2014 Top Picks Reaffirm Strong Bond Despite Stanley Cup Faceoff

This Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers highlights the very best of the 2014 NHL Draft. The top four picks all play a prominent role for their respective teams.

The top four picks were Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, Leon Draitsaitl and Sam Bennett. Three of the four, excluding Draisaitl, won the Cup with Florida last season and are looking to go back-to-back.

There is a photo, which is going viral during the Stanley Cup Finals, of the four running up the steps to the Rocky statue in Philadelphia before the draft. It's not going to break the internet, but the players seem to be having fun with it.

According to NHL.com, Ekblad, Reinhart, Draisaitl and Bennett were in Philadelphia for the 2014 NHL Draft, where they were selected by the Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames with the first four picks, respectively.

“We were sending those pictures in our group chats and just laughing at our terrible outfits and terrible shoes,” Bennett said to Tom Guilitti of NHL.com. “It was pretty funny to reminisce on those times.”

They were 18 years old at the time and they could not envision winning a Stanley Cup together.

“It’s amazing” Ekblad said. “We joke about it all the time, you know, ‘What are the odds?’ And it’s special because we're friends before it and friends for life now. So, it’s amazing. Brothers for life, at this point.”

The top five players in this year's draft in Los Angeles, Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, James Hagens and Jake O’Brien, were at Game 3 Monday night and got have a meet and greet with the players.

Ekblad, Reinhart, Bennett and Draisaitl were at the 2014 Cup Final between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.

Florida has reached the Stanley Cup Final in three consecutive seasons. However, it was a tumultuous road to get there. During all of the transition and tumult, Ekblad had to deal with the additional pressure that comes with being the top pick.

“All eyes are on you,” Ekblad said. “I was lucky that I was in Florida, so maybe a little bit sheltered, and I had some amazing older players and an amazing support group and family to lean on. I think maybe it’s hurt some guys, but I’ve been lucky that it worked out for me.”