NHL Draft: Revisiting the 2005 Selections, Ten Years Later

By Melissa Kania |

Well folks, here we are: exactly one month away from the start of the 2015 NHL Draft. As we grow ever-closer, we’ve been looking back on past drafts and how those panned out for the Buffalo Sabres over time.

Today, we’ll look back ten years, at the 2005 NHL Draft.

Folks will remember that the 2005 NHL Draft was a unique one, as it followed the lockout year of 2004-2005. The draft order was determined by lottery, based on teams’ playoff appearances and first-overall picks from the past three years. This was also the first year the NHL draft was seven rounds, as opposed to nine rounds historically.

The 2005 NHL Draft was held privately at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, closed to the public for the first time since 1980.

Much like the 2015 NHL draft, there was one player at the top of it all – it was the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes, and everyone knew once the Pittsburgh Penguins won the lottery, it would be Crosby going first overall — and he did.

With the second pick, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim selected right winger Bobby Ryan, while USNTDP defenseman Jack Johnson went third overall to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Other notables selected in that first round of the 2005 NHL Draft: Carey Price, Anze Kopitar, Tuukka Rask and T.J. Oshie.

In what would end up being a big flop, the Buffalo Sabres used their first overall pick to select center Marek Zagrapan 13th overall, of the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens. To this day, many consider this the biggest draft fail by the Buffalo Sabres.

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The now-28-year-old never made it to the NHL and spent just three seasons with the Sabres’ AHL affiliates in Rochester and Portland.

Since 2009, Zagrapan has been playing overseas in a number of leagues. He’s played with Cherepovets Severstal, Khanty-Mansiysk Yugra, Trinec Ocelari HC, HPK Hameenlinna, Kladno and most recently, Graz EC in Austria. He never quite bloomed, and at the point, it seems unlikely he’ll ever play in the NHL.

Next up, the Sabres picked 48th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft, selecting left winger Philip Gogulla of Kolner Haie (Germany).

Gogulla is another one who never made it to the NHL. In fact, he played just 76 games in North America, for the Pirates in the 2009-10 season.

That year has been bookended by time with the DEL’s Cologne Sharks. Gogulla played there from 2004 until 2009 and rejoined them after his short stint in North America; he’s been there ever since. This past season, he put up 26 points in 52 games.

Finally, the Sabres drafted a player who WOULD make it to the NHL in the third round, 87th overall: Marc-Andre Gragnani.

The defenseman spent some time with both Rochester and Portland, also appearing in NHL games with the Sabres between 2007 and 2012. He appeared in 57 games for the Sabres before being traded to the Vancouvrer Canucks toward the end of the 2011-12 season.

After a stint there, he went to the Carolina Hurricanes organization for a season, spending most of that year with Charlotte in the AHL.

Gragnani then went on to play for Prague Lev in the KHL and most recently for Bern of the Swiss-A league. He had 37 points (8-29) in 49 games this season there.

Having no fourth-round pick, the Sabres then chose defenseman Chris Butler with the 96th overall selection in the 2005 NHL Draft.

Butler would play 162 NHL games for the Sabres, struggling to solidify a defense spot along with guys like Andrej Sekera and Mike Weber.

He’d then play for the Calgary Flames for three seasons before joining the St. Louis Blues for this past year. Butler had nine points in 33 NHL games and also appeared in 14 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.

With 389 NHL games under his belt, Butler is the most “veteran” player of those the Sabres drafted in 2005.

With the 142nd pick, the Sabres then chose Nathan Gerbe: another one who’d make it to the NHL. After some time with Portland, Gerbe eventually played with the Sabres between 2008 and 2013. He was largely a fan-favorite and had a solid place in the lineup.

He then joined the Carolina Hurricanes in 2013 and has been there ever since. This past season, Gerbe put up 28 points (10-18) in 78 games. Overall, he’s got 356 games of NHL experience.

The Buffalo Sabres’ final two picks in the 2005 NHL Draft have something in common: both have never played a game in the NHL.

With the 182nd overall selection, the Sabres chose goaltender Adam Dennis; then, with the 191st pick, Vyacheslav Buravchikov.

Dennis spent some time with Rochester and Portland before going on to play overseas. Since 2009, he’s largely played in the Italy-A league with Fassa HC and Alleghe HC, but also spent some time with the DEL’s Cologne Sharks. He last played for Dornbirn EC (Austria) in the 2013-2014 season.

Buravchikov, now 27, hasn’t played hockey since 2013. He never played in North America; since his draft year, he played Mytishchi Khimik, Kazan Ak-Bars and CSKA Moscow. In August 2013, he announced his decision to suspend his career due to heart problems.

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