
#2 Scott PearsonThe Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Scott Pearson with the sixth overall pick in 1988. He played with the Kingston Canadians in his draft year scoring 26 goals and 32 assists for 58 points in 46 games. Not eye-popping numbers but he eclipsed 117 penalty minutes in that season, making him a hot commodity in that era. He was a tough player who could hit and fight while still having enough skill to contribute on the scoresheet.
However, this did not fully materialize when he got to the professional level. He would get a nine game stint with the Leafs that upcoming season where he only registered one assist and two penalty minutes. After being sent back down to juniors, he would play 45 games split between the now Kingston Raiders and Niagara Falls Thunder. He would notch 35 goals and 42 assists for 77 points, while amassing 124 pims.
Over the next few seasons that followed, Pearson would find himself going up and down between the AHL and NHL and being traded to the Quebec Nordiques organization. By 1993, he would play 139 games in the NHL registering 47 points and 305 pims. Finally ahead of the 93-94 season, he would be flipped to the Edmonton Oilers for Martin Gelinas and a sixth round pick. There, he would play the best season of his career scoring 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points and adding 165 pims in 72 games.
Unfortunately, the injuries Pearson faced over his career would start to take their toll and over the coming seasons he would miss more and more time. This lead to him once again being bounced up and down between the minors and the NHL. He finally retired in 2001 playing a total of 292 NHL games with 56 goals, 42 assists for 98 points and 615 penalty minutes.
Now, for the fun part. Unlike with Convery, it’s basically a Hall of Fame induction class picked after Pearson. Here are some players the Leafs missed out that were picked in the next four spots just after him: Martin Gelinas, Jeremy Roenick, Rod Brind’Amour, Teemu Selanne. Yikes.