The 2006 NHL Draft produced some of the most prolific and recognizable players of this past two decades. This draft class includes Stanley Cup Champions, longtime franchise cornerstones, and multiple players who remained productive well into their 30s.
In fact, some of the players from this draft class are still active today going into the 2026-27 season. Twenty years later, it's interesting to look back at how differently the top of the draft could have unfolded in hindsight.
Players such as Jonathan Toews and Nicklas Backstrom were already top-five picks, while future stars like Brad Marchand and Claude Giroux were available later in the draft.
How the 2006 NHL Draft lottery would look 20 years later
The Los Angeles Kings did have a pick in the 2006 draft lottery at No. 11 overall in the first round.
Here's a look at a reimagining of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft lottery 20 years later.
I don't see any reason for the St. Louis Blues not to pick center Jonathan Toews with the first overall pick in this redoing of the 2006 draft lottery. Originally picked third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks, Toews slides up two spots to go first overall to the Blues.
While defenseman Erik Johnson, the Blues' original No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft, played over 1,000 career games and scored over 300 total points, he only played for St. Louis for a handful of seasons before being traded to Colorado in the late 2000s.
Toews, meanwhile, is the only forward in the 2006 draft who played over 1,000 career games, registered 500 assists, and won three Stanley Cups. And all three Stanley Cups came with the same team in Chicago in the dynasty years with the Hawks in the 2010s.
It's hard to imagine the Pittsburgh Penguins picking an agitator this early in this hypothetical 2006 redraft. But think about what the Penguins could've done with a top-six that not only had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but also had the physical presence with Brad Marchand.
The Penguins originally picked center Jordan Staal second overall in the 2006 draft lottery. Staal was a quality two-way center for the Penguins for a number of years, and he won a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh in 2009.
Instead of picking Staal, Marchand slides up over 70 spots to go second overall to the Penguins in this redraft of 2006 in the lottery. Marchand has also won two Stanley Cups and he's scored more goals than any other forward in this draft class.
Sliding up 19 spots in the first round, the Blackhawks pick forward Claude Giroux third overall. Giroux is the leading scorer in this draft class in terms of assists and total points scored. He's the only forward in this draft class who has played over 1,000 career regular season games and has over 1,100 total points.
Even though the Blackhawks aren't getting Toews in this hypothetical 2006 redraft in the first round, Chicago still gets a quality forward who is still active in the NHL 20 years later in Giroux in the top three.
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