Canadiens: For Juraj Slafkovsky, Alexandre Daigle Isn't a Draft Bust, He's a Draft Lesson.
By Scott Cowan
In the case of the No. 1 pick, however, Doug Wickenheiser sticks in most people’s minds when mentioning all-time draft blunders, with the Habs taking the Saskatchewan-born WHL star first overall over French-Canadian forward Denis Savard, whom most if not all of the Canadiens fanbase wanted.
Playing in a city that never wanted him on a team that was filled to the brim with depth offensively, Wickenheiser never found a regular spot in Montreal’s lineup, being shipped to the St. Louis Blues in essentially a throw-away deal for forward Perry Turnbull.
Up until their selection of Slovakian forward Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in the 2022 Draft, Wickenheiser was the Habs last first overall pick. Naturally, with any No. 1 overall pick, there are expectations that will come with said pick, something Slafkovsky has no doubt felt now entering the midway point of his second NHL season.
Similarly, Daigle at one point had such expectations placed upon him, though, ultimately, his and so many other draft busts stories over the course of the NHL’s history, serve as a lesson as to why realistic expectationsare not just important, but essential to a players development, lest we have another case of a Daigle coming in to save a franchise he simply couldn’t on his own.
On January 26th, 2024, Amazon Prime is set to release a documentary on Daigle’s life and career as the former first overall pick in the 1993 Draft. A Montreal native and once utterly dominant junior star with the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres, Daigle had a mystique and media attention surrounding him that mimicked that of players like Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, and most recently, Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard. With astonishing 45-92-137 totals over 53 games with the Tigres in 1992-93, Daigle’s stock was at an all-time high during an NHL season which many consider to be the best in league history.