According to Sports Illustrated and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in talent in years, headed by Patrik Stefan and the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik.

The Canucks were determined to select both Sedins and therefore initiated a trading carousel involving multiple teams.

An example is how many first round picks have played the equivalent of an entire regular season ten seasons after the 1999 draft; only 16 out of 28 first round picks in 1999 have played 82 NHL games, while the same statistic applies to 23 out of 27 players in 1998 and 21 out of 30 players in 2000.

The last active player in the NHL from the 1999 draft class was Craig Anderson, who retired after the 2022–23 season, although he was re-drafted in 2001.

Vancouver GM Brian Burke was determined to draft Daniel and Henrik Sedin, after their performance at the 1999 IIHF World Championship in Oslo, Norway.