The 2019 NHL Draft was the first time I started learning about prospects and how a player gets drafted into the NHL. 13 year-old me was immediately hooked, and wanted to learn everything there was about prospects. Now, six years later, I think it is time to revisit the first round of the 2019 draft and look at how the top 10 picks turned out.
Jack Hughes: New Jersey Devils
After racking up an incredible 100 points in just 50 games with the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP), Jack Hughes entered the 2019 NHL Draft as the clear-cut favorite to go first overall. However, his early NHL seasons were underwhelming, posting just 21 points as a rookie and 31 in his sophomore campaign, raising concerns among New Jersey Devils fans about whether he’d live up to the hype. But Hughes quickly silenced the doubters. In the 2022–23 season, he broke out in a big way, recording a career-high 99 points in 78 games. While injuries have shortened some of his seasons, there’s no question Hughes is now a bona fide NHL star. He’s being paid like one, earning $8 million annually through the 2029-30 season. As the face of the Devils, Hughes is poised to lead the franchise for years to come.
Kaapo Kakko: New York Rangers
This one stings as a Rangers fan. Kaapo Kakko was seen as a generational talent to complement Jack Hughes in the 2019 draft. After a record-breaking 22-goal season with TPS Turku, his size and skill made him look like a future star. But rushed development and NHL pressure stalled his growth.
Despite just 17 points in 48 games during the 2020–21 season, he remained in the league when he likely should’ve been sent to the American Hockey League (AHL). His peak with the Rangers was a modest 40-point season in 2022–23. After putting up only 14 points in 30 games last year, Kakko was traded to Seattle for Will Borgen and two 2025 draft picks, used on Sean Barnhill and Samuel Jung. Now with the Kraken, Kakko is showing signs of the player Rangers fans hoped he’d become.
Kirby Dach: Chicago Blackhawks
At least Rangers fans can be glad they didn’t draft Kirby Dach: arguably one of the biggest busts from the 2019 class. At 6-foot-4, 220-plus pounds, Dach had the size and skill, showing promise as a passer with scoring upside in the Western Hockey League (WHL). He started slowly with the Chicago Blackhawks but impressed with six points in nine games during the 2020 bubble playoffs. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his progress. Despite a solid 38-point showing in 58 games during the 2022–23 season, Dach has never played more than 70 games in a year. Now a depth forward with the Montreal Canadiens, he was dealt at the 2022 draft for a first and third rounder, used on Frank Nazar and Gavin Hayes. A career marred by setbacks.
Bowen Byram: Colorado Avalanche
Somewhere, former Ottawa Senators general manager (GM) Pierre Dorion is probably punching a brick wall over this one. In the blockbuster Matt Duchene trade that sent the center to the Senators, Dorion handed the Avalanche a 2019 first-round pick, one they used to select Bowen Byram. A physical, highly touted defenseman from the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, Byram spent about three years developing between junior and the NHL before making a real impact in Colorado. He became a key piece of their blue line and won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in the 2021–22 season. At the 2024 Trade Deadline, Byram was moved to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt. In Buffalo, Byram signed a $6.25 million extension that runs through the end of the 2026–27 season, and he’s more than lived up to it. While he may not always show up on the scoresheet, he’s a defensive force and incredibly tough to play against. There’s a reason he was taken fourth overall.
Alex Turcotte: Los Angeles Kings
After a standout season with the USNTDP, Alex Turcotte was a highly-touted prospect bringing speed, scoring touch, and grit. He spent the 2019–20 season at the University of Wisconsin, where he was nearly a point-per-game player, before making the jump to professional hockey. However, much like Dach, Turcotte’s career has been derailed by injuries and inconsistency. He’s only appeared in 100 NHL games to date and finally cracked the Los Angeles Kings’ lineup this past season. In 69 games, he scored nine goals and totaled 25 points. While it’s a step forward, it’s still far from what the Kings were hoping for when they selected him fifth overall.
Moritz Seider: Detroit Red Wings
Moritz (Mo) Seider’s reaction to being drafted sixth overall was pure shock, and he wasn’t the only one. Almost no one expected him to go that high, and Detroit Red Wings fans were ready to revolt, demanding GM Steve Yzerman’s head for the surprise pick. But as it turns out, this part of the “Yzer-plan” is playing out to perfection.
Seider has developed into one of the NHL’s top defensemen, proving the doubters wrong. He captured the Calder Trophy in the 2021–22 season after posting 50 points across all 82 games. Remarkably, he’s yet to miss a single NHL game, riding an active 328-game Ironman streak. Now firmly entrenched as Detroit’s top blueliner, Seider is being paid like a cornerstone, carrying an $8.55 million cap hit through the end of the 2030–31 season.
Dylan Cozens: Buffalo Sabres
Dylan Cozens came into the league with plenty of hype after a strong junior career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL. One of the rare NHL players from Canada’s northern territories, the Whitehorse, Yukon native brought a unique story and big expectations to Buffalo. His early years with the Sabres featured some growing pains, but he broke out in the 2022–23 season with 68 points, earning a $7.1 million extension that runs through the 2029–30 season.
Related: The NHL’s Top 100 Prospects – Midseason Update
However, since signing that deal, Cozens’ production has declined noticeably. At the 2025 Trade Deadline, he was dealt to the Senators alongside Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round pick in exchange for Jacob Bernard-Docker and Josh Norris. Since arriving in Ottawa, Cozens has been solid, posting 16 points in 21 games. The big question now is whether this change of scenery can finally unlock his full potential.
Philip Broberg: Edmonton Oilers
There were plenty of growing pains for the Oilers when it came to Philip Broberg. While he excelled in the AHL, translating that success to the NHL proved difficult, as he struggled to stay productive for extended stretches. He finally cracked the Oilers’ roster just in time for a strong showing in the 2023–24 playoffs, playing 10 solid games as Edmonton pushed the Florida Panthers to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. His postseason performance caught the attention of the St. Louis Blues, who extended him a $4.58 million offer sheet. Edmonton chose not to match, and Broberg made the move to Missouri. With the Blues, he’s been respectable, tallying 29 points in 68 games, but overall, it’s a disappointing outcome for the Oilers, who had hoped for much more from their first-round pick.
Trevor Zegras: Anaheim Ducks
Trevor Zegras has always had elite skill, something that’s been evident throughout his hockey career. A product of the USNTDP, Zegras went on to star at Boston University for a season before making the leap to the NHL. He broke out with a 61-point campaign in 2021–22, then followed it up with 65 points the next season. Along the way, he scored some jaw-dropping goals, including a Michigan goal and a highlight-reel assist that still hasn’t been replicated in the league. But things took a turn in 2023–24, when injuries limited him to just 31 games.
The following season wasn’t much better, Zegras was again sidelined and managed only 32 points in 57 games with the Anaheim Ducks. As a result, he was traded this offseason to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-rounder. Now in the Metropolitan Division, the hope is that Zegras can rediscover his offensive magic and get back to being one of the league’s most electrifying talents.
Vasili Podkolzin: Vancouver Canucks
The first Russian selected in the draft, Vasili Podkolzin’s career mirrors Broberg’s in some ways. Both struggled to secure consistent NHL roles with their original teams and found new life after changing scenery. Podkolzin never solidified his spot in the Canucks’ lineup and was traded to the Oilers in the summer of 2024 for a 2025 fourth-round pick. With Edmonton, he finally found his stride, playing a key role in the Oilers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final that spring. For the Canucks, though, Podkolzin is yet another first-round pick that didn’t pan out.
Final Thoughts:
The 2019 NHL Draft’s top 10 was highly polarizing. While it featured high-end talents like Hughes and Seider, it was also marked by numerous busts and players who needed trades to reach their potential. Overall, the top 10 has been largely disappointing. However, the rest of the draft still produced some standout players. Later first-round picks like Matt Boldy, Cole Caufield, and Alex Newhook impressed, while second-round gems such as Nils Höglander and Brett Leason added depth. The third round saw Aliaksei Protas selected by Washington and Matias Maccelli by the Arizona Coyotes (now Utah Mammoth). The bottom three rounds offered little star power but did uncover players like Mark Kastelic, Arturs Silovs, Juuso Parssinen, and Dustin Wolf. All in all, the 2019 Draft was an intriguing one, especially when it came to the top 10 picks.
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