Road to the 2016 NHL Draft: 48th Overall

By Alex Hobson

Welcome back to my "Road to the Draft" series. Yesterday, we took a look at the last ten players drafted 49th overall, highlighted by Calvin Pickard and Stefan Elliott. There are now 48 days until the 2016 NHL Draft, so today we'll take a look at the last ten players drafted 48th overall.

2006 - Joey Ryan, D (Los Angeles Kings)

Ryan is the classic case of a player who had a good junior career, but failed to live up to expectations in the pros and eventually retired. He played for a number of AHL and ECHL teams before retiring after the 2012-13 season.

2007 - Antoine Lafleur, G (New York Rangers)

Lafleur looked like a pretty good goalie in his draft year, but his stats quickly plummeted afterwards and he retired after his final junior season with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Needless to say, he didn't pan out.

2008 - Mitch Wahl, C (Calgary Flames)

Wahl had a great junior career and a couple of decent AHL seasons, but never made it past there. He spent last season with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL but eventually left North America and most recently played for IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Allsvenskan League. He's committed to Ilves of the SM-Liiga for next season.

2009 - Brett Ponich, D (St. Louis Blues)

Ponich has yet to establish himself in the NHL, or even the AHL. He's currently playing for the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL, where this past season the hulking defenseman recorded 18 points in 68 games.

2010 - Curtis Hamilton, LW (Edmonton Oilers)

Hamilton is oddly enough the first player on this list to even make it to the NHL, and he only played in one game. He spent time in the AHL after his junior career before going to the Czech Republic to play for HC Sparta Praha.

2011 - Xavier Ouellet, D (Detroit Red Wings)

Ouellet has become a quality defenseman in the Red Wings farm system and even earned himself a pair of callups over the last two seasons. He recorded 29 points in 61 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

2012 - Dillon Fournier, D (Chicago Blackhawks)

Fournier only played a total nine games in the AHL and ECHL combined this season due to injury. If he heals properly, he could still develop into a solid defenseman.

2013 - Zach Nastasiuk, RW (Detroit Red Wings)

Nastasiuk is a very effective two way forward and penalty killer. He spent this season jumping between the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL and the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. He recorded 20 points in 25 games for the Walleye.

2014 - Nicolas Aube-Kubel, RW (Philadelphia Flyers)

Kubel has enjoyed a very solid junior career to this date, finishing last season over a point per game. He turns 20 in a few days, so he'll likely play for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms next season.

2015 - Filip Chlapik, LW (Ottawa Senators)

Chlapik had a very solid draft year performance, but his production totals have dipped slightly since then. He could still become a very solid player for the Sens if he has a rebound 2016-17 junior season.

BEST PLAYER DRAFTED 48th: Xavier Ouellet

I know we've had some pretty bad lists, but man, this one was just pathetic. Ouellet could turn out to be a solid defenseman, but he hasn't had enough NHL experience to be deserving of the average best player title. Needless to say, teams really didn't do well when picking at 48th.

RUNNER UP: None

POTENTIAL STEALS: Nicolas Aube-Kuel, Filip Chlapik