The Worst No. 1 Overall In NHL History

Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

With the Draft about to take place in Los Angeles, our weekly "Ask The Maven" is all about a past draftee. Edwin Slim of Port Jervis sends this one for Stan:

WHO WOULD YOU NAME AS THE ALL-TIME WORST NO. 1 DRAFT CHOICE? The Maven Responds:  Check the date – June 26, 1993, a good 32 years ago, minus one day – when the Draft was held in Quebec City. Picking first, the Ottawa Senators selected forward Alexandre Daigle. 

A Montreal native, Daigle had starred in the Quebec Major Junior League and was so highly-touted that the Senators signed him to a five-year deal worth $12.5 million. That instantly made him one of the NHL's highest-paid players. Feeling his oats,l Daigle delivered a deathless line:

"I'm glad I finished first because no one remembers number two."

As it happened, Daigle's career was eminently forgettable. After five mediocre NHL seasons, Alex move to Philadelphia on a downward spiral which ended four years later. A brief NHL comeback in 2003-04 with Minnesota lasted a season.

In all fairness, Daigle did total 327 NHL points, but that's not the point. His build-up led to a colossal letdown. And, as far as his wisecrack about nobody remembering No. 2, it so happened to be Chris Pronger, a future Hall of Famer.

Which is a roundabout way of saying Alexandre Daigle is my choice as the "Worst No. 1 Draft Choice."

Forgettable, yet unforgettable.

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