Online Table Games

Biggest NHL Draft Steals (Late Picks Who Became Stars)

Draft steals deliver massive surplus value: late-round players who became All-Stars or Hall of Famers. These players were passed over by every team multiple times, then developed into franchise cornerstones who outproduced most first-round picks. The greatest steals combine elite production with extremely late draft position, making teams look genius and the rest of the league foolish. This article ranks the biggest draft steals across all positions.

January 25, 2026

Defining Draft Steals

What makes a late pick a true steal:

Draft steals come from rounds 4-7 (picks 100+) or very late in rounds 2-3 (picks 60-99). They must achieve All-Star level production, major awards, or Hall of Fame careers. The value comes from the gap between draft position and actual performance.

Key Factors:

Extremely late draft position (100+ ideal)
All-Star or Hall of Fame career
Major awards (Hart, Norris, Vezina, Selke)
500+ points or 300+ wins for goalies
Multiple teams passed multiple times

First-round picks show up all the time in Gridzy categories. Try Gridzy Hockey and see if you can solve today's grid without reaching for the obvious names.

Greatest Forward Steals

Late-round forwards who became superstars:

Luc Robitaille (171st, 1984 - Los Angeles Kings)

1,394 career points, 668 goals, Hall of Fame 2009. Every team passed on him six times.

Career Highlights:

1,394 points (42nd all-time)
668 goals (17th all-time)
Eight 40+ goal seasons
Stanley Cup champion (2002)
1993 Hart Trophy finalist

Robitaille's skating was considered too slow, so scouts passed. He became one of the greatest left wingers ever.

Joe Pavelski (205th, 2003 - San Jose Sharks)

1,068 career points, 476 goals. Passed over until seventh round, became elite two-way forward.

Production:

1,068 career points
476 goals
Multiple 30+ goal seasons
San Jose/Dallas franchise player
Elite playoff performer

Pavelski represents perfect value pick: consistent production for 18 seasons from seventh-round selection.

Jamie Benn (129th, 2007 - Dallas Stars)

934+ career points, Art Ross Trophy (2015), Dallas captain.

Success:

934+ points
Art Ross winner (2015)
Multiple All-Star selections
Stars captain since 2013

Benn's fifth-round selection became one of Dallas's best draft picks ever.

If you can rattle off draft classes and #1 picks, you're already halfway to perfect runs in Gridzy — the daily NHL grid game built for hockey nerds.

Mark Stone (178th, 2010 - Ottawa Senators/Vegas)

660+ career points, Selke Trophy finalist, Vegas captain.

Career:

660+ points
Elite two-way winger
Vegas Golden Knights captain
Consistent 60-70 point producer

Stone's sixth-round selection paid massive dividends for Ottawa before Vegas trade.

Henrik Zetterberg (210th, 1999 - Detroit Red Wings)

960 career points, Conn Smythe Trophy (2008), four-time All-Star.

Detroit Legacy:

960 points in 1,082 games
Stanley Cup champion (2008)
Conn Smythe Trophy
Seventh-round steal

Zetterberg's seventh-round selection became cornerstone of Detroit's 2000s success.

Greatest Defenseman Steals

Late-round blue-liners who became elite:

Sergei Zubov (85th, 1990 - New York Rangers/Dallas)

771 career points, two Stanley Cups, elite offensive defenseman.

Production:

771 points from defense
Two Cups (1994, 1999)
Elite power-play quarterback
Underrated offensive blue-liner

Zubov's fourth-round selection produced Hall of Fame-caliber career.

Zdeno Chara (56th, 1996 - New York Islanders/Ottawa/Boston)

680 career points, Norris Trophy (2009), 6-foot-9 shutdown defender.

Success:

680 points across 1,680 games
Norris Trophy winner
Stanley Cup champion (2011)
Boston captain

Chara's third-round selection became one of best value defensemen ever.

Want a smarter way to use draft knowledge than arguing about busts? Play Gridzy Hockey and prove you can connect draft status, teams, and achievements.

Greatest Goaltender Steals

Late-round netminders who became legends:

Dominik Hasek (199th, 1983 - Chicago Blackhawks/Buffalo/Detroit)

389 wins, six Vezina Trophies, two Hart Trophies, Hall of Fame 2014.

Legendary Career:

Six Vezina Trophies (most ever for modern goalie)
Two Hart Trophies (only modern goalie)
.922 career save percentage
Stanley Cup champion (2002)

Hasek's tenth-round selection is arguably the greatest draft steal in NHL history. Every team passed on him seven times.

Henrik Lundqvist (205th, 2000 - New York Rangers)

459 wins, Vezina Trophy (2012), Rangers all-time leader, Hall of Fame 2023.

Rangers Icon:

459 career wins
Vezina Trophy (2012)
.918 career save percentage
Seventh-round steal

Lundqvist's seventh-round selection gave Rangers 15 years of elite goaltending.

Pekka Rinne (258th, 2004 - Nashville Predators)

369 wins, Vezina Trophy (2018), Nashville franchise goaltender.

Nashville Legacy:

369 career wins
Vezina Trophy winner
Four-time All-Star
Eighth-round steal

Rinne's eighth-round selection became Nashville's franchise goalie for over a decade.

Tim Thomas (217th, 1994 - Boston Bruins)

196 wins, two Vezina Trophies (2009, 2011), Conn Smythe Trophy (2011).

Late Bloomer:

Two Vezina Trophies
Conn Smythe Trophy
Stanley Cup champion (2011)
.920 career save percentage

Thomas didn't become NHL regular until age 28, but his peak was elite.

Why Teams Missed These Players

Common reasons for late-round steals:

Size Concerns: Luc Robitaille (6-foot-1), Mark Stone (6-foot-4 but slight), Jamie Benn (6-foot-2) considered too small or not physical enough.

Skating Issues: Robitaille's skating considered too slow despite elite hands and hockey IQ.

Late Developers: Many steals bloomed late in junior or college, after draft year scouting.

Positional Scarcity: Goalies harder to project, leading to Hasek, Lundqvist, Rinne falling.

International Unknowns: European players less scouted in 1980s-1990s, causing teams to miss Hasek, Zetterberg.

Modern Draft Steals

Recent late-round successes:

Ondrej Palat (208th, 2011 - Tampa Bay) Multiple Cups, 400+ points, elite two-way winger from seventh round.

Jonathan Marchessault (75th, 2011 - Columbus/Vegas) 500+ points, Conn Smythe Trophy (2023), elite goal-scorer from third round.

Mark Giordano (No pick, undrafted - Calgary) Norris Trophy (2019), 500+ points, elite defenseman never drafted.

Modern scouting has reduced extreme steals, but late-round gems still exist.

Statistical Analysis

Success rates by draft round:

Round 1: 60% become NHL regulars, 35% All-Stars

Round 2: 40% become NHL regulars, 15% All-Stars

Round 3: 25% become NHL regulars, 8% All-Stars

Rounds 4-7: 10% become NHL regulars, 2% All-Stars

This makes Hasek, Lundqvist, and Robitaille even more remarkable: they're in the 2% who became elite from late rounds.

The Verdict

The greatest draft steals combine extremely late selection with Hall of Fame careers. Dominik Hasek (199th, six Vezinas) represents the ultimate steal: tenth-round pick who became arguably the best goalie of his generation.

Luc Robitaille (171st, 1,394 points) and Henrik Lundqvist (205th, 459 wins) prove that elite talent can be found anywhere in the draft with proper scouting and development.

Play Gridzy Hockey Free Every Day

Gridzy Hockey is Shurzy's daily NHL grid game where you pretend you're "just messing around" and then suddenly you're 15 minutes deep arguing with yourself about whether some 2009 fourth-liner qualifies as a 40-goal guy.

You get nine guesses to fill a 3×3 grid, you can't reuse players, and every pick is either a genius flex or instant regret, so yeah, it's basically hockey trivia with stakes.

New grid drops every day at 6:00am ET, which is perfect because nothing says "healthy morning routine" like panicking over who won the Lady Byng in 1998. If you think you know puck, prove it.

Go play Gridzy right now!

‍

Share this post: