Ranking Every New Jersey Devils 1st-Round Draft Pick Part 1: The Busts
By Mike Luci
No. 36: Ari Ahonen
Goaltender
27th overall, 1999
This was the most questionable 1st-round pick by then-GM Lou Lamoriello. The Finnish netminder is one of two on this list to never play in a Devils or NHL game. It was a historical draft year, marking the first time where Europeans were picked 1-4th overall. Hailing from SM-liiga, Ahonen was among 15 Europeans (and one of three goalies) selected in round one of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
With a 27-year-old Martin Brodeur in the midst of his prime, selecting Ahonen didn’t appear to make much sense. Lamoriello always valued organizational depth, and may have seen Ahonen as the best player available. Despite Brodeur being one of the league’s best goaltenders at that time, New Jersey only won a single playoff series since their 1995 Stanley Cup championship, and was coming off a second consecutive first-round upset. Maybe Lou’s faith in Brodeur was in question and he wanted more options?
After coming to North America in 2001, Ahonen spent five seasons in Albany. He played 178 games, going 51-118-16. After returning to Europe, Ahonen spent parts of 10 seasons in the SEL, KHL, and SM-liiga. Looking back, it’d be understandable if Lamoriello had the aforementioned best-player-available mentality when making his selection. However (and no, we didn’t know this at the time), it’s worth noting Lamoriello took Ahonen over a few goalies who went on to have lengthy NHL careers like Alex Auld, Craig Anderson, and Ryan Miller.