Who's the best No. 7 pick in NHL history from 1967-onward? If you ask ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, it's Bernie Federko. Wyshynski concocted a list of the best draft pick at every slot from No. 1 overall to No. 224, and the legendary Federko beat out his competition.
Federko never won a major award, but he's in the Hall of Fame, nonetheless. Still, he played 13 of his 14 seasons with the Blues, and was one of the faces of the franchise during the 1980s.
He hit the century mark in points on four different occasions, with his best season coming in 1983-84, when he snagged 107 points, 41 goals, and 66 assists. He also amassed a 20.9 shooting percentage, the highest mark of his career.
Federko finished his Blues career with 927 games, 1,073 points, 352 goals, and 721 assists, to go with a 17.9 shooting percentage. He was also outstanding on the man advantage, scoring 117 power play goals, nearly 1/3 of his overall total.
Bernie Federko deserved to be called the greatest No. 7 pick ever
Federko also played one season and 73 games for the Detroit Red Wings, giving him 1,000 career games. A mark that most NHL players will never see.
While Federko never hoisted the Stanley Cup, he was part of some dominant Blues teams that made the playoffs in 11 of his 13 seasons with the club. His best outing came in 1986, when he put up 21 points and seven goals in 19 games.
He also had outstanding playoff runs in 1981, with 18 points and eight goals in 11 games, and 1982, where he also finished with 18 points, but in 10 contests. Such legendary playoff outings capped off what was a remarkable career in Arch City.
Some of Bernie Federko's career numbers are also among the NHL's best
Overall, Federko's career shooting percentage of 17.8 sits at No. 37 all time as I write this, 16th in career assists per game with 0.76, 23rd with 1.13 points per game, and 51st in goals created per game, with 0.41.
Federko epitomized the star label without putting up Brett Hull-like or even superstar numbers. And to be real, oftentimes, if you have a few players on your team like Federko, you're making deep playoff and championship-caliber runs.