There haven't been many more iconic classes in the NHL Draft in the past few decades in the league than the 2003 entry draft class, which took place a little over two decades ago in hockey. Highlighted by Marc-Andre Fleury and Eric Staal, the 2003 draft class is guaranteed to yield a number of Hall-of-Fame inductees.
Marc-Andre Fleury and Eric Staal lead arguably the great class in NHL Draft history from the 2003 class
We also have multiple Stanley Cup Champions from this draft class who defined the late 2000s and early-to-mid 2010s decades in the NHL.
This was the first draft lottery from the 2000s in the NHL early in that decade that saw the Los Angeles Kings get a lottery pick in the first round.
The first few rounds of the 2003 draft class in the NHL have gone down as a legendary group, with well over a dozen players from this class having played over 1,000 career games in the regular season.
This draft class also includes the last remaining active player from the pre-lockout period in the NHL, defenseman Brent Burns of the Colorado Avalanche this season.
Here's a redraft of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft lottery in the first round.
There is no reason in my mind why the Pittsburgh Penguins would make another pick in this hypothetical redrafting of the 2003 draft lottery at No. 1 overall besides legendary goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. It wasn't common to see goalies getting drafted first overall in the NHL in the entry draft at the time in the early 2000s decade.
But if any goalie has lived up to the hype of the first overall pick in the legendary 2003 draft class in this hypothetical reimagining of the lottery from this year, it is probably Fleury. No goalie has won more games, started more games, and/or had more shutouts in the regular season in this draft class from 2003 than Fleury for the Penguins.
Fleury also won three Stanley Cups (three with the Penguins) and won the Vezina Trophy and Jennings Trophy in the 2020-21 season.
Similar to the case with Fleury, I don't think it would make much sense for the Carolina Hurricanes to pick anyone else in the No. 2 overall slot in the first round in this redrafting of the 2003 draft than center Eric Staal. Could the Hurricanes pick someone else and have it make sense in an argument at the center position?
Probably.
But knowing what we know now that Staal won a Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 (the first in franchise history) and he captained the team for nearly a decade, I think it's best to keep him here at second overall in the 2003 draft lottery in the first round.
Staal has played the most career regular season games of any center in this draft class and he ranks second in total points (1,063).
This is the first pick in this hypothetical redrafting of the 2003 draft lottery in the first round that is different in the top three than who the Florida Panthers picked at No. 3 overall.
The Panthers originally picked forward Nathan Horton in the 2003 draft lottery in the first round. Instead of picking Horton, the Panthers get a Stanley Cup-winning center and a longtime two-way respected player in center Patrice Bergeron at No. 3 overall in the first round in the lottery.
Bergeron is one of just four forwards from this draft class from '03 who played over 1,000 career regular season games and scored over 1,000 career points. Bergeron scored over 100 points in his career in the postseason and won the Selke Trophy six times in his career with the Boston Bruins over the course of nearly two decades.