Many people criticized the John Quenneville pick when it happened. People wanted the New Jersey Devils to select someone like Brendan Lemieux, the son of former Devils forward Claude Lemieux. The winger was coming off a 27 goal season, and looked like he’d be just like his father.
Another name thrown around was Ivan Barbashev. The Russian was coming off a very productive season in the QMJHL, and was a more productive scorer than Quenneville. At the time, it seemed like the safe pick to make, but Quenneville’s play has shut that notion down.
His WHL career had some ups and downs, but he would end it with a 31G/42A/73P season and a WHL Championship.