5 New Jersey Devils Draft Picks Who Got Famous Somewhere Else

Sheldon Souray
1994 third-round pick, 71st overall

Sheldon Souray doesn’t have the long-lasting clout that some on this list have, but he was a very good defenseman during his time in the league. Lamoriello found this defenseman in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and he used this third-round pick on him before he had Stanley Cup clout on his name.

Souray famously showed up to a training camp out of shape, prompting Lamoriello (who at this point won the 1995 Stanley Cup) to publicly call him out, going as far as saying he would never play in the NHL if he did that again. To his credit, Souray took the dressing down seriously and worked to become an NHL regular.

Souray is one of the unlucky few who played a few seasons during the Devils peak but never won a Stanley Cup. He joined the team as a regular in 1997, but he was traded on March 1, 2000, for Vladimir Malakhov.

He went on to have a very successful career as a defenseman. Souray played through the 2013 lockout-shortened season. He finished his career with 758 games played and 300 points. His highlight reel includes big hits, fun goals, and a lot of assists.