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Got the idea for this a little while ago, while looking at old NHL draft listings, trying to figure out where it all went wrong for my beloved Hartford Whalers.

It's funny how one player taken one or two picks earlier (by The Whale) could have changed the entire course of the franchise...and with The Whale, it's not just ONE player, it's a depressing string of poor draft choices when you consider the guy who went IMMEDIATELY AFTER the player the team did pick.

So, considering the niche that Sports What Ifs have around here, I figured this would be a nice little exercise for heart-broken sports fans from all across AH.com.

Use these sites for reference...

http://www.hockey-reference.com/

http://www.basketball-reference.com/

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/


Only two rules:

1. You can't "Over-reach": You may pick a player taken no more than five picks after your team's pick.

2. You may only pick a player taken in a later round if that pick conforms to rule one (example: Pick was last pick in round 2, player was taken within the first five picks of round 3.)


Without further ado...

Building the Perfect Beast: The Whalers Drafts, 1982-1985

1982 was actually a solid draft for the Whalers; they took Kevin Dineen, Ulf Samuelsson and Ray Ferraro in this draft, as their 3rd, 4th and 5th picks respectively. All three of those players would play big parts on the playoff teams of the mid to late 80's.

Could have been a better draft on the whole, particularly in rounds 1 and 2 where the could have added two game changing wingers and in round 7 where they could have landed an absolute steal.

So, in 1982: Give me back The Whale's 1st, 2nd and 7th round picks:

1st Round, 14th Overall:

The Whalers took LW Paul Lawless. They had need for forwards, they had need for everything, but Lawless wasn't the answer, especially if they wanted an impact player on the left side.

For that, I'm taking LW Dave Andreychuk, taken by the Buffalo Sabres at #16.


2nd Round, 35th Overall:

The Whalers took D Mark Paterson. They didn't need him and should have concentrated on another solid forward, this one on the right side.

For that, I'll take RW Tomas Sandstrom, taken by the Rangers with the very next pick.


7th Round, 130th Overall:

Now for The Steal: Center Doug Gilmour, taken by the Blues four picks later at 134.

Dougie's the kind of steal every GM in every sport dreams of snatching up in the late rounds: Early round talent at a late round price. Keep him or trade him, he's got more value than the Whalers ever got out of Jim Johannson, a high school player from Rochester Minnesota that never made it to the NHL.


1983 Draft: "We're NOT as stupid as The North Stars!"

In 1983, the Whalers had TWO picks in the 1st round (#2 and #20) and, while they didn't blow their pick anywhere NEAR as bad as Minnesota did, they still blew it. Big time.

But, with Andreychuk in hand from the '82 Draft, I don't NEED an impact left winger, like the Whalers envisioned Sylvain Turgeon to be when they took him at #2.

I'll level with you, the hockey fans amongst you will be kinda surprised by who I'd take at #2, but I have a reason for it.


Round 1, 2nd Overall:

Pat LaFontaine, C, Verdun Juniors, QMJHL.

Yeah, the rest of you would have taken Stevie Yzerman and, given a crystal ball, so would I...but I'm going based on pure junior stats and Pat DEMOLISHED the QMJHL as a 17 year old in '82-'83: 104 goals. Let me repeat that: 104 GOALS. 130 assists. Again, he not only scored 104 goals- in 70 games- he also set up 130 more. 234 points. In the QMJHL.

Just for comparison, a year later, the Pittsburgh Penguins would take another QMJHL center, this one from the Laval Voisins, who put up 133 goals and 149 assists (282 points) named Mario Lemieux with the #1 pick.

I'm not saying LaFontaine's Lemieux, but Pat was capable of BIG numbers and posted 'em. I only use the comparison in this respect: If the guy who demolished the QMJHL in '83-'84 was good enough to go 1st in 1984, the guy who ran up 234 points (104 of them goals) in '82-'83 should have been regarded highly enough to go #1 or #2 in 1983. The North Stars decided they wanted Brian Lawton (for whatever public relations reason they cooked up to convince themselves it was a good idea) and left LaFontaine on the table.

I'm picking, I'm taking LaFontaine over Sly or Stevie Y.


1st Round, 20th Overall:

I'm going to try and trade this one. If anyone can think of a good destination and what might have been offered, let me know.


2nd Round, 23rd Overall:

I'm taking RW Claude Lemieux (taken by the Habs at 26th).

Ulfie and Claude on the same team.

Yeah...it'll be a filthy team.

But so were those legendary Broadstreet Bullies teams, and they won Cups. Cups keep teams from relocating. That's the mission here.


4th Round, 65 Overall:

Mikko Makela, RW. Claude's a bruiser, Mikko's a scorer. What put an end to his days as an effective player, I'm not sure, but it could be butterflied away in Hartford. The Isles took him with the very next pick...


4th Round, 74th Overall:

Taking goalie Daren Puppa. Puppa had the skills and would have been just about ready to become the starter when Mike Liut began to decline. Also, he wasn't the headcase Sean Burke was AND it wouldn't cost us Bobby Holik to get him. (Buffalo took Puppa at 76)


6th Round, 107th Overall:

Right on the cusp of over-reach, I'm taking big left winger Kevin Stevens (sorry Mario) with the 107th pick, before the the Kings can grab this late round gem at 112.

Maybe I can trade this pick with Philly and take Tocchet at 125th, as I'd like to take a big physical right wing, rather than over-stacking the left side.

Hell, maybe I can take Stevens and trade him FOR Tocchet.

As it stands, I want Tocchet but can't reach that far, so the only way to get him would be through a trade.


Okay, this ran longer than I thought, so I'll cut it off here and post up 1984 and 1985 later.

Remember, any sport you want and don't worry about making similar moves as someone else in the thread; it's not a game, it's a thought exercise/fantasy draft/"How I'd have done it if I were in charge..." sort of thing, and just because someone else would have picked a player you would have picked for your team, doesn't mean you couldn't have done the same thing.
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