As GM of the Capitals, George McPhee selected prospects in 17 Entry Drafts. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and yes, even Filip Forsberg, were McPhee’s top picks. The GM has a strong draft history which must continue if he’s going to find success in Vegas. With Washington, McPhee was able to collect extra picks and ended up with a total of 20 first round picks over 17 seasons. A strategy almost certainly be used with the Golden Knights. The question is, will he go the same route positionally as he did in Washington.
| Year | Round | Pick (Overall) | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1 | 9th | Nick Boynton | D |
| 1998 | 2 | 49th | Jomar Cruz | G |
| 1999 | 1 | 7th | Kris Beech | C |
| 2000 | 1 | 26th | Brian Sutherby | C |
| 2001 | 2 | 58th | Nathan Paetsch | D |
| 2002 | 1 | 12th | Steve Eminger | D |
| 2002 | 1 | 13th | Alex Semin | RW |
| 2002 | 1 | 17th | Boyd Gordon | C |
| 2003 | 1 | 18th | Eric Fehr | RW |
| 2004 | 1 | 1st | Alexander Ovechkin | LW |
| 2005 | 1 | 14th | Sasha Pokulok | D |
| 2005 | 1 | 27th | Joe Finley | D |
| 2005 | 1 | 4th | Nicklas Backstrom | C |
| 2005 | 1 | 23rd | Semyon Varlamov | G |
| 2007 | 1 | 5th | Karl Alzner | D |
| 2008 | 1 | 21st | Anton Gustafsson | C |
| 2008 | 1 | 27th | John Carlson | D |
| 2009 | 1 | 24th | Marcus Johansson | C |
| 2010 | 1 | 26th | Evgeny Kuznetsov | C |
| 2011 | 4 | 117th | Steffen Soberg | G |
| 2012 | 1 | 11th | Filip Forsberg | C |
| 2012 | 1 | 16th | Tom Wilson | RW |
| 2013 | 1 | 23rd | Andre Burakovsky | LW |
Based off past draft results, McPhee, like most NHL general managers, prefer to select centers (8 of 20 1st round picks) early in the draft. According to most analysts, the first round of this year’s entry draft could feature many young centers.
