The 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa will always be notable as the draft which
produced generational player Steven Stamkos. It is also notable for the number
of defensemen drafted in the first round (12), including current high-calibre
blueliners Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers, Erik
Karlsson, Jake Gardiner, Michael Del Zotto, and John Carlson.The 2008 NHL Draft
 will always be notable for producing one of the best players of the generation
 in Steven Stamkos, seen here in 2010, the third year of his career. (Icon SMI)

However, it is also notable for being a crapshoot and up-and-down draft.
Liberally interspersed between players who developed into NHL stars are many
highly-drafted players who didn';t turn out.Related: 2007 NHL Entry Draft: Five
 Forgotten Picks

While many players in the 2008 draft met or succeeded expectations, these five,
 long forgotten by many, certainly did not.Nikita Filatov: Columbus Blue
Jackets, 6th Overall

The name Nikita Filatov might not garner a visceral reaction from most, but the
 mere mention of the Russian';s name around a Blue Jackets fan will undoubtedly
 garner a face palm, sigh, groan, or tirade.

Filatov, drafted sixth overall after dominating on U18 and 820 teams in Russia
and winning two IIHF U18 Medals, had a number of weapons in his arsenal and was
 touted by Hockey';s Future as a "talented scoring forward" and an "above
average puck handler" with "excellent skating ability," "a very dangerous wrist
 shot," and "very soft hands."Nikita Filatov had skill to spare, but a
combination of a poor attitude, lack of work ethic, and off-ice issues led to
him being one of the biggest draft busts in recent memory. /Flickr - Dinur

While Filatov brought all those skills to North America, he also brought a pile
 of problems that ultimately led to him being considered one of the biggest
draft busts in recent memory.

He possessed all the skill but none of the work ethic or drive to become a
well-rounded two-way player. While he had enough raw talent to float by at the
AHL level, his poor attitude and refusal to refine his play in the defensive
zone caused him to clash with head coach Ken Hitchcock. This animosity led the
Blue Jackets to deal Filatov back to the KHL';s CKSA Moscow to begin the
2009-10 season. However, the left winger did return for the 2010-11 season
after Hitchcock was fired and Scott Arniel took the helm behind the bench.

Compounding Filatov';s on-ice issues were off-ice ones. A young guy who
couldn';t handle the purchasing power that came with his profession, he
eventually admitted he had problems with gambling and addiction and amounts of
 debt he couldn';t cover with an AHL paycheque. My whole life was a blur",
Filatov said. "I was young and got a lot of money and (it went away) with
ease."

Filatov started 2010-11 with the Blue Jackets, but struggled, producing seven
assists in 23 games and spending the majority of the year in the AHL. After the
 season, the Blue Jackets sent him to the Ottawa Senators for a third round
pick. However, he played just nine games in Canada';s capital the following
year, registering one assist. By Christmas, he was back in the KHL.

Nikita Filatov to Sport-Express: I left #Sens due to financial problems.I was
young, earned a lot of money and blew it easily on casinos etc

- Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) June 8, 2016

Since then, he';s played for eight KHL squads, showcasing his inability to
stick in any one place for long. His all-time NHL stats: six goals and eight
assists in 53 games.Kyle Beach: Chicago Blackhawks, 11th Overall

With a 6-foot-3, 200 pound frame, the heart of an agitator, and "a nose for the
 net" as Hockey';s Future put it, Kyle Beach looked like a potentially
impactful, well-rounded player akin to Eric Lindros.

While his discipline was an issue - he';d racked up 222 penalty minutes in
addition to his 60 points with the Spokane Chiefs in 2007-08 - the Blackhawks
selected the 2006-07 WHL Rookie of the Year with the 11th overall pick.

After being drafted, the Kelowna, B.C. product spent three more seasons in the
WHL - one more with the Silvertips and one each with the Lethbridge Hurricanes
and Spokane Chiefs. Like Lindros, he suffered injuries that came about as a
result of his hard-nosed play style and only played more than 30 games once in
those three years.

When he finally turned pro in 2010-11, he became stuck in the Blackhawks';
backlog, spending parts of four seasons with the Rockford IceHogs. However, he
continued to suffer injuries - in 2011-12, he was limited to just 19 games
after suffering a shoulder injury in a fight.

Beach may have found an NHL roster spot on weaker teams, but in a dynastic
Blackhawks organization in the midst of a three-Cup-in-seven-year run, there
was simply no room for him among stars such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp,
Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and Brandon Saad. He never played an NHL game.

Since 2014, Beach has spent most of his time in Austria, most recently with VSV
 EC.Greg Nemisz: Calgary Flames, 25th Overall

The Calgary Flames selected winger Greg Nemisz, a power forward with two-way
ability, fresh off his breakout sophomore season with the Windsor Spitfires, in
 which he recorded 67 points in 68 games.

Nemisz went back to juniors after being drafted and hype mounted as he
continued to impress. Over his next two seasons with the Spitfires, he tallied
147 regular season points and 32 playoffs points as he helped Spitfires
captured back-to-back Memorial Cups. In his final season, however, he also
suffered a deep gash to his thigh from a skate blade that required 40 stitches
and forced him to miss five weeks.

That injury would be just a precursor of things to come. Injuries continued to
dog Nemisz when he turned pro and prevented him from creating a foothold with
the Flames. In 2011-12, he was limited to 49 games for the Abbotsford Heat due
to a shoulder injury, and in 2014-15, while playing for the Charlotte Checkers,
 he only played 21 games before being sidelined with a season-ending knee
injury.

Greg Nemisz is out for the season as injuries continue to mount for the
Checkers.

STORY: http://t.co/cBAVxmCGFv pic.twitter.com/M1NXlfrZuV

- Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) December 11, 2014

Nemisz decided to hang up his skates at just 25-years-old, having appearing in
15 NHL contests. He didn';t leave hockey behind, however, opting to begin a
career behind the bench. Since 2015, he';s been an assistant coach with the
Oshawa Generals.Viktor Tikhonov: Phoenix Coyotes, 28th Overall

Tikhanov is a good example of player drafted based on name recognition rather
than merit.

Tikhonov';s grandfather - whom the younger Viktor was named after - was a
renowned, highly decorated Soviet hockey coach. The elder Viktor, among various
 other accomplishments, led the Soviet Union to eight World Championship golds
between 1978 and ';90 and a trio of Olympic gold medals in 1984, ';88, and
';92. A man who exercised complete dictatorial control over his players, he was
 highly respected, deeply feared, and made a great impact on the game we know
today.Tikhonov';s grandfather was a legendary soviet hockey coach. The junior
Tikhonov, seen here with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, didn';t have much
impact in North America. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)

The Coyotes were banking on that family pedigree when they drafted the junior
Tikhonov 28th overall. He had already been passed over in the 2006 and 2007 NHL
 Entry Drafts but made waves in Russia and impressed at the 2008 World Juniors
 with seven points in seven games.

Coming off a 12th-place Western Division finish in 2007-08, the Coyotes rushed
Tikhonov directly to the NHL to begin the 2008-09 season, where he produced
eight goals and eight assists in 61 games.

That';s as good as it would get for Tikhonov, though. In the subsequent two
years, he failed to make the big club';s roster and spent time with both the
San Antonio Rampage and the KHL';s Cherepovets Severstal.Related: Whatever
Happen to Viktor Tikhonov?

After his entry-level deal was done, the Coyotes inexplicably inked him to a
one-year extension. However, Tikhonov returned to Russia full time, where he
played four straight seasons with SKA St. Petersburg, tallying between 24 and
34 points per season.

In 2015-16, he attempted an NHL comeback, splitting 50 games between the
Chicago Blackhawks and now-Arizona Cotoyes, but returned to SKA St. Petersburg
and has been there ever since.Eric O';Dell: Anaheim Ducks, 39th Overall

Eric O';Dell was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks after his first year with the
OHL';s Sudbury Wolves, a year in which he also won a gold medal at the IIHF
U18 World Championship. However, he wasn';t long for the organization;  the
Atlanta Thrashers obtained his rights in March, 2009.Eric O';Dell';s longest
NHL stint came in 2013-14, when he played 30 games. He was a victim of the
Jets'; growing organizational depth, however, and made expendable by their
'draft and develop'; strategy. (Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports)

The Ottawa product, whose "strong suits are his passing and stick handling
skills" according to Hockey'; Future, returned to the Wolves and tallied
60-plus points in his next two seasons. Meanwhile, the Thrashers were purchased
 by True North Sports & Entertainment and relocated to Winnipeg.

O';Dell wanted to turn pro in his last year of junior eligibility, but had to
have surgery to repair a heart defect. His recovery took an extended period of
time, so he opted to return to the Wolves for the back half of 2010-11.

Turning pro in 2011-12, O';Dell was unable to crack the Winnipeg Jets'; lineup.
 He  spent three seasons with the St. John';s IceCaps, where he played a key
role at centre and found the scoresheet with consistency. However, he was also
hampered by injuries and never played more than 59 games in a season.

O';Dell finally got his big-league shot in 2013-14. He played 30 games with the
 Jets in the back-half of the season, tallying seven points. The following
year, however, centres Adam Lowry and Mathieu Perreault burst onto the scene
and Mark Scheifele began to blossom into a superstar, which made O';Dell
expendable. He appeared in just 11 games and spent the majority of the year
back with the IceCaps.

O';Dell took his talents overseas in 2016 and has spent the past two seasons
with the KHL';s Sochi HC, putting up 56 points in 97 games.

Honourable Mentions: Colten Teubert, Chet Pickard, Andrei Loktionov 

The post 2008 NHL Entry Draft: Five Forgotten Picks appeared first on The
Hockey Writers.

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