Whoops! My bad guys.....

Every time I hear Mike Ricci's name I picture Jaromir Jagr. When I was younger, like a lot of you I assume, I collected hockey cards. The brand varied through the years but the fact that I collected them did not. In the fall of 1990 Score released their 90-91 Hockey Card set and I probably bought it and made love to the box before the sun went down on the day it was released. Rookie cards are obviously a big deal because that's how you get rich, right? If any of the players who were drafted that previous spring developed into superstars Ryan was going to get paid. So my first move each year was to put all of the 1st round draft picks into their own protective case. I was obviously a Flyers fan then so I was pumped about the #4 overall pick, Mike Ricci. I put his card in one of my few double thick glass protective cases with screws. The next pick just went in the regular old case along with the others.

As time passed it became quite clear who the diamond in the rough was of this class - Scott Scissons.. But besides Scissons there was another jem - Jaromir Jagr.

There he was sitting 5th in the pile of cards...right under Mike Ricci in his impenetrable fortress of glass and metal. A few years later when I looked through those cards I remember being pretty pissed that I had wasted my good case on Ricci when the player who deserved it sat right under him. As I got older and my focus moved away from cards my anger was redirected to Bobby Clarke. How can somebody pick Mike Ricci over Jaromir Jagr!?! I understand it was a different world, and Jagr was the first player to come to the NHL from Czechoslovakia without having to defect, but come on!

I mean Christ Almighty! Jiri Latal, a Czech, was on our team during 89-90! He didn't say anything? He had never heard about the one of the greatest hockey players in the history of the world that grew up a short tank ride from his own home town?

In the end I don't think Jagr would've fit in Philadelphia very well at all, but you'd be surprised how quickly a long-haired sissy who scores you 1,500 points is accepted wherever he goes.

Here's a look at the top five 1st round draft picks that left the GM who next approached the podium laughing all the way to the bank. The goals and assists bank.

#5
Shawn Anderson (Sabres) over Vincent Damphouse (Leafs) - 1986
These two players play different positions, but it's not like we're talking Quarterback and Punter - even though their numbers seem like it. These two young guns were picked 5th and 6th respectively in the 1st round of the '86 entry draft. Damphousse had just completed a modest season in the Q in which he compiled 155 points and Anderson, after a so-so year at UMaine in 84-85, had toured with the Canadian National team and picked up 8 points in 33 games. During his career Damphousse scored 1,190 points to Anderson's earth-shattering 62. Enough said.

#4
Normand Lavielle (Bruins) over Al Macinnis (Flames) - 1981
These guys came a little later in the first round than the rest of the pack, being drafted 14th and 15th respectively. It should be noted that right after Macinnis was picked the Flyers drafted Steve Smith, who managed to squeeze 17 NHL games into his busy schedule. Kudos Steve! Even though Macinnis was a D-Man and Lavielle a forward the number differential is astounding. Lavielle played 75 NHL games and scored 42 points - Macinnis 1,416 and 1,274.
* Research note - Lavielle had a brain aneurysm in his 2nd season and after being in a comma for 3 weeks was forced to retire. I already typed all this though so I'm leaving it.

#3
Stephane Quintal (Bruins) over Joe Sakic (Nords) - 1987
Not to take anything away from steady defenseman Stephane Quintal, but if the Bruins could do it over again, they take Joe Sakic. Once again we're comparing a forward with a D, but unless the player picked before Sakic was a superstar in his own right, this one makes the list. Joe Sakic has scored 1,589 points in 1,319 games and is still going. He has 22 points in 24 games this season! Quintal never came back after the lock-out. Plus he's French Canadian like the hilarious guys at Carrot Top Humor.com.

#2
Darren Veitch (Caps) over Paul Coffey (Oilers) - 1980
These two D-Men were picked 5th and 6th in the 1980 Entry Draft. Upon his retirement, Paul Coffey had 1274 more points than Veitch and had played 3 times as many games. Throw in Coffey's 4 Stanley Cups, 3 Norris Trophies, and the fact that he's 2nd in All-time scoring for defensemen and I think he safely secures the number two spot.

Best Year
Coffey - 48 G, 90 A, 138 Pts in '83
Veitch - 13 G, 45 A, 58 Pts in '86

#1 but probably shouldn't be
Mike Ricci(Flyers) over Jaromir Jagr(Pens)
Mike Ricci was the embodiment of hard-nose Flyers hockey. He always played hard and after only two seasons with the Flyers left himself in Flyers Fans consciousness for the remainder of his career. In his own right he scored over 600 points. But who knows where Jagr is going to end up. He doesn't seem like he's letting up at all and is currently at 1,551.