Even though the 2025 NHL Draft is still a few weeks away, the first two picks seem pretty much locked in with defenseman Matthew Schaefer as the first overall pick to the New York Islanders and Michael Misa to the San Jose Sharks. While the Los Angeles Kings won't be in a position to select either of these prospects, they were in a similar situation in 2008 when they had the second overall pick.
In that draft class, it seemed that there were two clear choices for who the top prospect was going to be, with forward Steven Stamkos and defenseman Drew Doughty. That year, the Tampa Bay Lightning had the first overall pick, and the Kings would select next, so the decision for who they were going to take was really out of their hands. They would have selected the player whom the Lightning didn't.
Los Angeles Kings knew who they wanted in the 2008 NHL Draft and would have selected Drew Doughty first overall
However, recently former assistant general manager Mike Futa made what would seem to be a surprising statement on the surface but makes sense when digging into it more. He said that the Kings going into the draft would have select Drew Doughty over Steven Stamkos if they had the first overall pick.
"If we had the first pick overall, we were taking Doughty because we felt right-shot D, the position was so much more valuable," Futa said.
The picks certainly worked out for both franchises as Doughty and Stamkos have been excellent players for their respective franchises. Stamkos was a seven-time All-Star for the Lightning and helped them win two Stanley Cups in 16 seasons before leaving for the Nashville Predators this past offseason.
Meanwhile, Drew Doughty was a five-time All-Star, won the Norris Trophy once and helped the Kings win two Stanley Cups. He is expected to enter his 18th season with the franchise and is still a big part of what this team does.
The top of the 2008 NHL Draft ended up being a win-win for everyone involved as the players ended up where they were supposed to be and both franchises got great players.