The defenseman who the Atlanta Thrashers picked in the 2004 draft lottery at No. 10 overall in the first round, Boris Valabik, was the only blue liner selected in the top 10 of the 2004 draft who didn't play 100 career regular season games in the league.
A better pick here for the Thrashers in Atlanta to bolster the defense and goals allowed in the 2000s and 2010s decades would've been goalie Cory Schneider.
Schneider slides up 16 spots to be selected just inside the top 10 by the Thrashers at 10th overall in this hypothetical reimagining of the 2004 draft lottery. He could've given the Thrashers/the Winnipeg Jets a much-needed boost and stable presence in net as a starting goaltender in the 2010s decade.
He led this draft class among goaltenders in career save percentage (.918) and he made over 350 career starts in the regular season for the Devils and Vancouver Canucks.
We have a run of two straight players who were originally selected by the Canucks in the first three rounds of the 2004 draft. Defenseman Alexander Edler, who was originally picked 91st in the third round by the Canucks, goes two rounds higher in this hypothetical redraft to the Kings.
Tukonen, who was the Kings' original first-round pick in the lottery at No. 11, was one of just two forwards picked in the 2004 draft lottery in the first round who didn't play 100 career regular season games in the league.
Ironically, Edler finished his career playing for the Kings in Los Angeles in the early 2020s decade, just a few years ago. If Edler had played for the Kings in the West in the 2000s and 2010s also, he could've helped LA be even more competitive and successful in the postseason in that decade for the franchise.
Had it not been for unfortunate injury issues and concussions, former longtime Red Wings forward Johan Franzen would've gone even higher in this redraft from the 2004 draft lottery in the first round. Franzen was picked as a steal in the third round (97th overall) by the Red Wings in the 2004 entry draft.
In this hypothetical redraft of the 2004 draft lottery in the first round, we have Franzen going 85 picks higher to the Wild at No. 12 overall in the top 15. He would be an upgrade from Minnesota's original No. 12 overall pick in the 2004 draft lottery in the first round, defenseman A.J. Thelen. Franzen, at his peak, was a gifted goal scorer around the net for the Red Wings.
Franzen had an unlucky fortune to end his career, getting put on long-term injured reserve with the Red Wings in Detroit in the mid-2010s decade before retiring due to concussions.
Thelen was the only player who was picked in the 2004 draft lottery in the first round who didn't play a single game in the NHL in his hockey career.