With the ability of hindsight, we at RealGM will be redoing the first round of each draft from 1995 to the present. Results will often change dramatically; some players lived up to their draft slot, some underachieved, some came out of nowhere to overachieve. While 16 actual first round picks likely wouldn’t be drafted near the top if re-done, you can see how this draft paid dividends for Tampa Bay and New Jersey. Each team drafted two players in this draft that played key roles in winning the Stanley Cup. It is interesting to note that no goalies appear on this list. Only ten goalies in total were drafted in 1998, the best of which was probably Andrew Raycroft, as the list contains all backup netminders. Also interesting: picks 13, 14 and 15 combined for only 12 games played in the NHL. Stats as of August 3, 2012. The 1998 Draft Redone (actual pick in brackets) 1. Pavel Datsyuk (171, Detroit): 718 points in 732 games, 94 playoff points, best plus/minus (plus-208), 2 Stanley Cups, 3-time Selke winner as top defensive forward, 3-time All-Star, Hart Trophy nominee in 2009. 2. Vincent Lecavalier (1, Tampa Bay): Most goals (373), points (842) and games (998), minus-111, 52 playoff points, 2007 Rocket Richard winner, Stanley Cup winner, 4-time All-Star. 3. Brad Richards (64, Tampa Bay): Most assists (537), second in points (782) in 854 games, minus-74, 77 playoff points, Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner. 4. Simon Gagne (22, Philadelphia): Second in goals (283), 581 points in 761 games, plus-130, 59 playoff points, Stanley Cup winner, 2-time All-Star. 5. Scott Gomez (27, New Jersey): Second in games (902) and assists (517), 99 playoff points, 2-time Stanley Cup winner and 2-time All-Star. 6. Andrei Markov (162, Montreal): Most points by a defenseman (369 in 636 games), 2-time All-Star. 7. Alex Tanguay (12, Colorado): Third most points (735), second in plus/minus (plus-162) in 882 games, 59 playoff points, Stanley Cup winner, All-Star. 8. Brian Gionta (82, New Jersey): 217 goals, 419 points in 647 games, plus-61, 60 playoff points, Stanley Cup winner. 9. Mike Ribiero (45, Montreal): 387 assists, 560 points in 737 games, plus-5, All-Star. 10. Erik Cole (71, Carolina): 219 goals, 451 points in 702 games, plus-14, Stanley Cup winner. 11. David Legwand (2, Nashville): 846 games, 501 points, plus-33. 12. Robyn Regehr (19, Colorado): Most games by a defenseman (902), 168 points, plus-18. 13. Mike Fisher (44, Ottawa): 411 points, plus-34 in 774 games, 97 playoff games. 14. Shawn Horcoff (99, Edmonton): 435 points, minus-46 in 765 games, All-Star. 15. Nik Antropov (10, Toronto): 447 points, plus-49 in 748 games. 16. Brad Stuart (3, San Jose): 876 games, 305 points, plus-6, 124 playoff games, Stanley Cup winner. 17. Jaroslav Spacek (117, Florida): 880 games played, 355 points, plus-49, 61 playoff games. 18. Michael Ryder (216, Montreal): Eight in goals (197 in 631 games), plus-23, 70 playoff games, Stanley Cup winner. 19. Mikael Samuelsson (145, San Jose): 342 points, plus-61 in 647 games, 99 playoff games, Stanley Cup winner. 20. Manny Malhotra (7, NY Rangers): 278 points, minus-17 in 855 games. 21. Rob Scuderi (134, Pittsburgh): 74 points, plus-23 in 537 games, 2-time Stanley Cup winner. 22. Francois Beauchemin (75, Montreal): 155 points, minus-39 in 491 games, Stanley Cup winner. 23. Jonathan Cheechoo (29, San Jose): 170 goals, 305 points, plus-29 in 501 games, 2006 Rocket Richard winner. 24. Ales Kotalik (164, Buffalo): 284 points, minus-46 in 542 games. 25. Martin Skoula (17, Colorado): 776 games, 196 points, plus-16. 26. Chris Neil (161, Ottawa): 200 points, 1,861 PIM in 731 games. 27. Alexei Ponikarovsky (87, Toronto): 314 points, plus-48 in 636 games. While Lecavalier boasts the best pure numbers, it would be hard to find a hockey person that would take him over Datsyuk right now. Datsyuk has a much more complete game, and probably the best hands in the NHL, along with being the finest defensive forward of his generation. And probably more than any draft we have re-done yet, there was much more quality to be found from 20-30 in 1998. Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email Nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NolanObergan