2003 First Round Ranked

Draft Class: 2003

Published: Apr. 17 at 3:51 p.m.

DRAFT

TEXT-EMBED

Round 1
1. Marc-André Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins from Florida Panthers) (Details: The perfect first overall pick for a goalie. Top five at his absolute best, backstopped Stanley Cup winners, and won a Vezina. Hello? Easy choice.).
2. Brent Burns (Carolina Hurricanes) (Details: Although his defense has lacked sometimes, we cannot deny the offensive impact Burns has had on every team he's played for. A Norris caliber defenseman in his prime.).
3. Ryan Getzlaf (Florida Panthers from Pittsburgh Penguins) (Details: One of the best two-way players of the 2000s and 2010s.).
4. Eric Staal (Columbus Blue Jackets) (Details: His longevity is what kills him here, as he was a little inconsistent once he reached his 30s. But he was a great offensive player and a Stanley Cup champion.).
5. Jeff Carter (Buffalo Sabres) (Details: An extremely consistent top line / second line center all throughout his career up until recently.).
6. Corey Perry (San Jose Sharks) (Details: Perry's fall off was immense, but people forget that he was a top goal scorer and a Hart trophy winner.).
7. Ryan Suter (Nashville Predators) (Details: One of the most consistent defensemen of the 2010s. Norris caliber at his best, high end second pair at his worst.).
8. Zach Parise (Atlanta Thrashers) (Details: He gets overrated nowadays, but he was a consistent high 60 point player for most of his career.).
9. Ryan Kesler (Calgary Flames) (Details: People forget how much of a problem prime Kesler was. A Selke contender and a high 70 point scorer.).
10. Thomas Vanek (Montreal Canadiens) (Details: Underrated AF offensive player.).
11. Dustin Brown (Philadelphia Flyers from Phoenix Coyotes) (Details: I can count to potato. Wasn't as bad as people said.).
12. Brent Seabrook (New York Rangers) (Details: The second best defenseman on a dynasty team. At times he was more effective than Keith was.).
13. Dion Phaneuf (Los Angeles Kings) (Details: Prime Dion was a bucket. Second half Dion was one of the defensemen of all time.).
14. Mike Richards (Chicago Blackhawks) (Details: The fall off of Mike Richards is an historical anomaly. If he maintained his production, he would be top ten, maybe even top five.).
15. Nathan Horton (New York Islanders) (Details: Injuries ruined Horton's career. Although he wasn't amazing, he was always a 50-60 point threat, and could throw the body around.).
16. Braydon Coburn (San Jose Sharks from Boston Bruins) (Details: Longevity was the name of the game for Coburn. He was a consistent second pair, fringe top pair defenseman for over a decade. People forget that he actually retired in 2021.).
17. Nikolai Zherdev (New Jersey Devils from Edmonton Oilers) (Details: The Zherdev hate is undeserved. The problem with him is that he didn't play long in the NHL, eventually moving back to Russia to play in the KHL. When he was in the league, however, he was a consistent 50-60 point scorer.).
18. Milan Michalek (Washington Capitals) (Details: Imagine if Zherdev played a decade in the league, but was a little worse offensively. That was Michalek.).
19. Andrei Kostitsyn (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) (Details: Had a couple pretty decent years in the league, but like Zherdev, left the NHL early on.).
20. Brian Boyle (Minnesota Wild) (Details: Boyle was never talented offensively, but he could lay the body out. For being a physical player, he lasted a lot longer than expected, especially considering he got ****ing cancer at one point.).
21. Patrick Eaves (Boston Bruins from Toronto Maple Leafs) (Details: Basically Brian Boyle minus the cancer.).
22. Eric Fehr (Edmonton Oilers from St. Louis Blues) (Details: The model third / fourth line player. He wasn't capable of anything past 30-something points, but he knew his role and played it for about a decade.).
23. Mark Stuart (Vancouver Canucks) (Details: A physical, burly defenseman who sometimes could play second pair minutes.).
24. Steve Bernier (Philadelphia Flyers) (Details: Played quite a long time overall, despite the fact that he was an AHLer for the last five years of his career. Kinda similar to Eric Fehr, just a little worse.).
25. Robert Nilsson (Florida Panthers from Tampa Bay Lightning) (Details: Welcome to trash territory. Nilsson had a 41 point season once, but that was the highlight for a short and unremarkable career on the late 2000s Oilers.).
26. Anthony Stewart (Los Angeles Kings from Colorado Avalanche) (Details: Stewart had two okay seasons in the league, but wasn't special by any means.).
27. Marc-Antoine Pouliot (Los Angeles Kings from Detroit Red Wings) (Details: Not a good player, but played a handful of games without any special play.).
28. Jeff Tambellini (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim from Dallas Stars) (Details: Marc-Antoine Pouliot all over again.).
29. Shawn Belle (Ottawa Senators) (Details: One point...in twenty career games.).
30. Hugh Jessiman (St. Louis Blues from New Jersey Devils) (Details: He played two ****ing games. Two. One of the worst draft busts in NHL history.).

CapFriendly.com User-Generated Mock-Draft

ROUND 1	TEAM	ORIGINAL	PLAYER	DETAILS

1		Marc-André Fleury	The perfect first overall pick for a goalie. Top five at his absolute best, backstopped Stanley Cup winners, and won a Vezina. Hello? Easy choice.
2	-	Brent Burns (+18 )	Although his defense has lacked sometimes, we cannot deny the offensive impact Burns has had on every team he's played for. A Norris caliber defenseman in his prime.
3		Ryan Getzlaf (+16 )	One of the best two-way players of the 2000s and 2010s.
4	-	Eric Staal (-2 )	His longevity is what kills him here, as he was a little inconsistent once he reached his 30s. But he was a great offensive player and a Stanley Cup champion.
5	-	Jeff Carter (+6 )	An extremely consistent top line / second line center all throughout his career up until recently.
6	-	Corey Perry (+22 )	Perry's fall off was immense, but people forget that he was a top goal scorer and a Hart trophy winner.
7	-	Ryan Suter	One of the most consistent defensemen of the 2010s. Norris caliber at his best, high end second pair at his worst.
8	-	Zach Parise (+9 )	He gets overrated nowadays, but he was a consistent high 60 point player for most of his career.
9	-	Ryan Kesler (+14 )	People forget how much of a problem prime Kesler was. A Selke contender and a high 70 point scorer.
10	-	Thomas Vanek (-5 )	Underrated AF offensive player.
11		Dustin Brown (+2 )	I can count to potato. Wasn't as bad as people said.
12	-	Brent Seabrook (+2 )	The second best defenseman on a dynasty team. At times he was more effective than Keith was.
13	-	Dion Phaneuf (-4 )	Prime Dion was a bucket. Second half Dion was one of the defensemen of all time.
14	-	Mike Richards (+10 )	The fall off of Mike Richards is an historical anomaly. If he maintained his production, he would be top ten, maybe even top five.
15	-	Nathan Horton (-12 )	Injuries ruined Horton's career. Although he wasn't amazing, he was always a 50-60 point threat, and could throw the body around.
16		Braydon Coburn (-8 )	Longevity was the name of the game for Coburn. He was a consistent second pair, fringe top pair defenseman for over a decade. People forget that he actually retired in 2021.
17		Nikolai Zherdev (-13 )	The Zherdev hate is undeserved. The problem with him is that he didn't play long in the NHL, eventually moving back to Russia to play in the KHL. When he was in the league, however, he was a consistent 50-60 point scorer.
18	-	Milan Michalek (-12 )	Imagine if Zherdev played a decade in the league, but was a little worse offensively. That was Michalek.
19	-	Andrei Kostitsyn (-9 )	Had a couple pretty decent years in the league, but like Zherdev, left the NHL early on.
20	-	Brian Boyle (+6 )	Boyle was never talented offensively, but he could lay the body out. For being a physical player, he lasted a lot longer than expected, especially considering he got ****ing cancer at one point.
21		Patrick Eaves (+8 )	Basically Brian Boyle minus the cancer.
22		Eric Fehr (-4 )	The model third / fourth line player. He wasn't capable of anything past 30-something points, but he knew his role and played it for about a decade.
23	-	Mark Stuart (-2 )	A physical, burly defenseman who sometimes could play second pair minutes.
24	-	Steve Bernier (-8 )	Played quite a long time overall, despite the fact that he was an AHLer for the last five years of his career. Kinda similar to Eric Fehr, just a little worse.
25		Robert Nilsson (-10 )	Welcome to trash territory. Nilsson had a 41 point season once, but that was the highlight for a short and unremarkable career on the late 2000s Oilers.
26		Anthony Stewart (-1 )	Stewart had two okay seasons in the league, but wasn't special by any means.
27		Marc-Antoine Pouliot (-5 )	Not a good player, but played a handful of games without any special play.
28		Jeff Tambellini (-1 )	Marc-Antoine Pouliot all over again.
29	-	Shawn Belle (+1 )	One point...in twenty career games.
30		Hugh Jessiman (-18 )	He played two ****ing games. Two. One of the worst draft busts in NHL history.