan Getzlaf (drafted 19th overall) and 161 more than the third-highest, Patrice Bergeron (drafted 45th overall). “Over your career, you always compare yourself to your draft class just naturally,” mused Staal later in his career. “During your draft year, you want to be first overall, but when that didn’t happen, you just try and prove you’re worth the pick you are taken. It’s amazing how many phenomenal players came out of that draft and a lot of key pieces to a lot of teams in the league. It’s really a source of pride for me to be among so many talented players.”

The third player was drafted by the Panthers, who had received Pittsburgh’s No. 3 pick and third-round pick in return for having first choice. The Panthers had had their eye on Oshawa center Nathan Horton, so they were happy with their trade. Although Horton played for the Panthers for six seasons, the season he was traded to the Boston Bruins, 2010-11, they won the Stanley Cup. Things went downhill for the Panthers in later rounds when they attempted to draft Alex Ovechkin a year early.

Since the draft took place in Nashville, a lot of attention was given to the Predators’ first pick (7th overall), defenseman Ryan Suter. As the son of Bob Suter and nephew of Gary Suter, David Poile noted, “Being the son of a hockey player and a general manager, I think bloodlines mean a lot, so I’m big on that. But that certainly wasn’t the overriding reason we took Ryan Suter. The overriding reason was that we thought he was the best defenseman, and that’s what we’ll be judged on down the line.” Poile then said that before joining the Predators, “He’s on to the University of Wisconsin, which has a terrific hockey program.” About the draft, Suter enthused, “It was awesome. The crowd just went nuts when I got announced. It was pretty neat.”

Of the other 26 players drafted during the first round, standout forwards included Thomas Vanek (5th by Buffalo), Jeff Carter (11th by Philadelphia), Dustin Brown (13th by Los Angeles), Zach Parise (17th by New Jersey), Ryan Getzlaf (19th by Anaheim), Ryan Kesler (23rd by Vancouver), Mike Richards (24th by Philadelphia), Brian Boyle (26th by Los Angeles), Corey Perry (28th by Anaheim), and Patrick Eaves (29th by Ottawa). Highlights from defensemen included Braydon Coburn (8th by Atlanta), Dion Phaneuf (9th by Calgary), Brent Seabrook (14th by Chicago), Brent Burns (20th by Minnesota), and Mark Stuart (21st by Boston).

The second round featured stars like forwards Loui Eriksson (33rd by Dallas), Patrice Bergeron (45th by Boston), Maxim Lapierre (61st by Montreal), and David Backes (62nd by St. Louis). Two defensemen, Matt Carle (47th by San Jose) and Shea Weber (49th by Nashville), and two goalies, Corey Crawford (52nd by Chicago) and Jimmy Howard (64th by Detroit), have also really stood out.

Later rounds saw still more depth. For example, the fifth round included Lee Stempniak (148th by St. Louis) and Brad Richardson (163rd by Colorado). The sixth round had Marc Methot (168th by Columbus) and Drew Miller (186th by Anaheim). Then Joe Pavelski (205th by San Jose) and Kyle Brodziak (214th by Edmonton) were selected in the seventh round. They still had an eighth round back in 2003, and it included Toby Enstrom (239th by Atlanta) and Dustin Byfuglien (245th by Chicago). Even after that, at the very end of the draft, goalies Jaroslav Halak (271st by Montreal) and Brian Elliott (291st by Ottawa) were selected. They went on to share the 2012 William M. Jennings Award for having the NHL’s lowest goals-against average. Astoundingly, Antti Niemi (the first Finnish goalie to win a Stanley Cup) went undrafted in 2003.

As David McNab, the Ducks Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, commented, “For whatever reason, it was just one of those years. Every now and then you get a draft year that’s just off the charts, and that was one of them. Even before the draft, everyone recognized there was a good chance you could get a good player, even late in the first round or beyond. The number of guys who have been significantly important players to franchises is incredible.”

How incredible has this class been? All 30 of the first-round draftees played in the NHL, with 22 of them playing over 500 games. Over half of them were still active this past season. By 2012, a record-setting seven members of the Class of 2003 served their teams as captain, and at least eight others have served as assistant captains. As of 2018, 28 draftees from 2003 have been named an NHL All-Star at least once. A whopping 14 of them have won the Stanley Cup at least once. On the international stage, 14 of the 2003 draftees played in the gold-medal game between Canada and the U.S. at the 2010 Olympics. As the 17th overall pick, Parise, exclaimed, “It really crazy how many good players — star players, captains, even — can come from one draft.”