How the NHL’s top 4 2014 draft picks all ended up in 2024 Stanley Cup Final

The Stanley Cup Final will feature something that’s never been seen before in NHL history. For the first time, the top four picks of a single draft will all play in the championship series.

It’s the 2014 class that’s on display a decade later. On one side is Leon Draisaitl, who was picked third by the Edmonton Oilers. Opposing him is the Florida Panthers’ own top choice, Aaron Ekblad, and two players in Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett — who were selected second and fourth by other teams and later traded to the Sunshine State.

“The general consensus was this was going to be a really good draft,” North American Central Scouting chief scout Mark Seidel said. “Ekblad was the key piece. You’re getting a stud defenseman and then you’re going to get Bennett, Reinhart and Draisaitl.

“It doesn’t go down in the annals of being one of the greatest drafts of all time, but some very, very key players got taken there.”

Ekblad was the can’t-miss prospect. He preceded Connor McDavid to become the Canadian Hockey League’s second exceptional status player, allowing him to play major junior at 15 with the Barrie Colts.

There was a push from Bennett to supplant Ekblad as the top prospect ahead of the draft. NHL Central Scouting and “The Hockey News” both had Bennett at No. 1. However, the feeling ahead of the draft was that the Panthers were going to take Ekblad, especially after they selected center Aleksander Barkov second the previous year.

“That year was Ekblad and the rest,” Seidel said. “Anybody trying to tell you different is lying to you.”

“He was the (type of) defenseman that everybody wanted to build their defense around,” then-Oilers director of amateur scouting Stu MacGregor said.

The intrigue in the draft really began at No. 2.

There was Bennett, whose motor was always running and who was seen as ultra-competitive. There was Reinhart, who was known as a versatile player with impeccable hockey sense. And then there was Draisaitl, who could control play with his size and strength and pass as well on his backhand as his forehand.

Draisaitl was rated fourth by Central Scouting.

Between Reinhart and Draisaitl, MacGregor said the Oilers were comfortable taking whichever one the Buffalo Sabres passed over. Bennett, whose stock fell at the combine when he couldn’t do a chin-up, wasn’t considered as strongly. He and William Nylander were part of the next tier, MacGregor said.

“There were really, really heavy discussions between Reinhart and Draisaitl,” he said. “MacT (GM Craig MacTavish) really wanted a forward. It would have been interesting if we had No. 1. We’d already taken Darnell (Nurse) the year before.

“But we never had that discussion.”

The Oilers’ preference in the end was Draisaitl, the No. 2 player on their draft board after MacTavish put in his two cents. They got their guy when Buffalo chose Reinhart.

“When Edmonton took him at three, there were some eyebrows raised,” said Seidel, whose service also had Draisaitl as the second-best player in the draft.

The only cause for pause came moments after Draisaitl’s name was announced by MacTavish.

President of hockey operations Kevin Lowe remembers seeing Calgary Flames executives Brian Burke and Brad Treliving high-fiving each other knowing they’d be getting Bennett. That made Lowe feel a little uneasy.

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh s—. Did we miss something?’” Lowe told The Athletic in 2020. “We were — mostly because of Yak (Nail Yakupov) — a bit gun shy selecting.”

Sam Bennett, picked fourth in 2014 by Calgary, has blossomed with the Panthers. (Steve Babineau / NHLI via Getty Images)

MacGregor, who was part of the contingent on stage with Draisaitl, never had that feeling. Quickness was the one area that needed improvement, he said. Otherwise, he was confident in the pick.

“I’ve never seen a guy at that age be able to backhand the puck like he could and make those passes,” MacGregor said. “He could hold the puck and hold checkers off.”

It turns out, MacGregor was right all along. Draisaitl rounded out his game and has become one of the best players of his era.

“He’s the guy we really wanted,” MacGregor said. “We just felt the strength and the size would make him a great player.

“Leon’s just been tremendous. His drive and determination really seem to shine through in hard times.”

Given the enormous hype surrounding Ekblad, it’s hard to suggest he’s exceeded expectations. Ekblad won the Calder Trophy in 2014-15 but has never been a Norris finalist. An injury might have robbed him of his best chance in 2021-22 when he had 15 goals and 57 points in 61 games and finished sixth in voting.

“He’s had such a good career, but it’s almost like he’s invisible,” Seidel said. “Unless he’s Bobby Orr, he’s never going to reach what everyone thought he was going to be.”

“Ekblad’s going to have a hard time,” MacGregor said. “It’s taken Nuge (2011 No. 1 pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) 10 years for everybody to appreciate him.”

Draisaitl has unequivocally surpassed what anyone could have hoped. He won the Hart and Art Ross trophies and the Ted Lindsay Award in 2019-20. That hardware combined with being one of the most prolific point producers in playoff history and recording 850 points in 719 regular season games means he’s already likely bound for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

With due respect to David Pastrnak, who was chosen 25th by Boston, Draisaitl would be the No. 1 pick with a bullet with the benefit of hindsight. He’s the crown jewel of this draft.

“When I watched him live, I thought he had good IQ and he had that (hockey player’s) body,” Seidel said. “He was going to fill out more than the other two.

“When Edmonton took him, I thought it was a good pick. But not a chance did I think he was going to become one of the top three of top five players in the world.”

As for Reinhart and Bennett — the two players dealt from Buffalo and Calgary, respectively, to Florida — their careers were middling or underwhelming until they got a change of scenery.

“The Hockey News” did a redraft in 2020 and had Reinhart ninth. They didn’t even have Bennett in their top 10.

“Early on, Reinhart and Bennett were considered to be busts,” Seidel said. “People were generally disappointed with how their careers started. That’s what makes this revival even more remarkable.”

Reinhart has become a two-way force while increasing his offensive output. He posted his first point-per-game season in 2021-22 when he had 82 points in 78 games. This season, he scored 57 goals and was second to only Auston Matthews in the Rocket Richard Trophy race.

“Based on right now, he’s at least what we thought he was going to be — and probably more,” Seidel said.

Bennett, meanwhile, had 28 goals and 49 points in his first full season with the Panthers in 2021-22. He just notched his second 20-goal season. He’s become increasingly annoying to play against, too.

“He’s reached what he was,” Seidel said. “We all knew he had the jam. With the way he played, it would have taken him a little bit longer to get into that role. We’ve now seen what he’s been able to do.”

That doesn’t mean those players would remain in the top four spots today. There are a few players selected in the first round like Nylander (Toronto, eighth), Dylan Larkin (Detroit, 15th) and Pastrnak who’d have something to say about that. Three players picked later in Thatcher Demko (Vancouver, 36th), Brayden Point (Tampa Bay, 79th) and Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers, 118th) can make a strong case for inclusion as well.

But there’s always revisionist history when it comes to drafts. The top four of Ekblad, Reinhart, Draisaitl and Bennett have formed a foundation that makes this class a solid one.

Now, they’ll all face off in the Stanley Cup Final — three players on one side and the best of the bunch on the other.

“It’s an incredible story that they all end up in Florida,” Seidel said.

(Photo of Leon Draisaitl, Aaron Ekblad and Sam Reinhart at the 2014 NHL Draft: Jeff Vinnick / NHLI via Getty Images)