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| 2011 Carolina Hurricane Red/White - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC |
With the
Los Angeles Kings finally securing their first Stanley Cup in franchise history and the NHL Awards show making its glitzy appearance in Las Vegas earlier in the week, the
NHL season hits it peak and is ready to begin again with the
2012 NHL Entry Draft taking place at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. is upon us.
Many have indicated that this draft could be one of the most unpredictable not only in terms of picks, but deals that could be made by many teams throughout the whole event starting and on Friday night and continuing through Saturday.
This is a view from inside the conference room at PNC Arena, home of the Carolina Hurricanes, on happenings throughout the night and day.
Be prepared for pleasant surprises, excitement, letdown, boredom and an overall appreciation for the initial determination of 700+ young men's professional hockey careers.
Game on!!
Round 1
As commissioner Gary Bettman started the NHL's 50th Entry Draft to a rousing set of boos, he maintained great concentration to get the show started.
With the top pick overall the Edmonton Oilers selected Nail Yakupov, the expected and top-rated player by NHL Central Scouting - no big surprise there.
Next up is the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Another non-shocker as they select Ryan Murray from the WHL - 2nd overall ranked North American player
Coming next - Les Habitants de Montreal
They skip over 3rd-ranked Mikhail Gigorenko who played in Quebec to select Alex Galchenyuk from Sarnia in the OHL.
New York Islanders are on the clock - made a trade earlier with Anaheim Ducks - see @NYIslanders tweets for details
The Isles take Griffin Reinhart - 10th on the pre-draft list.
Toronto Maple Leafs are now on the clock.
Brian Burke headed to the stage right now and after thanking the LA Kings on winning the Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins for hosting the draft and a shout out to everyone in TO, the leafs select Morgan Reilly.
Anaheim Ducks up next.
They select Hampus Lindholm from Sweden - a steal of a player as some are referring to him.
He was off the radar to be sure.
The Wild of Minnesota are next.
Mathew Dumba is a now a part of the Wild.
Carolina Hurricanes are up next at #8.
The Hurricanes make a big trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins!!
They acquire Jordan Staal, brother of captain Eric, for the #8 pick, Brandon Sutter, and Brian Dumoulin.
With the eighth pick overall the Penguins select Derrick Pouliot from the WHL.
Winnipeg Jets selecting in the next spot.
They take big defensemen Jacob Trouba.
Tampa Bay Lighting coming up next at #10 - they take Slater Koekkoek from the OHL Peterborough Petes.
The Washington Capitals come up to the podium next - they select top international skater Filip Forsberg.
Buffalo Sabres on now on the clock - Mikhail Grigorenko is headed to the Sabres as the 12th overall pick of this draft.
Moving on - Dallas Stars will be up next - select Radek Fasksa from the Kitchener Rangers.
Next up are the Buffalo Sabres with another pick - they select Zemgus Girgensons from the USHL - first selection from that league so far during the first round.
The Ottawa Senators use their pick to select Cody Ceci from the Ottawa 67's - not far to travel there.
With the 16th pick, the Washington Capitals get another selection and pick big winger, Tom Wilson from the Plymouth Whalers from the OHL.
San Jose is next up and they pick Tomas Hertl - a 5th-ranked international skater according to Central Scouting.
The Chicago Blackhawks step up to the mike and take Teuvo Teravainen from Finland.
With another pick during the first round, the Tampa bay Lightning select the first goaltender of the draft and an international at that - Andrei Vasilevskiy from Russia.
Philadelphia is up next and selects Scott Laughton from the Oshawa Generals of the OHL.
Calgary is up next and they pick Mark Jankowski, the draft's first high school selection.
Pittsburgh returns to the podium and selects Olli Maata from the London Knights in the OHL.
The Florida Panthers select Michael Matheson from Dubuque of the USHL.
Next up are the Boston Bruins who select first North American goalie, Malcolm Subban - brother of PK.
The St. Louis Blues pick Jordan Schmaltz of Green Bay from the USHL.
With the next pick, the Vancouver Canucks select Brendan Gaunce from the Belleville Bulls.
The Phoenix Coyotes then step up and select Henrik Samuelson from Edmonton of the WHL.
The New York Rangers select Brady Skjei from the US U-18 team and another USHL product.
Stanley Cup finalist New Jersey Devils will get the 29th overall pick coming up and they pick up physical and scrappy Stefan Matteau from the US U-18 team and the USHL.
Finally, with the final pick for the first round, the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings select
Tanner Pearson from the Barrie Colts of the OHL.
The first round is now complete and the subsequent rounds will continue on Saturday morning.
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