Backdraft 2001: Ranking the forwards, defensemen & goalies from the 2001 NHL draft

Take a look back at the 2001 NHL draft: We've ranked the top 10 forwards and top 10 defensemen by career NHL points and goalies by career NHL wins.

FORWARDS: Here are the top 10 highest-scoring forwards selected in the 2001 NHL draft, with draft position and NHL games played:

NOTES:

--Ilya Kovalchuk and Jason Spezza, the top two picks in the 2001 draft, sit first and second in career NHL points. Kovalchuk, who hasn't played in North America since leaving the NHL to return to Russia after the 2012-13 season, scored 816 points in 816 NHL games.

--A total of 18 forwards were among the 30 first-round picks in 2001, with 16 of them going on to play in the NHL. The two who failed to play an NHL game are Jens Karlsson, picked 18th overall by the Los Angeles Kings, and Adrian Foster, drafted 28th by the New Jersey Devils.

--Stepehn Weiss, selected fourth overall, ranks 11th among forwards drafted in 2001 with 423 points in 732 NHL games.

DEFENSEMEN: Here are the top 10 highest-scoring defensemen selected in the 2001 NHL draft, with draft position and NHL games played: 

 NOTES:

--A total of eight defensemen were picked in the first round of the 2001 NHL draft. Mike Komisarek was the first defensemen selected, seventh overall.

--A total of 54 defensemen were taken before Marek Zidlicky, the leading point-producer among blueliners in the 2001 draft, was picked in the sixth round at No. 176 overall.

--Dan Hamhuis leads all players drafted in 2001 with 872 NHL games played.

GOALIES: A total of 18 goalies selected in the 2001 NHL draft have appeared in at least one NHL game. Here they are ranked by NHL wins, with draft position and NHL games played:

NOTES:

--Four goalies were selected in the first round of the 2001 draft, but they only played a combined 291 NHL games: Pascal Leclaire (eighth overall, 173 games), Dan Blackburn (10th overall, 63 games), Jason Bacashihua (26th overall, 38 games) and Adam Munro (29th overall, 17 games).

--Antti Niemi was draft-eligible in 2001 but was passed over and played in his native Finland until signing with the Chicago Blackhawks as a 24-year-old in 2008. With 215 career NHL wins -- and a Stanley Cup in 2010 -- he ranks ahead of Craig Anderson's 213 wins.

--A total of 34 goalies were drafted in 2001, with more than half (18) making at least an appearance in the NHL.

More in the 'Backdraft' series:

Backdraft 2000: Heatley, Visnovsky and Lundqvist lead the rankings

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