18.
Sheldon Souray is another player we don’t normally associate with the New Jersey Devils, but he was drafted by Lou Lamoriello in the 3rd round of the 1994 NHL Draft. He ended up having a very weird junior career where he played for three different teams, which is never good for a defenseman’s development. The Devils eventually welcomed him to the team from 1997 to 2000. He was eventually traded to the Montreal Canadiens in the deal that brought the Devils Vladimir Malakhov at the 2000 NHL Trade Deadline.
Souray eventually became a really good defenseman, even putting together a 64-point season in 2006-07 for the Edmonton Oilers. He was a really good defenseman for most of his 14-season NHL career, however personal issues and injuries seemed to keep him just below his ceiling. He ended his career with 300 points over 758 games.
Souray’s career might have never hit the peaks we hoped in the middle of it, but he way outplayed his draft spot. 3rd-round defensemen are a crapshoot at best. Souray turned into a really good defenseman for a few years, then someone who could score with the best of them for a few years after that. The Devils got 17 regular-season games with the Devils before signing as a free agent with the New York Rangers. We think the Devils likely would have rather had Souray for a few more years instead.