CHICAGO (WGN) — Over the last three years, the Chicago Blackhawks have managed to secure the first, second and third overall pick in three consecutive NHL drafts. Has that ever been done before?
Should the Blackhawks hold on to the third overall selection in the 2025 NHL draft and make the pick, the answer is no.
Chicago would become the first team ever to have the first overall pick one year (Connor Bedard – 2023), the second overall pick the next (Artyom Levshunov – 2024), and the third overall pick the year after that in consecutive drafts (TBD – 2025), going all the way back to the first NHL draft in 1963 when there were only the Original Six.
Two-timers
Several teams have come close to accomplishing the feat more than once in NHL history.
The Pittsburgh Penguins had the No. 1 pick in 1984 (Mario Lemieux) and the No. 2 pick in 1985 (Craig Simpson), as well as the No. 1 pick in 2005 (Sidney Crosby) and the No. 2 pick in 2006 (Jordan Staal). They followed up 1985 with the No. 4 pick (Zarley Zalapski) in 1986, and 2006 with the 20th pick (Angelo Esposito) in 2007.
During their first three years of existence, the San Jose Sharks earned the second overall pick in 1991 (Pat Falloon), the third overall pick in 1992 (Mike Rathje), and the sixth overall pick in 1993 (Victor Kozlov). Then from 1996 to 1998, the Sharks also received the No. 2 pick in back-to-back drafts (Andrei Zyuzin and Patrick Marleau) before coming away with the third pick in 1998 (Brad Stuart).
The Tampa Bay Lightning received the first overall pick in 1992 (Roman Hamrlik) and the No. 3 selection in 1993 (Chris Gratton). 15 years later, the Lightning took Steven Stamkos with the first overall selection in 2008, then Victor Hedman with the second pick in 2009, only for them to get the No. 6 selection in 2010—Brett Connolly.
The New York Islanders came close once in the 90s and again in the late 2000s to early 2010s. They received the second overall selection in 1995 (Wade Redden), the third overall selection in 1996 (J-P Dumont), then the No. 4 and 5 picks in the 1997 draft (Roberto Luongo/Eric Brewer). In 2009 they received the No. 1 pick (John Tavares), then went 5-5-4 overall across the next three NHL drafts, when they took Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Strome and Griffin Reinhart.
The Atlanta Thrashers—who became the Winnipeg Jets in 2011—went 1-2-1-2-8 in five consecutive drafts from 1999 to 2003, then 3-4 in 2008 and 2009.
The Edmonton Oilers managed three consecutive No. 1 picks from 2010 to 2012 (Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Nail Yakupov), then earned picks No. 3, 1, and 4 from 2014 to 2016, which turned into Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Jesse Puljujarvi.
Almost made it happen that one time
There are also a number of other teams that came close to replicating 1-2-3 in three consecutive drafts in NHL history.
The Florida Panthers had top three picks in four out of five NHL drafts from 2010 to 2014. They had back-to-back third overall selections in 2010 (Erik Gudbranson) and 2011 (Jonathan Huberdeau), only for them to fall outside the top five in 2012, then get the No. 2 pick in 2013 (Aleksander Barkov) and the No. 1 pick in 2014 (Aaron Ekblad).
The Ottawa Senators went 2-1-3-1-1 from 1992 to 1996, which saw the franchise select Alexei Yashin, Alexandre Daigle, Radek Bonk, Bryan Berard and Chris Phillips, respectively.
Before the Senators, the Quebec Nordiques—who became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995—held the third pick (Curtis Leschyshyn) in the 1988 NHL draft, before the ping pong balls rewarded them with three straight No. 1 picks from 1989 to 1991 (Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan and Eric Lindros), and then the fourth overall pick in 1992 (Todd Warriner).
The Washington Capitals had all top-five selections from 1976 to 1982, just not in chronological order. They went 1-3-2-4-5-3-5 over those seven years.
The Vancouver Canucks had the second pick in 1970, then received the third overall pick in three consecutive drafts from 1971 to 1973.
Before the Canucks, the Montreal Canadiens received the first three picks in the 1968 NHL draft, the top two picks in the 1969 draft, and then the fifth and six overall selections in 1970.
The New York Rangers got the call at No. 1 overall in 1965, second overall in 1966 and sixth overall in 1967.
Last but not least, the Detroit Red Wings received the second overall pick in the first-ever NHL draft in 1963, the first overall pick in 1964, and the third overall pick in 1965, netting them top three picks in three consecutive years, just not in the 1-2-3 order the Blackhawks currently have heading into the 2025 NHL draft.
Will the feat ever be accomplished again?
There’s a possibility the Sharks accomplish the same feat as the Blackhawks if they receive the No. 3 pick in the 2026 NHL draft.
San Jose took Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick at the top of last year’s draft and received the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NHL draft, setting up the opportunity for them to go 1-2-3 from 2024 to 2026.