From the Soviet Union, Valeri Kamensky was one of a handful of players that NHL teams began to draft in the possible anticipation that they could one day play in the NHL. Kamensky was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1988 and made his debut for them during the 1991-92 season.
Duchesne was drafted 3rd overall in 2009, and fittingly, he finished third in Calder Trophy voting in 2009-10 after he scored 55 Points. The Center from Haliburton, Ontario, had a better sophomore campaign with a 67 Point season and a trip to the All-Star Game, but injuries took him out of roughly a third of the Avs games in the next two seasons. Duchesne would have his best stat year for Colorado in 2013-14 with 70 Points, and he followed that up with two more 55-plus campaigns, the latter seeing him go to his second All-Star Game.
Anton Stastny was actually drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976; however, the NHL voided the draft, as he was deemed too young (he was 19 at the time). The Quebec Nordiques drafted him the following year, but many thought it was pointless as he lived in Czechoslovakia, which was part of the Communist Bloc. It turned out to be a smart move by the NHL team.
