The Last In Line

By: Keith Lenn
Sportznutz Columnist

If the old adage “nice guys finish last” is true, then there are forty-one nice guys in the hockey world who all have something common.

That’s right.  They finished last.  But at what?

Since 1963, the National Hockey League has held an Amateur or Entry Draft in order to stock teams with young talent.  And with every draft, someone must be chosen first.

And last.

We’ve all heard of Mario Lemieux, Mats Sundin, Denis Potvin, and heck, even Alexandre Daigle!  After all, they were outstanding players before coming to the NHL and of course, all were selected first overall in their draft class.

But for every player drafted first, a player was selected last.  And they all have a story.  Their stories might not be as glamorous as their counterparts at the top of the list, but they all have stories nonetheless.  And you might find one or two of them to be somewhat interesting.

Trivia buffs know that Garry Monahan made history as the first player ever to be selected in an NHL Entry Draft when the Montreal Canadiens picked him first overall in the 1963 inaugural draft.  But Gerry Meehan, selected with the twenty-first overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, has the dubious distinction of being the first player to be selected last in an NHL Entry Draft!  Meehan became a useful NHLer, appearing in 670 regular season contests and notching 180 goals, though the journeyman accumulated those totals whilst playing for six teams including the first Buffalo Sabres squad.  Meehan also worked for the Sabres in the capacity of Assistant General Manager and then General Manager for almost a decade beginning in the mid-1980s.

In the 1965 draft, Gary Beattie was selected with the eleventh and final pick, but by Pittsburgh of the American Hockey League.  It sounds strange that that a non-NHL team would make a selection in the draft, but during this particular year the AHL, the Western Hockey League, and the Central Professional League were given permission to select players.  Beattie never made it to the NHL, a fate realized by many in the exclusive last draft pick club.

To find the next NHLer selected last in an Entry Draft, you need to look all the way to 1979 when the Edmonton Oilers selected Blair Barnes, a right-winger, with the 126^th pick overall.  Barnes played junior hockey with the Windsor Spitfires and later with Wichita of the CHL before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Paul Mulvey in the summer of 1982.  Barnes had a cup of coffee with the Kings during the 1982-83 campaign, failing to register a point during his lone NHL appearance.

The final pick in the 1980 NHL Draft produced a fairly decent player in forward Andy Brickley.  Selected by the Philadelphia Flyers with pick number 210, Brickley went on to a fairly length career in the NHL, skating for the Flyers, the Boston Bruins, and briefly for the Winnipeg Jets.  Sprinkle in a couple of hundred games or so in the minors, and the final pick of 1980 played professional hockey right up through 1997.  Brickley scored 82 goals and 140 points in his 385 regular-season NHL contests and was even an AHL Second-Team All-Star in 1983. 

The 1988 NHL Draft lends itself to be somewhat of a history lesson.  The first Russian to have permission from his government to play in the NHL was right-winger Sergei Priakin.  Priakin, a solid professional in the Russian League, and more specifically as a member of Kralja Sovetov Moscow, was selected by the Calgary Flames with the team’s last pick, number 252 overall.  Priakin appeared in just two regular season contests during the 1989-90 campaign, failing to register a point.  However, Priakin found himself in the curious position to appear in a postseason contest with the Flames, who happened to go on to win the Stanley Cup.  Priakin, having played in just three NHL contests, earned an etch on Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Hans Jonsson, a defenseman with MoDo Ornskoldsvik of the Swedish League, was selected last in the 1993 draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Jonsson continued playing with MoDo after being selected by the Penguins and finally made his NHL debut in the 1999-2000 campaign.  Jonsson has remained in Pittsburgh and is proving to be a useful blueliner.

Kim Johnsson, the final selection in the 1994 Entry Draft, was grabbed by the New York Rangers, holders of the 286^th pick.  Johnsson spent two seasons with Big Blue before moving to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the blockbuster Eric Lindros deal and has become a solid defenseman for Philadelphia.  The Malmo native has become one of the league’s best bangers and has the ability to play hard while staying out of the penalty box.

With the 246^th and final pick of the 1997 NHL Draft, the Boston Bruins selected left-winger Jay Henderson.  Henderson’s got 29 NHL contests under his belt, all with the Bruins.  He picked up a goal and a couple of assists before finishing his cup of coffee and is still active, having appeared on the AHL’s Houston Aeros’ roster in 2002-2003.

Will our newest “last” pick, Arseny Bondarev, selected by the New Jersey Devils, make it to the show?  Only time will tell.