June 2009 was a weird time for hockey. The Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins were fresh off a grueling seven-game Stanley Cup Final that felt like the end of an era. Meanwhile, in Montreal, the Bell Centre was vibrating. Everyone knew John Tavares was going first. It wasn't a secret. The New York Islanders had basically been counting down the seconds since the lottery. But looking back at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft now, the real story isn't about the "sure thing" at the top. It’s about the massive gambles that paid off, the defensive stars that changed the league's geometry, and the absolute busts that still make certain fanbases wince when they see a #4 jersey.
Honestly, the 2009 class is arguably the most influential of the post-lockout era because of how it shaped the modern puck-moving defenseman. We weren't just getting players; we were getting a shift in philosophy.
The Tavares Era and the Islanders’ Pivot
John Tavares was a phenom. You’ve probably heard the stories about him getting "exceptional status" to play in the OHL at 14. By the time the Islanders took him first overall, the pressure was immense. He lived up to it, mostly. He became the face of a franchise that was, frankly, a bit of a mess at the time. He dragged them to the playoffs. He scored the series-clinching goal against Florida in 2016. Then he left for Toronto in free agency, which still makes Isles fans see red.
But what about the rest of the top five?
Victor Hedman went second to Tampa Bay. If you’re building a team from scratch today, there’s a massive argument that Hedman was actually the "correct" first overall pick. He’s a mountain. He skates like a winger. He has two Stanley Cups and a Norris Trophy. Tampa’s dynasty doesn't happen without that specific pick. Then you have Matt Duchene at third. High skill, high speed, but he’s become the ultimate NHL nomad, bouncing from Colorado to Ottawa, Columbus, Nashville, and Dallas. He was the first player in that draft to really show how "player empowerment" might look in hockey, eventually forcing his way out of the Avalanche during their dark years.
Then things get spicy at four. Evander Kane.
The Atlanta Thrashers needed a spark. Kane had the tools—power, speed, scoring touch. But his career became a whirlwind of locker room drama, legal battles, and eventually a career resurgence in Edmonton. He’s the ultimate "what if" player of this draft. If he had stayed focused, could he have been a 50-goal scorer? Probably.
The Defenders Who Ruled the League
While the forwards took the headlines, the 2009 NHL Entry Draft was secretly the "Year of the Blueliner."
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Think about the names that came off the board. You had Hedman at #2, but then you had Oliver Ekman-Larsson at #6. For about five years in Arizona, "OEL" was a top-five defenseman in the world. He was playing 25 minutes a night on a team that barely had a budget. Then look at Jared Cowen at #9. Big, physical, old-school. He didn't last. The game passed him by almost immediately as the NHL shifted toward speed.
Then came the steals.
Ryan Ellis went 11th to Nashville. He’s barely 5'10", and in 2009, people were still terrified of small defensemen. Nashville wasn't. They built a factory of mobile defenders, and Ellis was a cornerstone of that bridge-period between the Shea Weber era and the Roman Josi era. Nick Leddy went 16th to Minnesota. Dmitry Orlov went 55th. Mattias Ekholm—another Nashville gem—lasted until the 102nd pick.
The real outlier? Tyson Barrie at 64th.
Barrie is the quintessential 2009 draft success story. He’s an undersized, offensive-minded defenseman who would have been ignored ten years earlier. In the 2009 context, he became a power-play specialist who has put up over 500 career points. That’s insane value for a third-round pick.
The Massive Whiffs That Changed Franchises
We have to talk about the misses. It’s only fair.
The Vancouver Canucks took Jordan Schroeder at 22. He was a local hero in the US college system, but his size just didn't translate to the pro game. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens—hosting the draft, mind you—took Louis Leblanc at 18. The crowd went nuts because he was a local kid. He played 50 NHL games total. The pressure of being a "hometown savior" picked in your own building is a heavy lift, and unfortunately, Leblanc never found his footing.
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But the biggest "ouch" moment? Scott Glennie.
The Dallas Stars took him 8th overall. He played one NHL game. One. In a draft where they could have had Nick Leddy, Chris Kreider, or Ryan Ellis, the Stars swung for a high-ceiling forward and hit nothing but air. It set their rebuild back years.
Why 2009 Still Matters in 2026
You might wonder why we’re still dissecting a draft from nearly two decades ago. It’s because the 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the birth of the "Transition Game."
Before this, the NHL was still shaking off the "Clutch and Grab" era. Teams wanted size. They wanted grit. But look at the stars of this class: Ryan O'Reilly (33rd overall), Brayden Schenn (5th), and Mike Hoffman (130th!). These guys aren't just bruisers. They are high-IQ players who can play 200 feet. O'Reilly, specifically, is the gold standard for a "late" bloomer. St. Louis doesn't win a Cup in 2019 without him. He was the Conn Smythe winner. He was the 33rd pick in 2009.
It taught scouts that the "Second Round" is where you actually win championships.
The Goalie Graveyard
If you want to see where scouts failed most in 2009, look at the goaltenders. It was a disaster.
The first goalie taken was Mikko Koskinen at 31st overall. He didn't become a regular NHLer until years later, and even then, his tenure in Edmonton was... polarizing. The second goalie? Edward Pasquale. Third? Robin Lehner at 46th. Lehner is the only one who truly became a star, winning the Jennings and being a Vezina finalist.
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The rest of the goalie class included names like Olivier Roy and Matt Hackett. If you’re a GM, 2009 taught you one thing: never, ever use a first-round pick on a goalie unless his name is Carey Price or Marc-Andre Fleury. It’s just too risky.
Key Takeaways for Hockey Historians
Looking at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft through a modern lens reveals a few hard truths about how we evaluate talent.
First, the "Consensus Top Three" (Tavares, Hedman, Duchene) actually held up. That’s rare. Usually, one of those guys falls off a cliff. Instead, they all became elite. Second, the mid-round value was staggering. When you can find a Conn Smythe winner like O'Reilly in the second round or a 30-goal scorer like Mike Hoffman in the fifth, your scouting department is earning their paycheck.
Finally, the 2009 draft was the beginning of the end for the "Big But Slow" defenseman. If you couldn't skate out of the zone, you were obsolete by 2012.
To truly understand how your favorite team is built today, you have to look at the draft philosophy established in 2009. It moved the needle from "size matters" to "speed kills."
How to Evaluate Your Team’s Drafting Today
If you want to apply the lessons of 2009 to current NHL rosters, start looking for these markers:
- The "Reach" Factor: Did your team take a "safe" player at #8 like Scott Glennie, or did they take a high-skill gamble?
- Defensive Mobility: Look at your team’s third pairing. Are they "stayers" or "movers"? The 2009 draft proved that "movers" have much longer shelf lives.
- Second Round ROI: Check who your team took between picks 31 and 60. If they aren't finding a Ryan O'Reilly type once every five years, the scouting staff is likely trailing the league average.
Study the career arcs of Victor Hedman and John Tavares. One stayed and built a legacy; the other sought a new one. Both defined an entire generation of hockey.