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Jesper Bratt: from 6th-round pick to 1st-line player

 Sarah Jones
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Jesper Bratt: from 6th-round pick to 1st-line player
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot
The National Hockey League draft is anything but a sure thing.

There are disappointments and surprises every year, but some stand out more than others.

Alexandre Daigle is the first flop to come to mind, but Nail Yakupov is not to be forgotten.

When you think of very good players who were drafted late, the newly retired Joe Pavelski, who was a 7th-round pick in 2003, is a good example.

We can also think of Pavel Datsyuk (6th round) and Henrik Zetterberg (7th round), who were the rainmakers in Detroit for a long time.

For the past three years, Jesper Bratt has been proving to other teams that they shouldn’t have let him slip to the 6th round in 2016 and that he belonged in the top-10 of his draft.

The 25-year-old Swede is the 6th-highest scorer in the 2016 draft.

As can be seen in the tweet above, Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Alex DeBrincat, Clayton Keller and Patrik Laine are ahead of the diminutive Swedish forward.

Bratt, however, has played the fewest games, according to this HockeyDB ranking, which ranks players by points amassed.

(Credit: HockeyDB)
The Swede is coming off his first season of more than one point per game (83 points).

It took him some time to establish himself as a good first-line player, as he was often injured.

However, he seems to have stabilized with time, enjoying his second consecutive 82-game season, plus a 76-game season in 2021-22.

Defenseman Adam Fox is not far behind in 8th place, with 308 points in 357 games.

Not bad for a defenseman drafted early in the 3rd round.

Alex DeBrincat, drafted in the 2nd round but already with 440 points in 532 games, is another pleasant surprise.

There have been far too many talented little players slipping down the rankings.

Managers are often afraid to draft a raw talent with a small frame, for fear that his game won’t translate as well against men.

Martin St-Louis is another good example. MSL was never drafted, but amassed over 1,000 career points.

Don’t be afraid to try a home run with late picks, because the rate of late draft picks making it to the NHL is already low.


Overtime

– A few photos of Brendan Gallagher and his wife, Emma Fortin, on their honeymoon.

– Read more.

– Hard to argue with that.

– Interesting.

– I must say, I’d never heard of “Hurling” before this tweet. I’d be curious to listen to a game.

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