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Carolina Hurricanes: Worst Draft Picks of the Decade

By Ryan Henkel

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 25: Ron Francis of the Carolina Hurricanes works on the draft floor during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at Staples Center on June 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 25: Ron Francis of the Carolina Hurricanes works on the draft floor during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at Staples Center on June 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Haydn Fleury – 2014; First Round; Number 7

RALEIGH, NC – OCTOBER 09: Markus Granlund #60 of the Vancouver Canucks challenges Haydn Fleury #4 of the Carolina Hurricanes for the puck during their game at PNC Arena on October 9, 2018 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes won 5-3. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – OCTOBER 09: Markus Granlund #60 of the Vancouver Canucks challenges Haydn Fleury #4 of the Carolina Hurricanes for the puck during their game at PNC Arena on October 9, 2018 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes won 5-3. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

It isn’t that I think Haydn Fleury is a bad player. He’s a great guy that has also shown flashes of brilliance on the ice. But by all standards, he was a bad pick.

The first selection by Ron Francis in his stint as general manager, and he chose to go with a defenseman. A defenseman ranked number nine among North American skaters. A defenseman on a team with scoring issues. At number eight went William Nylander, at nine Nikolaj Ehlers. Thirteen was Jakub Vrana and fifteen was Dylan Larkin.

A lot more forwards went after that. Looking at the 2013-14 roster, the season before the draft, neither the offense nor the defense looked solid, but the team was closer to league average for goals against than goals for.

It is often said that with drafting that high, you take the best player available and at the time, Fleury was not the best player available. His development has been hurt, constantly leaped on the depth chart, and he may still turn it around, but as it currently sits, Fleury wasn’t the best pick.

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