2001 NHL Draft
Ilya Kovalchuk in the 2001 NHL Draft
Atlanta Thrashers selected Ilya Kovalchuk first overall in the 2001 NHL Draft.
He was the first of the 36 Russians selected that year. It was the first of the 9 picks Atlanta Thrashers made in the draft. Of the 289 players selected in 2001, 126 have played in the NHL regular season. Only 7 of them have played more games than his 926, and only one has scored more points than his 876.
- Overall pick
- 1
- Round and pick
- Round 1, pick 1
- Drafting team
- ATLAtlanta Thrashers
- Date
- Age at the draft
- 18 years
The picks around it
Picks 1–4 in the 2001 draft
- 1Ilya KovalchukL926 GP · 876 PATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 2Jason SpezzaC1248 GP · 995 POTTOttawa Senators
- 3Alexander SvitovC179 GP · 37 PTBLTampa Bay Lightning
- 4Stephen WeissC732 GP · 423 PFLAFlorida Panthers
Games and points are NHL regular season to date.
Place in the draft class
Where he came in the 2001 class
1st
of 36 Russians selected
1st
of 159 forwards selected
Counted in draft order across the whole draft. The position is the one listed at the draft.
First Russians selected
- 1Ilya KovalchukL926 GP · 876 PATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 3Alexander SvitovC179 GP · 37 PTBLTampa Bay Lightning
- 5Stanislav ChistovR196 GP · 61 PANAAnaheim Ducks
- 15Igor KnyazevDCARCarolina Hurricanes
- 33Timofei ShishkanovR24 GP · 5 PNSHNashville Predators
- 40Fedor TyutinD872 GP · 264 PNYRNew York Rangers
- 41Andrei TaratukhinFCGYCalgary Flames
- 47Alexander PolushinFTBLTampa Bay Lightning
- 56Andrei MedvedevGCGYCalgary Flames
- 60Victor UchevatovDNJDNew Jersey Devils
+ 26 more
After the draft
The road to the NHL
Ilya Kovalchuk made his NHL debut on October 4, 2001, 103 days after the draft.
926
Games
443
Goals
433
Assists
876
Points
NHL regular season to date.
The team's draft
Atlanta Thrashers picks in the 2001 draft
- 1Ilya KovalchukL926 GP · 876 PATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 80Michael GarnettG24 GP · 10 WATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 100Brian SipotzDATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 112Milan GajicCATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 135Colin StuartL56 GP · 13 PATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 189Pasi NurminenG125 GP · 48 WATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 199Matt SudermanDATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 201Colin FitzrandolphCATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 262Mario CartelliDATLAtlanta Thrashers