Trio of Late-Round Draft Picks Fueling Stanley Cup Finalists

If not for these late-round draft picks, the Panthers and Oilers would likely be playing golf right now instead of vying for the Stanley Cup

The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers have a number of first-round draft picks leading their teams. From Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, and Sam Reinhart on the Panthers to Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard on the Oilers, the stars have certainly come to play in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Graphic by Vince Richard / The Hockey Writers

However, they likely wouldn’t be vying for a Stanley Cup if not for the late-round draft picks that weren’t expected to make it very far in the NHL - let alone become impact players. But that’s exactly what Zach Hyman, Carter Verhaeghe, and Gustav Forsling have done, rise and perform to the level of top-15 picks rather than players that had to wait late into Day 2 of the draft to get selected.

Zach Hyman - 123rd Overall in 2010 By the Panthers

Talk about full circle for Hyman. He is now playing in the Final against the team that drafted him in the fifth round back in 2010. While he never played a game with the Panthers, he will forever be known as one of their draft picks.