Getting a first overall pick can be a pivotal moment for a franchise, and in 2006, the St. Louis Blues had the honor of selecting first. The general consensus going into the draft was that defenseman Erik Johnson of the U.S. National Team Development Program was going to go first overall, and indeed, the Blues used their pick on him.
Johnson, in retrospect, was the wrong choice.
As a refresher, the players that went after Johnson were: Jordan Staal to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jonathan Toews to the Chicago Blackhawks, Nick Backstrom to the Washington Capitals, Phil Kessel to the Boston Bruins--all in that order. Every one of those five is likely making the Hockey Hall of Fame, but Johnson's career was the weakest of the bunch. In fact, he ended up spending only three seasons with the Blues before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche.
In this NHL.com redraft from 2019, Johnson doesn't even crack the top ten picks; Toews goes first overall, and Johnson goes 12th. The Hockey Writers, in 2016, was a little more generous, putting Johnson fifth overall, and the Hockey News, in a 2020 redraft, had Johnson going seventh.
It's not like Johnson's had a bad career, either: he finally won a Stanley Cup in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche, and is truly a good vibes guy with a sense of humor. Ultimately, though, 1st-overall picks are as valuable as they come, and the Blues using their pick on Johnson was quite a misstep when looking at the careers of the four players selected after him. Imagine if the Blues had Jonathan Toews instead? Or even Claude Giroux, who, taken 22nd overall, emerged as a star and far surpassed his draft slot? Even 3rd-round pick Brad Marchand surpasses Johnson in a few redrafts.
The 2006 draft just goes to show that, while consensus has its advantages, sometimes it can blind you in your selection process. That's why Erik Johnson may be the worst draft pick in Blues history; just because it was a consensus doesn't mean it was correct.