'60 Diamonds' series to conclude on NHL Network

The final edition of "60 Diamonds: The Greatest Picks of the 60 NHL Drafts" will unveil the 20 greatest draft picks on NHL Network on Saturday (7 p.m. ET).

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first NHL draft in 1963, 13 writers and editors from NHL.com were asked to select the best 60 draft picks of the first 60 drafts.

But what makes a great draft pick? Is it the first-round selection who outperforms his draft slot? Is it the mid-round find who becomes a team leader? Or the late-round gem who develops into a star?

It was an easy question to ask, but a difficult one to answer. Only three players made it onto all 13 ballots, and 172 players received at least one vote.

In the first reveal, players from Nos. 60-51 included current stars Kirill Kaprizov and Evgeni Malkin, as well as Hall of Famers Jarome Iginla and Grant Fuhr.

Among those in Nos. 50-41 were three-time Stanley Cup champion teammates Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane.

Coming in at Nos. 40-31 were several Hall of Fame defensemen, among them Brian Leetch, Scott Niedermayer and Paul Coffey.

Falling just outside the top 20 were Pavel Bure, and Alex Ovechkin, who was voted the No. 21 greatest draft pick ever.

If those stars of yesterday and today didn't finish in the top 20, who did? That's what will be unveiled Saturday, with host Kathryn Tappen joined by long-time NHL analyst Pierre McGuire, NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and NHL.com staff writer David Satriano.

The top 20 also will be revealed on NHL.com Saturday following the show airing on NHL Network.

Each member of the NHL.com panel submitted his or her top 60 draft picks, with No. 1 given 60 points, No. 2 getting 59 points, all the way down to No. 60 receiving one point. Any ties were broken by the players' average place on voters' lists, the total number of ballots the players appeared on, and, if needed, the players' highest ranking on any single ballot.

The voting panel consisted of senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke, managing editor Brian Compton, deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman, columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika, senior writer Dan Rosen and staff writers Amalie Benjamin, William Douglas, Tom Gulitti, Mike G. Morreale, Tracey Myers, David Satriano, Paul Strizhevsky and Mike Zeisberger.