Welcome to a brand new series here at The Hockey Writers called “Road to the Draft.” In this series, our draft contributors will count down from 32nd overall all the way to first overall and revisit each player taken with that pick between 2010 and 2021.
The series focuses on comparing players taken at the same spot in their respective draft years and evaluating the biggest success stories and failed projects. We’ll be taking a look at the sixth overall pick, which has seen a lot of elite talent get drafted at that position, but also some major flops.
1963 – Walt McKechnie (C, Toronto Maple Leafs)
1964 – Claude Chagnon (C, Montreal Canadiens)
1965 – George Surmay (G, New York Rangers)
1966 – Steve Atkinson (RW, Detroit Red Wings)
1967 – Bob Dickson (LW, New York Rangers)
1968 – Gary Edwards (G, St. Louis Blues)
1969 – Bob Currier (C, Philadelphia Flyers)
1970 – Chuck Lefley (LW, Montreal Canadiens)
1971 – Ron Jones (D, Boston Bruins)
1972 – Michael Larocque (G, Montreal Canadiens)
1973 – Andre Savard (C, Boston Bruins)
1974 – Doug Hicks (D, Minnesota North Stars)
1975 – Don Ashby (C, Toronto Maple Leafs)
1976 – Don Murdoch (RW, New York Rangers)
1977 – Doug Wilson (D, Chicago Blackhawks)
1978 – Behn Wilson (D, Philadelphia Flyers)
1979 – Craig Hartsburg (D, Minnesota North Stars)
1980 – Paul Coffey (D, Edmonton Oilers)
1981 – Jim Benning (D, Toronto Maple Leafs)
1982 – Phil Housley (D, Buffalo Sabres)
1983 – John MacLean (RW, New Jersey Devils)
1984 – Craig Redmond (D, Los Angeles Kings)
1985 – Brad Dalgarno (RW, New York Islanders)
1986 – Vincent Damphousse (C, Toronto Maple Leafs)
1987 – Dave Archibald (RW, Minnesota North Stars)
1988 – Scott Pearson (LW, Toronto Maple Leafs)
1989 – Adam Bennett (D, Chicago Blackhawks)
1990 – Scott Scissons (C, New York Islanders)
1991 – Peter Forsberg (C, Philadelphia Flyers)
1992 – Cory Stillman (LW, Calgary Flames)
1993 – Viktor Kozlov (C, San Jose Sharks)
1994 – Ryan Smyth (LW, Edmonton Oilers)
1995 – Steve Kelly (C, Edmonton Oilers)
1996 – Boyd Devereaux (C, Edmonton Oilers)
1997 – Daniel Tkaczuk (C, Calgary Flames)
1998 – Rico Fata (RW, Calgary Flames)
1999 – Brian Finley (G, Nashville Predators)
2000 – Scott Harnell (RW, Nashville Predators)
2001 – Mikko Koivu (C, Minnesota Wild)
2002 – Scottie Upshall (RW, Nashville Predators)
2003 – Milan Michalek (LW, San Jose Sharks)
2004 – Al Montoya (G, New York Rangers)
2005 – Gilbert Brule (C, Columbus Blue Jackets)
2006 – Derrick Brassard (C, Columbus Blue Jackets)
2007 – Sam Gagner (C, Edmonton Oilers)
2008 – Nikita Filatov (LW, Columbus Blue Jackets)
2009 – Oliver Ekman-Larsson (D, Phoenix Coyotes)
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