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How will Flyers' Nolan Patrick compare to other No. 2 picks?

The last two No. 2 overall picks have excelled in the NHL a few months after they were drafted, but most take time to blossom.

Nolan Patrick fights with Boston’s David Krejci during a preseason game.
Nolan Patrick fights with Boston’s David Krejci during a preseason game.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer
    by Sam Carchidi | Columnist
    Published 

Jack Eichel and Patrik Laine, the respective No. 2 overall picks in the 2015 and 2016 NHL drafts, both excelled as they went right to the NHL a few months after they were drafted.

But most players drafted in that spot — as Nolan Patrick was in June — needed time to blossom.

In the last 20 years, 16 forwards were chosen with the No. 2 overall pick, and only eight of them went right to the NHL the next season. Just three of those eight players had 20 goals or more in their rookie year.

Here are the forwards who were selected No. 2 overall in that span and what they did in their first season after the draft: