Editing Atlanta Thrashers (section)

===1999–2003: The early years===
The newly formed Thrashers selected [[Patrik Štefan|Patrik Stefan]] with the first overall selection and [[Luke Sellars]] with the 30th overall pick (second pick of the second round) in the [[1999 NHL entry draft]]. However, the entire 1999 NHL entry draft was a major disappointment for the Thrashers, as all 11 of their draft picks were out of the NHL by the team's last season; Stefan played the most games for the Thrashers (414) from that draft.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr00004682.html|title=Atlanta Thrashers Draft History at Hockey Database|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611081824/http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr00004682.html|archive-date=2010-06-11}}</ref> Their first two picks (Stefan and Sellars) were two of the biggest disappointments in draft history; NHL.com listed Stefan as the worst first overall pick of all time and Sellars (who played [[List of players who played only one game in the NHL|only one NHL game]]) as the worst 30th overall pick in NHL history.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kreiser|first=John|title=The best picks ever, No. 1-30|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=425503&page=NewsPage&service=page|publisher=[[National Hockey League]]|date=2009-06-15|access-date=2009-06-25}}</ref> This was a surprise, as not only did the media hype Stefan as a franchise player, but hockey experts also considered then-Thrashers general manager [[Don Waddell]] to have excellent scouting ability.

The Thrashers played their first game on October 2, 1999, losing 4–1 to the [[New Jersey Devils]]. [[Captain (ice hockey)|Captain]] [[Kelly Buchberger]] scored the franchise's first goal in the loss and the team finished their first season in last place in the [[Southeast Division (NHL)|Southeast Division]] with 14 wins, 61 losses (including four overtime losses), and seven ties for a total of 39 points.

Atlanta had the second overall pick in the [[2000 NHL entry draft]]; this draft brought better results, as the player chosen with that pick, [[Dany Heatley]], became one of the team's best players. The team also had a fine choice in the [[2001 NHL entry draft|2001 draft]] with first overall pick [[Ilya Kovalchuk]]. Both Heatley and Kovalchuk played their first season in the NHL in [[2001–02 NHL season|2001–02]]; both were named to the [[NHL All-Rookie Team]] and Heatley was awarded the [[Calder Memorial Trophy]] as the League's Rookie of the Year.

The early years of the Atlanta Thrashers saw a sharp increase of hockey fans in Atlanta. Ticket sales for Thrashers games averaged at 10,000 per night, many of them being season tickets. A section of the arena was dedicated to season ticket holders that called themselves the "Nasty Nest". The "Nasty Nest" chanted and shouted at the opposing team to disrupt them. The Thrashers also had two Thrasher bird heads that faced opposite to the scoreboard. The Thrasher heads opened their beaks to reveal a flamethrower that ignited when the team scored a goal. At this time, the franchise adopted a motto "Believe in Blueland", which was often used in advertising.

At the same time, however, the Thrashers were hamstrung by Turner's reluctance to spend the money it took to make them competitive. According to veteran forward [[Ray Ferraro]], who played for the Thrashers during their first three seasons, Waddell told him that Turner treated the Thrashers mostly as an afterthought; they were allocated whatever money was left over after Turner allocated payroll for the Braves and Hawks.<ref name=TheAthletic/>

[[Marcel Comeau]] was named director of amateur scouting for the Thrashers, on July 9, 2003, and stayed in the role until the team was sold.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1972/72148.html|title=1972 NHL Amateur Draft – Marcel Comeau|website=Hockey Draft Central|access-date=2018-09-30}}</ref>