The Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the 2020 NHL Draft by selecting overaged Russian winger Yegor Chinakhov, a player who went undrafted in 2019 and was off the radar for most analysts. Apparently a handful of other teams had him high on their boards, though it’s not clear whether any would have pulled the trigger in the 20s had the Jackets traded down.
Setting aside discussion of the value of the pick, I wanted to look back at recent draft history to see what range of outcomes we should expect from a #21 overall pick, or from a first round Russian.