Road to the 2016 NHL Draft: 46th Overall

By Alex Hobson

Welcome back to my "Road to the Draft" series. Yesterday, we took a look at the last ten players drafted 47th overall, highlighted by Tyler Toffoli and Shawn Matthias. There are now 46 days until the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, so today we'll take a look at the last ten players drafted 46th overall.

2006 - Jhonas Enroth, G (Buffalo Sabres)

Enroth first entered the league full time in 2010-11, and has since been a very reliable backup splitting time between the Sabres, Dallas Stars, and Los Angeles Kings. He finished this season with the Kings with a 7-5-1 record, along with a 2.17 GAA and a .922 save percentage.

2007 - Theo Ruth, D (Washington Capitals)

Ruth really never panned out in the pros since being drafted. He failed to produce in both the AHL and the ECHL, and retired from hockey in 2013-14.

2008 - Colby Robak, D (Florida Panthers)

Robak has had a couple of solid AHL seasons, but has yet to pan out in the NHL. He's shuffled between many organizations, including the Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks, and Buffalo Sabres.

2009 - Robin Lehner, G (Ottawa Senators)

Lehner was once looked at as the goalie of the future for the Ottawa Senators. Though after AHL goaltender Andrew Hammond broke out and had a monster run, there was no place for Lehner on the team. He was traded to Buffalo and put up very respectable numbers on a rather weak team.

2010 - Martin Marincin, D (Edmonton Oilers)

Marincin was drafted as a very solid defensive defenseman for the Oilers, but they ended up trading him in the offseason to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he found himself playing top pairing minutes alongside of Morgan Rielly.

2011 - Joel Edmundson, D (St. Louis Blues)

It took a while, but Edmundson is slowly developing into a mainstay on the Blues defensive core as a stay at home defenseman. He appeared in 67 games this season, posting nine points.

2012 - Raphael Bussieres, LW (Minnesota Wild)

Bussieres has spent the majority of his pro career in the ECHL for the Alaska Aces and the Quad City Mallards since going pro, with minor stints in the AHL.

2013 - Gustav Olofsson, D (Minnesota Wild)

Olofsson has put up solid totals in the AHL since turning pro, especially for the type of player he is. He registered 17 points in 52 games for the Iowa Wild, and could look to improve it next season.

2014 - Julius Bergman, D (San Jose Sharks)

Bergman had a strong season in the AHL last year with the London Knights, and had a decent first AHL campaign with the San Jose Barracuda, putting up 11 points in 60 games.

2015 - Daniel Sprong, RW (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Sprong is the definition of a profilic goal scorer. He had a great season with the Charlottetown Islanders last season in which he recorded 88 points in 68 games, and he joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for their playoff run, where he's totaled five goals and six points in six games.

BEST PLAYER DRAFTED 46th: Robin Lehner

To me, this came down to Lehner and Enroth. I gave Lehner the edge simply because he's done more than Enroth at a younger age, and now that he's been given a full starting job in Buffalo, he could very likely develop into a quality NHL goalie.

RUNNER UPS: Jhonas Enroth, Martin Marincin

POTENTIAL STEAL: Daniel Sprong