Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; General view of team executives on the arena floor in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Anaheim Ducks Top 5 Countdown: Biggest Busts in Franchise History (1993-Present)

Anaheim Ducks will be the first of 30 teams in a series dedicated to the top 5 draft busts in franchise history. Over the next while, we plan to explore all 30 teams (in alphabetical order) biggest misses on the draft floor since their inception.

For those expansion teams from the early and late 1990s into 2000, their franchise draft history is obviously skewed in comparison to older teams. Even with a limited sample size to choose from, each and every franchise has been victimized by the imperfect art of selecting 18-year-old undeveloped prospects.

Since their inception in 1993, the Anaheim Ducks have delivered mixed results at the NHL Draft. They’ve hit a share of home runs such as Paul Kariya back in 1993, or Corey Perry/Ryan Getzlaf in 2003, but there are a handful of misses along the way.

Anaheim Ducks Top 5 Draft Busts

5. Mark Mitera – 19th overall in 2006

This former Michigan Wolverines product showed a lot of potential during his NCAA career. Unfortunately, Mitera bounced around between the AHL/ECHL until 2012-13 – his final year of pro hockey.

Claude Giroux went four picks after Mitera at 22nd, Semyon Varlamov went 23rd, and Patrik Berglund went 25th.

4. Michael Holmqvist – 18th overall in 1997

Two more years in Sweden, four years in Finland, Holmqvist didn’t make the jump to North America until 2003-04.

He had a productive 46-point season with AHL Cincinnati during the lockout, which prompted a trade to Chicago for Travis Moen.

Holmqvist had a mere 35 points in 156 career NHL games, returning to Europe in 2007-08. He retired from pro hockey after the 2014-15 season.

3. Alexei Smirnov – 12th overall in 2000

A highly touted Russian center at the time, Smirnov joined the Ducks in 2002-03 splitting his first couple of seasons between the NHL/AHL.

He spent the entire 2004-05 lockout year with AHL Cincinnati before returning to Russia in 2005-06. Smirnov returned to North America in 2006-07 suiting up for ECHL Long Beach, but quickly returned to Russia joining the KHL in 2008-09.

A few notable players selected after Smirnov: Ron Hainsey (13th overall), Brooks Orpik (18th overall), Steve Ott (25th overall), Justin Williams (28th overall), and Niklas Kronwall (29th overall)

2. Vitaly Vishnevski – 5th overall in 1998

Vishnevski joined the Anaheim Ducks full-time in 2000-01 after splitting the previous year between the NHL/AHL. He played five more seasons with the Ducks until 2006-07 when he was traded to Atlanta for a minor leaguer and two draft picks.

Vishnevski’s play peaked in 2003-04 (the year before the lockout) with 16 points in 73 games. After bouncing around to Nashville and New Jersey, Vitaly Vishnevski joined the KHL in 2008-09 and played seven more seasons before retiring in 2014-15.

Several teams swung and missed at the top of the 1998 draft, but a few notables selected after Vishnevski: Manny Malhotra (7th overall), Alex Tanguay (12th overall), Simon Gagne (22nd overall), and Scott Gomez (27th overall)

1. Stanislav Chistov – 5th overall in 2001

Chistov easily tops the list for a few reasons. Expectations were high, and rightfully so as this prospect spewed top-notch potential at the time. He was ranked 2nd in Russian skaters behind Ilya Kovalchuk, and some were dubbing him “the Russian Kariya“.

Chistov posted a promising 30 points during his NHL rookie season in 2002-03, but he never came close to matching that total again. Eventually traded to Boston, Stanislav Chistov played a total of 196 career games, posting 61 points. Chistov most recently suited up for Yaroslav Lokomotiv of the KHL in 2015-16, and has been there since his departure from the NHL after the 2006-07 season.

This one hurts when you consider the names called after Chistov: Mikko Koivu (6th overall), Dan Hamhuis (12th overall), Ales Hemsky (13th overall), and R.J. Umberger (16th overall)