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.