When Ace Lightning was taken 8th overall in the S70 SHL Entry Draft by the Toronto North Stars, many hockey pundits on the TV were trying to find comparisons to this player. Bobby Orr? Wayne Gretzky? But it is hard to compare players these days, so we have decided to dig deeper into where specific players were chosen and how those careers ended up. What can the Toronto North Stars expect to get with a defenseman they picked 8th overall?

Here are some other defenseman picked 8th overall and how their careers went. Today we are going to look at the first 32 drafts in the SHL.

Season 1:
Kevin Paille
233GP - 6G - 29A - 35PTS

The very first defenseman taken with the 8th overall pick all the way in S1, Paille ended up playing 5 seasons in the SHL with 5 different teams. He wasn't really a defensive defenseman, and he certainly wasn't successful on the offensive side. This tweener would be considered a bust in the current era.


Season 2:
Dominic Turcotte
489GP - 63G - 160A - 223PTS

This defenseman comes from a user well known to the SHL, @Leafs4ever, so we definitely cannot call them bust material. This is the kind of player and user you want with a pick like that. A 10 season career may seem a little light these days, but at the time, this was a long term player. Turcotte was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets, spending 5 seasons there before finishing his career with stints in Toronto and West Kendall. Nearly a 0.5 point per game player on the backend, but the defensive numbers were most impressive.


Season 6:
Kevin Lebacon
550GP - 106G - 231A - 337PTS

A big french boy from Quebec, Lebacon surprised a lot of people and put up one hell of a career, spending 10 seasons with Hamilton and 2 seasons in the middle with the Edmonton Blizzard. Big offensive numbers and strong on the defensive side, Lebacon certainly is a player that any user would love to have their player end up as.


Season 8:
Jaroslav Sekeras
250GP - 1G - 25A - 26PTS

Technically, Sekeras played 5 seasons in the SHL after being drafted by the Platoon, but in the last 2 seasons he only played 58 total minutes. We love STHS. Anyways, @JayWhy had a hell of a career as a user but it certainly was not with this player. Not Hall of Fame worthy.


Season 10:
Chris Partlow
781GP - 157G - 484A - 641PTS

Although this user is now banned, the player itself is Hall of Fame enshrined and the 8th overall draft pick is considered a steal in the draft. Although drafted by the Los Angeles Panthers, Partlow only played 88 games over 2 seasons there. He made his career in Texas where he played 14 seasons.


Season 17:
Maleek Junior
62GP - 1G - 16A - 17PTS

Although a Toronto draft pick, Junior was shipped to Manhattan along with a 1st and a 2nd for Ondrej Ravchitikov, a player who ended up playing 9 times more SHL games. After 2 years, he was out and the pick was a waste.


Season 18:
Roy Razin
758GP - 143G - 402A - 545PTS

A Russian legend, the user behind Razin is still spitting out players, but Razin was a wonderful pick at 8th overall. 15 seasons in the SHL, all with Manhattan, Razin played a loyal game.


Season 21:
Vsevolod Nikitin
218GP - 25G - 84A - 109PTS

Another Russian player taken 8th overall, Nikitin wasn't exactly a legend. 5 seasons in Seattle was a pretty tidy career and nobody can take that away from him.


Season 26:
Mikelis Grundmanis
547GP - 21G - 80A - 101PTS

Grundmanis played 12 seasons in the SHL, 6 with Hamilton, 4 with Buffalo and his last two in Seattle. He was a competent bottom pairing defenseman for his career, but the coach could count on him to keep the puck in the net. Is that what you want with the 8th overall pick? Maybe not.


Season 32:
Samee Iqbal
389GP - 73G - 176A - 249PTS

The career of Iqbal seems a lot shorter than it should have been. He put up 23 points in his final season in Hamilton, only 9 seasons deep. Was a great career for an 8th overall pick.


Which career will Ace Lightning follow? I'LL LET YOU KNOW IN A FEW YEARS.

That was a really good read, it's always fun to look back on past picks like this.

Andren Akerson (Present)
Adrik Baranov (S55 to S70)
Rurik Razin (S32 to S44)
Roy Razin (S17 to S32) (HOF/Rage HOF)
Audun Wissink (S5 to S15)

Kevin Lebacon was so damn awesome

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. ... There are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.”

Ólafur Atlason| C | SMJHL Prospect | Future Edmonton Blizzard
Birthplace: Reykjavik, Iceland
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SMJHL Season Stats
S76: GP: 0 | G: 0 | A: 0 | P: 0 | 0 | PIM: 0 | Hits: 0 | |
SMJHL Playoff Stats
S76: GP: 0 | G: 0 | A: 0 | P: 0 | 0 | PIM: 0 | Hits: 0 | |
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