By shipping off MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth for three second-round picks, the Calgary Flames ensured they’d enter the 2026 draft with six picks in the first two rounds. We recently took a trip down memory lane, looking at the history of the sixth-, 35th, and 36th-overall picks. The Flames will then be back up at 51st overall in the NHL draft.
So, how have the players selected 51st overall fared, and how successful has the draft slot been? The results may surprise you. Let’s take a look.
The last five 51st overall picks
2025 – Will Moore – Boston Bruins
Last year, the Bruins selected forward Will Moore at 51st overall. A decent gamble at the time, Moore had a disastrous D+1 season. The centre managed just 10 points in 33 games for Boston College. Not exactly the output you’d hope for from a 19-year-old second-round pick in college. It’s way too early to count him out, but it’s not looking great.
2024 – Jack Berglund – Philadelphia Flyers
Another centre taken at 51st, the Flyers selected Jack Berglund in 2024. The Sweden-born forward made the jump to the AHL this past season at 20 years old, skating in five games and registering one point. He also racked up 10 points in seven games at the 2026 World Juniors. He has the makings of a solid bottom-six NHL player one day.
2023 – Carson Bjarnason – Philadelphia Flyers
Another Flyers pick, Carson Bjarnason was a bit of a reach in 2023. The goalie has played in the WHL, ECHL, and AHL since being drafted. His results haven’t been great, posting a .877 save percentage in the AHL this past season. Goalies are voodoo, and he’s still young, but the odds of him becoming an NHL goalie are low.
2022 – Jack Hughes – L.A. Kings
A sneaky good pick in 2022, the Kings selected the other Jack Hughes at 51st in 2022 after he fell into the mid-second round. Hughes was viewed as one of the most skilled forwards in the 2022 draft, but has yet to live up to that billing. He struggled to produce in the NCAA over the past three years and managed just 18 points in the AHL in 2025-26. Time is ticking for Hughes as a prospect.
2021 – Ville Koivunen – Pittsburgh Penguins
Ville Koivunen is, without a doubt, the best 51st overall pick from the past few years. Following his draft, Koivunen tore up Liiga with 56 points in 59 games as a 20-year-old. Part of the Jake Guentzel deal in 2024, Koivunen has posted 97 points in 97 AHL games since the trade and logged 39 NHL games. Look for him to be an NHL regular in Carolina next year.
How often do 51st -overall picks make the NHL?
For a deeper overall look at how often 51st-overall draft picks become NHL players, let’s look at how many of these picks since the turn of the century have played NHL games, played in at least 200 NHL games, and registered at least 200 points in the NHL.
I’ll exclude the last three drafts, as it’s too early to include those picks. Overall, that leaves us with 23 total 51st-overall picks between the 2000 and 2022 drafts.
| Metric | 51st overall picks (between 2000-2022) |
|---|---|
| Played NHL Games | 13 of 23 |
| >200 NHL GP | 4 of 23 |
| >200 NHL Points* | 3 of 23 |
As expected from a mid-second-round pick, the numbers don’t jump off the page. 13 of 23 51st overall picks played at least some NHL games. When you dig a little deeper though, the numbers are less impressive. Three of those 13 players played fewer than 20 NHL games.
In terms of longevity, only four of 23 players ended up skating in at least 200 NHL games. Those four players are Mason Raymond, Derek Stepan, Brian Dumoulin, and Calle Jarnkrok. No one else between 2000 and 2022 is anywhere close to hitting 200 games played. The last player to even hit the mark was Jarnkrok who was selected 16 years ago.
If we go one step further and start looking at production in the NHL, only three of the 23 players picked have put up at least 200 points in the NHL. Those three players are Raymond, Stepan and Jarnkrok. Dumoulin meanwhile, will likely become the fourth next season as he sits at 194 points currently. Stepan leads the way with 515 points in the NHL.
Most notable 51st-overall picks in NHL history
Throughout the history of the NHL draft, here are the most notable players selected 51st overall. I’ll consider players who have gone on to have All-Star-level and/or long careers in the NHL.
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Calle Jarnkrok* |
| 2009 | Brian Dumoulin* |
| 2008 | Derek Stepan |
| 2005 | Mason Raymond |
| 1994 | Patrik Elias |
| 1984 | Patrick Roy |
For whatever reason, the 51st overall pick was a goldmine for NHL talent in the early 2000’s. For three straight drafts between 2008 and 2010, the pick turned into a full-time NHL player. Since 2010, however, there hasn’t been a single notable selection or regular NHLer taken at 51st. Can the Flames end the 16-year drought?
There have also been some jackpot picks at 51st overall over the course of NHL history, with Patrik Elias taken in 1994 and one of the best players in NHL history, Patrick Roy, taken in 1984. Unfortunately, the pick hasn’t yielded an All-Star-level talent since Elias was picked 32 years ago.
A lottery ticket
The 51st overall pick has delivered pretty much exactly what you expect out of a mid-second-round pick: some decent returns but otherwise a lot of misses. Given the lacklustre results, trading the pick to move up in the draft makes a lot of sense.