The 2013 draft was perceived to be a relatively deep draft pool at the time it occurred.  Here is a look at the forwards who were chosen and their relative productivity to date.  This article is does not consider the defensemen drafted in 2013.

At the time of the draft, while many observers considered defenseman, Seth Jones, the best prospect overall, Nate McKinnon was considered to be the best forward.  Nearly three years later, he has proven to be a great pick by the Colorado Avalanche.  Yet another forward, Sean Monahan, who was chosen #6 overall in that draft by the Calgary Flames, has rivaled him in productivity.  This season, Monahan has scored 26 goals, compared to 21 for McKinnon.  He also has 30 assists, compared to 31 for McKinnon.

Over the course of their three-year careers, Monahan has scored 79 goals as compared to 59 for McKinnon and had 73 assists, as compared to 94 for McKinnon.  It appears that Monahan is a more effective shooter while McKinnon has been better at dishing out assists although this season Monahan was nearly the equal of McKinnon in assists.  This year, despite being hampered by injuries, Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers has had a great season, topping 20 goals and, so far, has more goals than McKinnon but three goals short of Monahan.  Careerwise, Barkov is running behind both Monahan and McKinnon but ahead of the rest of the draft class.

Another productive player in the draft is Elias Lindholm.  He has spent all three years with the Carolina Hurricanes since being drafted fifth overall them.  With 10 goals and 27 assists, he is now in the lineup as one of the Top 6 forwards for the Hurricanes.   Max Domi did not make it to the NHL until the 2015-16 season but he has had a great rookie year for the Arizona Coyotes, with 18 goals and 29 assists.  The Vancouver Canuck has drafted Bo Horvat who scored 12 goals and had 20 assists this year, with 25 goals and 32 assists overall.  Valeri Nichushin, who had been drafted by the Dallas Stars, is another promising player.  He made it in the NHL the season after being drafted but lost a great deal of time to injury and surgery in the 2014-15 season.  This year, he has 9 goals and 18 assists.   The Washington Capitals –appear to have a steal in Andre Burakovsky, who was the 23^rd pick overall and whose productivity is more akin to earlier picks.  This year, he has 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points overall. Over the course of his career, he had 25 goals and 33 assists.  He is actually fifth in goals scored by the forwards chosen in that draft this year and sixth in overall points.

Overall – Since 2013 Draft

By Diane Doyle