It's usual that most of the NHL players were drafted, every club wants to get talented prospects which will became the power of a team or even became hockey stars. But also there are some player who never been drafted, but became stars, team captains and just great players as well as top draft picks do. So there I composed a line of an active NHL players, who never been drafted in the best hockey league.
Goalie
Sergei Bobrovski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Bobrovski started his professional career in Russia, with Metallurg Novokuznetsk in 2006 at the age 18 and played there four seasons before getting an NHL contract with Philadelphia Flyers in 2010. Sergey impressed coaches during training camp, but he had to start with the Adirondack Phantoms in the AHL. However, Bobrovski never played in AHL, at the beginning of the 2010-11 season he replaced the injured Michael Leighton and fully used his chance to became a starting goalie. At the age of 22 years and 17 days he became the youngest Flyers' rookie goalie to win a season-opening game.
In 2012, after a disappointing performance in the playoffs, Bobrovski was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he again became a starting goalie, had a 2.00 GAA and .932 SV% in the 2012-13 season and won his first Vezina Trophy. For the second time he won Vezina in 2017, both times he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team. Also, Bobrovski has all three World Championship medals, won with the Russia national team: gold (2014), silver (2015) and bronze (2016).
Defensemen
Torey Krug (Boston Bruins)
Torey has two brothers who are also played hockey, were undrafted and already finished their careers. But Torey, the youngest, performed much better in college. He attended the Michigan State University and during his three years in the NCAA Krug was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team, CCHA First All-Star Team (twice), NCAA (West) First All-American Team, two times was named the CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman and once the CCHA Player of the Year.
After the great performance at the college level Krug signed a contract with the Boston Bruins in 2012 as a free agent. He debuted in the NHL at the end of the 2011-12, the next season played for the Providence Bruins and was recalled to Boston in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Torey scored 6 points in 15 playoff games and became the first rookie defenseman in NHL history to score four goals in his first five playoff games. Last season this small two-way defenseman had 71 points in 87 games (regular season + playoffs) - a nice result, for sure.
Mark Giordano (Calgary Flames)
Giordano, a Calgary Flames captain since 2013, performed very well as a junior in the OHL, in 2002-03 he even was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team. But he went unselected at the NHL Draft and spent a year more in the OHL. In 2004 Mark enrolled at York University, but didn't played in the NCAA because Flames invited him to the camp and then signed to a contract.
The first three seasons Giordano mostly played in the AHL, just in 2006-07 season he had 48 games with Flames. He didn't came to terms on a new NHL contract and left the League to play for Dynamo Moscow in Russia in the 2007-08 season, represented Canada at the Spengler Cup and was named to the national team for the 2008 World Championship, but didn't played due to an injury. In summer 2008 Mark signed a new 3-year deal with the Flames, and also stayed with the team when he can became an UFA in 2011. In 755 NHL games (all with Flames) Giordano scored 378 points (112+266) and had 55 +/-. In 2016 he won the NHL Foundation Player Award and became the World Championship Silver Medalist with theam Canada in 2008.
Forwards
Artemi Panarin (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Pananrin got into the NHL at the age 24 in 2015 when he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. In the beginning of his career he played in KHL, for Vityaz and then SKA Saint Petersburg and was one of the league's stars in the last two KHL seasons. In his rookie NHL season Artemi played on a line with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov, scored 77 points in 80 games (the best result among all the rookies that season) and won the Calder Memorial Trophy.
In 2017 Blackhawks traded Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he developed his results and had 82 points in 81 games which is a new Blue Jackets franchise points record. The next summer Panarin becomes a UFA and it's interesting where he will continue his career.
At the international level Panarin won gold medal at the 2011 World Junior Championships with the Russia team.
Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Johnson started his way to the NHL from the minor hockey leagues, in 2007-2011 he played for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL and developed well. In his last WHL year Johnson had 115 points in 71 regular-season games and 27 +/-, so an offer from the NHL wasn't a big surprise.
The next season Tyler Johnson played for the Norfolk Admirals, the AHL affiliate for the Lightning and became a key player of the team and helped to win the first ever Calder Cup. However, his first full NHL season was 2013-14. Since that he set some Lightning franchise records, became one of the top offensive players in the team and the 10th most points in Lightning history. Johnson also helped the United States national team to win the gold medals at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Canada.
Mats Zuccarello (New York Rangers)
Zuccarello is one of the two Norwegian players in the NHL and the best performing Norwegian. He was born in Oslo and his junior team was local Frisk Asker for which he continued to play at the professional level in the GET-Ligaen. Mats had more than a point per game in the GET-Ligaen, so in 2008, after three years in Norway he signed a deal with the Swedish club MODO Hockey where he continued to score more and more points. In his second season in Sweden Zuccarello led the SHL with 64 points in 55 games and won the Guldhjälmen as the league's MVP by players' opinion.
The 2010-11 season Mats Zuccarello started already in the North America after being signed by the New York Rangers as a free agent. The same season he became the 7th Norwegian player in the NHL history when debuted 23 December 2010. In 8 NHL seasons with the Rangers Mats scored 315 points (102+213) in 463 games and in 2017 was named an alternate captain of the Rangers.
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