By Chris Block
Welcome to this not exactly live, live blog of the first round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
My intention was to do this live but I wound up watching this almost entirely on a little delay.
The Blackhawks come into this draft on Friday night with the 8th and 27th selections.
The 8th is their own, while the latter came to them from the Nashville Predators in the February trade that sent Ryan Hartman to Nashville. The Hawks also got Victor Ejdsell in that exchange. Ejdsell had an encouraging run in the AHL playoffs with Rockford. He was impressive when he had the puck. Ejdsell has a great shot. If he has the puck with time and space he is dangerous. He needs that space though to be effective for the most part. His skating is okay for getting up and down the ice but its below average overall. It’ll be interesting to see him in training camp and if or how much that’s improved.
I came in at the very end of it, but the broadcast began with Gary Bettman giving the Humboldt Broncos the E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence.
Bettman is now at the podium doing an introduction speech. The audience at American Airlines Center in Dallas does not like him and is letting him hear it. You should probably know by now that Bettman loves this. Boo him. He’s filthy rich and you’re not.
As soon as Bettman made his first mention of the City of Dallas, the crowd cheered. You know, because hockey fans are people of unwavering principles…. Bettman egged them on some more. He wraps up with announcing that Buffalo is on the clock with the 1st pick.
1st overall – Buffalo Sables – D-Rasmus Dahlin [Frolunda Indians – SHL]
Kim Pegula is up to the podium first. She’s attractive so the crowd is whistling and cheering for her. She thanks the league and the Dallas organization before handing off to Sabres’ GM Jason Botterill for the inevitable announcement of Dahlin becoming a Sabre. It’s the Sabres’ first 1st overall pick since they took Pierre Turgeon at #1 in 1987. Kim Pegula gives Dahlin a hug. Phil Housley looks like he’s gonna cry tears of joy.
Kathryn Tappen interviews Dahlin for the NBC Sports broadcast. Dahlin says it’s a dream come true to be drafted 1st overall, “especially by the Buffalo Sabres.” Hmm. I suspect this won’t be the only time tonight we’re lied to.
Quickly, Don Waddell is at the podium for Carolina.
#2 pick – Carolina Hurricanes – RW-Andrei Svechnikov [Barrie Colts – OHL]
Craig Button “[Svechnikov] reminds me so much of Marian Hossa.”
Andrei Svechnikov’s older brother Evgeni was a first round pick of the Red Wings in 2015. Evgeni went 19th overall to Detroit, when he was drafted out of the QMJHL. Svechnikov spent another year in the Q before having a strong rookie year in 2016-17. He then took a couple of steps back in what can only be described as a hugely disappointing season last year with Grand Rapids.
Andrei is expected to step right into the NHL this fall. He’s supposed to be better and smarter than his older brother.
Commercial break precedes the next pick. This should be very interesting. Rumors abound all day that Finnish center Jesperi Kotkaniemi would be Montreal’s surprise pick here.
#3 pick – Montreal – C-Jesperi Kotkaniemi [Assat – Liiga]
And it is. Wow. Kotkaniemi is a very good prospect but this is a bit of a reach here at 3. Zadina and Tkachuk are closer to the NHL today than Kotkaniemi, who doesn’t turn 18 until next month.
Kotkaniemi was in virtually no one’s mock draft before the 9th pick until this week. The Blackhawks liked him and probably would have taken him if the defenseman they want isn’t there when they pick at 8.
This is another controversial Marc Bergevin move. Good prospect. Should be a nice player down the road. But Kotkaniemi projects as a second line center and there were bigger impact players Bergevin could have gone for in this spot. That said, if Montreal was in love with him at this pick, they were kind of in a pickle because everyone in the first 12 picks seems dead set on selecting in the spot they’re in, and not expending assets to move up when there’s not a lot of separation between players rated from 4 to 15.
#4 pick – Ottawa Senators – C-Brady Tkachuk [Boston University – Hockey East]
Pierre Dorion is at the podium. A lot of suspense with this pick. Do they go defense, for the most NHL ready player or Brady Tkachuk?
Tkachuk it is. I’ll say this. Tkachuk is the type of player every team covets. A big, strong high skilled player who can impact the game in a variety of ways any time he’s on the ice. And that’s also the type of player you’d most love to have in the prime of that type of player’s playing life, 21 to 28. A lot of people probably wanted the Sens to pick Erik Karlsson’s eventual replacement here, but Tkachuk makes a lot of sense.
#5 pick – Arizona Coyotes – C-Barret Hayton [Soo Greyhounds – OHL]
Huh? Hayton is a good player who played on a loaded Soo club last year. Most scouting services like this player but not until the 10-17 picks. Hayton might develop into a second-line center in the NHL. Arizona will need one of those. Especially after the Galchenyuk center experiment fails again. However, Zadina, Hughes, Bouchard or Wahlstrom would have made much more sense here. Granted, it must have been disappointing to watch Tkachuk go to Ottawa. It would have been great for the Coyotes franchise to bring Keith’s son “home” so to speak. But its hard to believe Hayton would be the next best player available on the Coyotes’ board right now at 5. ISS Hockey rated Hayton as the 2nd best defensive forward in the draft.
#6 pick – Detroit Red Wings – LW-Filip Zadina [Halifax Mooseheads – QMJHL]
Ken Holland is at the podium to make the pick. He congratulates the Capitals on their Stanley Cup before making it official. Red Wings don’t pass on a great offensive talent that unexpectedly slides to them at 6th. Apparently, Zadina has been telling people his motto is “Look good. Feel good. Play good.” He has a lot of nice suits, supposedly.
Perhaps Montreal passed on Zadina because he has some of P.K. Subban’s personality traits. Because if hockey players have personalities they must be bad apples. Or something.
Canucks are up next and it’s the best possible scenario here for them. The run on defense has yet to begin so they have their pick of the litter.
#7 pick – Vancouver Canucks – D-Quinn Hughes [Michigan – Big Ten]
Quinn’s brother Jack Hughes is the consensus #1 pick at this point in next year’s Entry Draft.
This Hughes is a fantastic skater, already has a year of NCAA hockey under his belt and is widely compared to Duncan Keith in his prime. Vancouver has got to be surprised Hughes got to them. Most expected the Canucks to grab the best available defenseman with this pick.
Kathryn Tappen interviews Hughes: “I’ve heard a lot of great things about Vancouver. I’m excited.” Well, Hughes did play with Patrick Kane at the IIHF Men’s tournament in May…. Perhaps Kane told him some things.
#8 pick – Chicago Blackhawks – D-Adam Boqvist [Byrnas Jr. – Sweden]
Stan Bowman steps up to the podium. Dallas crowd boos. Bowman thanks the Stars organization and then congratulates the Capitals before announcing the selection.
Right-handed shooting defenseman who is a bit undersized [5’11”] and was diagnosed with a concussion late in the season. Bob McKenzie says don’t be surprised if the Blackhawks sign him right away. The nature of Boqvist’s deal allows the Blackhawks to supersede it, though that doesn’t necessarily mean Boqvist would make the jump to North America right away. But it would give the Hawks and Bovqist that option based on how he looks in training camp.
Tappen notes the comparison of Bovqist to Erik Karlsson to Joel Quenneville. Joel looks genuinely excited about the pick. “You can never have enough D. He moves the puck. He’s very active in the play. Very dynamic in a lot of ways. I think he can help our power play down the road. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does over the summer and going into camp. There’s opportunity here on the back end with our team. It’s going to be competitive along the way, but certainly, hey, you got a guy that can move the puck and get involved offensively. Those guys are hard to find.”
Blackhawks going defense here with Oliver Wahlstrom still available will be a little controversial. But if there are no lingering issues related to Boqvist’s concussion, the Blackhawks did go with the best available player at this pick. And you shouldn’t argue too much with that. There are no players here at this point who are going to step right into the NHL lineup. You have to give Bowman and his staff credit for making the pick that’s best for the organization long term, ahead of what’s best for them, if it’s accurate that Rocky Wirtz has them all on the hot seat this upcoming season.
#9 pick – New York Rangers – RW-Vitali Kravtsov [Chelyabinsk – KHL]
The Rangers are the latest team to go off the board. Bob McKenzie says its “not off the board, per say.” Very few people saw this pick coming. This is outstanding news for the Oilers and Islanders, who are now staring at right-handed defenseman who each team can build their defense around.
Tappen interviews new Rangers coach David Quinn: “People rave about [Kravtsov’s] character. We’re ecstatic to get him.”
I thought the Rangers would go with Wahlstrom. The Islanders must be peeing themselves about now.
#10 pick – Edmonton Oilers – D-Evan Bouchard [London Knights – OHL]
Wayne Gretzky is up on the stage with the Oilers contingent. Peter Chiarelli makes the pick. It’s Evan Bouchard. So, now the Islanders can take Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom with the next two picks. Two players very few thought would make it to 11 or 12.
Bouchard has a late birthday and thus is considered not that far off from being ready to compete for an NHL job. Probably not this fall, but in another year maybe.
#11 pick – New York Islanders – RW-Oliver Wahlstrom [USA NTDP]
If I’m an Islanders fan, I’m not happy that Garth Snow is seated at the Isles draft table and now up on the stage as the Isles make their first pick. Snow was removed as GM last month when Lou Lamoriello was hired. Snow is still around in an unspecified role because he has four years left on a contract that Charles Wang gave him and apparently the terms are too rich for the Islanders to buy out. That said, the Islanders sold the Lamoriello move as him having all authority over hockey matters. Maybe Lamoriello offered Snow a seat at the table for this draft as courtesy, but this is a bad look. Snow’s tenure wasn’t all misses but his career is starting to resemble something of an east coast Bob Pulford – too much sucking for too damn long. Just go away.
Pierre McGuire is comparing Wahlstrom to Bill Guerin. Craig Button jumps in and says Wahlstrom will be a better goal scorer than Guerin. Button goes on to say he thinks Wahlstrom is the best goal scorer in the draft. A lot of folks have stated that. They show the infamous footage from 2009 and 2010 when Wahlstrom was a younger kid doing shootout stick trickery at the TD Garden before Bruins games.
Wahlstrom on how he’d compare himself: “I’m a big strong, power forward. I love shooting. I love scoring goals. Ovechkin is my childhood hero. Hopefully, some day I can play against him.” On joining the Islanders… “I’m so pumped. They got a lot of experience. They’ve got guys that won Stanley Cups on this team. I’m just so excited. I can’t wait.”
#12 pick – New York Islanders – D-Noah Dobson [Acadie-Bathurst – QMJHL]
Isles head amateur scout Vellu Kautonen makes the pick. Dobson’s a big right-shooting blue liner who skates very well. Scouts remark that defensively Dobson maintains a good gap but could stand to improve on 50/50 puck battles. That will come in time with improved body strength. Dobson’s stock grew over the Memorial Cup tournament. He went from a mid first rounder to being ranked and mocked as high as 4th by some independent scouting services.
The draft couldn’t have played out much better for Lou Lamoriello and the Isles.
Hosting team is next. This would figure to be Joe Veleno or another long-term second line center type.
#13 pick – Dallas Stars – C-Ty Dellandrea [Flint Firebirds – OHL]
Jim Nill introduces Mike Modano and Jamie Benn, who will announce the Stars’ selection. Modano still looks great. Benn and his amazingly full head of hair announces the pick.
Bob McKenzie, who had Dellandrea projected as the #23rd ranked prospect, outlines what it means to be a hockey player – “Intense humility, intense ability and just shows up every day to be his best self.” Yes, humility is apparently the first attribute you need to be a good hockey player. Fuck off.
Craig Button: “Nobody in this draft did more with less. He’s one of my man-crushes.” The assumption is Button was referring to the Firebirds team Dellandrea plays for, which was pretty awful last season. Flint had a .331 points percentage in 2017-18 and only one team in the OHL was worse (Sudbury).
#14 pick – Philadelphia Flyers – LW-Joel Farabee [USA NTDP – USHL]
Ron Hextall announces the selection. We’re getting to the point in the evening when Button gets abrasive in his analysis and hinges on proclaiming each selection as the best selection in the draft.
Farabee is headed to Boston University in the fall. He is the 4th American chosen so far, equal to the amount of Canadians.
#15 pick – Florida Panthers – LW-Grigori Denisenko [Yaroslavl Jr. – Russia]
Dale Tallon is at the podium. He first tributes Bill Torrey, who passed away a couple months back. Tallon then says the Panthers will make this selection in Torrey’s honor. Tallon then butchers Denisenko’s last name.
#16 pick – Colorado Avalanche – RW-Martin Kaut [Pardubice – Czech Rep.]
Earlier tonight, Colorado dealt a second-round [47th] pick tomorrow to Washington for Brooks Orpik and goalie Philipp Grubauer. This is the first time on this broadcast, I believe, that this is mentioned. Though, it has been visible on the crawl several times. Rumors going around previously in the day had the Capitals shopping Grubauer, who began the NHL playoffs as the Caps starting goalie before losing the net back to Braden Holtby, in hopes of grabbing a number one pick. In the end, the Caps settled for the second and getting rid of the Orpik contract. According to the NBC broadcast, the expectation is the Avs will now move Orpik to another team.
Kaut was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition at the NHL pre-draft conditioning camp. He had the procedure to correct the condition back in the Czech Republic shortly after. Afterwards, those doctors, according to Bob McKenzie, said they believed Kaut didn’t have the condition to begin with. So, he had a surgery to correct a heart condition he didn’t have, according to the doctors who presided over the procedure. Okay then.
Kaut projects as a two-way forward in a second or third line role.
#17 pick – New Jersey Devils – D-Ty Smith [Spokane Chiefs – WHL]
Ray Shero is the first team rep to mention the Humbolt Broncos, for which there are hockey sticks placed upright at the side of the stage.
Bob McKenzie notes that one of the comparables here for Ty Smith is Thomas Hickey. That’s not very nice. Smith is a former #1 overall pick in the WHL draft. He’s a left-shooting blue liner, and the same size as Boqvist – a little smaller than you’d typical want your d-men to be. But Smith can really scoot, so that offsets the lack of size.
#18 pick – Columbus Blue Jackets – C-Liam Foudy [London Knights – OHL]
Seth Jones is heading to the podium with the Columbus contingent. John Davidson, the President of Blue Jackets Hockey Operations, is first to the microphone. He introduces Jones, who was born and raised in the Dallas area. Jones announces the pick.
Foudy’s mother was an Olympic sprinter. His dad played in the CFL. McKenzie and Button are running down Liam’s intangibles. Foudy is a high-end skater who is considered one of, if not the best natural athlete in this draft. As a hockey player, he reminds me of Mikkel Boedker.
#19 pick – Philadelphia Flyers – C-Jay O’Brien [Thayer Academy – USHS]
Pierre McGuire proclaims this was ‘his guy.’ O’Brien went to the same Thayer Academy that produced Jeremy Roenick, Tony Amonte and Charlie Coyle. He’ll next go to Providence College. Button draws a comparison to Joe Pavelski – great hands and hockey sense.
McGuire “I’m telling you Flyers fans right now; it’ll be three years and this player will be ready to go.”
O’Brien posted 43 goals and 80 points in 30 games at Thayer last season.
Kathryn Tappen has Ron Hextall. He’s happy they were able to pick to highly-skilled and fast players that they really liked. O’Brien wasn’t projected to go until the second round on most boards.
#20 pick – Los Angeles Kings – C/RW-Rasmus Kupari [Karpat – Finnish Elite League]
Button says long term he sees Kupari as a winger. Kupari is being drafted as a center. He was originally projected to go much higher in early season rankings but didn’t have a good season offensively in his first season in Finland’s top pro league.
No first round picks have been traded from today thus far.
Tappen interviews Rob Blake, who confirms the Kings are one of the teams in on the Ilya Kovalchuk negotiations.
The Sharks are on the clock now. Doug Wilson is on the phone for a bit but now he and his staff are on their way to the stage.
#21 pick – San Jose Sharks – D-Ryan Merkley [Guelph Storm – OHL]
Merkley has top 10 offensive talent from the blue line, but he fell in the rankings due to immaturity and an unwillingness at times to care about playing in his own end. Some scouting reports have suggested Merkley is resistant to coaching.
McKenzie “He’s an immature, young hockey player – the way he plays the game and the way he reacts to the game.”
Doug Wilson: “He’s one of the youngest kids in the draft, he has high-end talent. We spent quite a bit of time with him and we believe in him.”
Tappen also asks Wilson about persistent rumors that San Jose is another team that is pursuing Ilya Kovalchuk. She asks him for a comment. He laughs and declines to. If I was considering giving a 35-year old power play specialist, who hasn’t played in the NHL in six years millions of dollars, I wouldn’t want to own up to it either.
Gary Bettman is now stepping to the microphone, which would indicate there’s a trade.
“Would you like to hear a trade?” What’s left of the crowd replies in mostly boos. I’d like to ask these people each individually what compelled them to buy a ticket to the NHL draft to begin with. There’s nothing entertaining about this. If I was in Dallas tonight, I’d be somewhere like Bone Daddy’s or Gilley’s.
Ottawa trades the next pick (#22) to the Rangers in exchange for the #26 and #48 tomorrow.
#22 pick – Ottawa Senators – New York Rangers – D-K’Andre Miller [USA NTDP – USHL]
Button: “I’ll tell you what… He’s an elite, elite skater.”
Miller has only been playing defense for two years. Teams had him rated anywhere from 10th to middle of the second round. NBC is now showing highlights of Miller playing high school football as they talk about how big and strong and athletic he is.
Miller describes himself as a “defenseman who is really more like a fourth forward.” Scott Niedermayer got away with that. For one reason or another, no one who has tried it since has stayed on the right side of their coach.
He’ll be joining the Wisconsin Badgers in the fall where he’ll play for head coach Tony Granato and under the tutelage of Mark Osiecki.
Here’s more info on Miller: https://colorofhockey.com/2017/11/07/usa-hockeys-kandre-miller-proves-that-looks-and-stereotypes-can-be-deceiving/
#23 pick – Anaheim Ducks – C-Isac Lundestrom [Lulea – Swedish Hockey League]
Lundestrom is a guy I was tracking as someone who the Blackhawks would be inclined to take at #27. Lundestrom is your prototypical two-way 2/3 line center who by all scouting reports I’ve read thinks the game at a high level and skates well.
HockeyProspect.com on Lundestrom, “…accomplished a rare feat by playing full-time in the SHL as a 16-year old last season. In his sophomore year… (Lundestrom) developed to the point where he was featured in all situations while playing on a scoring line where he put up 15 points in 42 games.”
Future Considerations wrote, “Defensively, he’s smart and willingly shoulders a lot of responsibility. With his high level of anticipation, he is able to intercept passes and take possession of those loose pucks.”
It appears Bob Murray landed a good one. Most projections had Lundestrom going in the 20-24 range. That said, the way this draft has been going, it was looking like Lundestrom might fall to 27. It would have been interesting to see because I think he’d been tough for the Hawks to pass up on.
#24 pick – Minnesota Wild – D-Filip Johansson [Leksands IF – Sweden Jr.]
The Wild with a reach here for a player not pegged to go in the first round anywhere. Button immediately scoffs at the notion that this is an “off the board” but then admits that Bode Wilde, who is still on the board, has more potential than Johansson. So far, Button has only criticized Ryan Merkley, who is widely considered to be a little shit.
Attention now shifts to the Leafs. Kyle Dubas waits until the camera is on him before mouthing to someone else at the Leafs’ table, very noticeably that he’s made a trade and making the move to the Central Registry desk to notify the league that he’s made a deal. Dubas’ thick-black framed glasses are sharp-looking.
Bettman announces the trade. Toronto trades the 25th pick to St. Louis for #29 and #76.
#25 pick – Toronto Maple Leafs – St. Louis Blues – RW-Dominik Bokk [Vaxjo – Swedish Hockey League]
German kid, whose parents are of Russian decent. Bokk speaks four languages, English, German, Swedish and Russian. He split time last season between Vaxjo’s junior and SHL club. Had just 1 goal and 1 assist in 15 games with the SHL club, however. Interesting pick here for the Blues.
One more pick and the Blackhawks are back on the clock with the pick they got from Nashville in the Ryan Hartman deal.
#26 pick – Ottawa Senators (from NY Rangers) – D-Jacob Bernard-Docker [Okotoks – Canadian Jr A]
Pierre Dorion is back at the microphone. This guy is as exciting as the cheese on a Dunkin Donuts breakfast sandwich. He remembers this time to congratulate the Capitals on winning the Cup. Ottawa needs all the good karma it can beg for.
Bernard-Docker is another right-shooting defenseman. He’s a Canadian player who stayed out of major junior so he could go the US College hockey route. He’ll attend North Dakota in the fall.
The NBC broadcast is reminiscing about the 1988 draft in which Jeremy Roenick went 8th overall to the Blackhawks. Roenick’s story about not stepping on the weight scale because he’d “never seen a scale score a goal.” The backstory on that was Roenick was actually 155 pounds but was claiming to be 170. Had he allowed himself to be weighed, the Blackhawks probably wouldn’t have picked him.
#27 pick – Chicago Blackhawks – D-Nicolas Beaudin [Drummondville – QMJHL]
Another 5’11” defenseman here for the Hawks. Beaudin is a left-shooting defenseman who had as many points (69) as Noah Dobson in 2017-18, which was second-most amongst all QMJHL defensemen. Beaudin had 12g 57a in 68 regular season games, compared to Dobson’s 17g 52a in 67 contests.
Stan Bowman was interviewed by Kathryn Tappen, who first asked about drafting another defenseman:
“He really came on strong this year, especially the second half of the year. Had a chance to see him play in the playoffs. I was impressed with his game. He’s got a lot of poise, a lot of smarts. He can do it all. He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s still efficient, the way he plays. Offensive, he scored a lot of points this year. And he was one of their top defenseman, even defending. We loved his overall game.
Adam’s a guy with elite offensive ability. He compares himself to Erik Karlsson and I think style-wise, they play a very similar game. He’s a right-hander and Nicolas is a left-hander. So, we got two great defensemen of the future.
Tappen then inquired about the status of Corey Crawford and if he expected Crawford to be ready for training camp:
“We do expect him to. It was obviously tough losing him last year. He’s a huge part of our team. But things are looking better. I’ve had contact with him recently and things are looking up.”
Stan did a little better addressing Crawford’s status here than he did on the conference call with Chicago media yesterday. We still don’t know if Crawford has skated or even left the house, but at least now Stan is claiming to have made contact with his number one, $6 million goaltender. What “things are looking up” means six months into Crawford’s stint on IR is your guess.
#28 pick – New York Rangers – D-Nils Lundkvist [Lulea – SHL ]
Another slightly undersized (5’11) right-shooting blue liner. Lundqvist won’t turn 18 until July 27th and has a year in the top league in Sweden already on his resume. The Future Considerations draft guide said Lundkvist quarterbacked Lulea’s power play at times during the second half of the season as a 17-year old. Reading up on him, I’m surprised the Hawks didn’t go with Lundkvist, but they probably thought with Boqvist and Henri Jokiharu now as two of their top prospects, that they had to go with a left-shooting blue liner. Ian Mitchell, who plays at Denver, is also a 5’11” right-shooting defenseman who Chicago is high on.
#29 pick – Toronto Maple Leafs (from St. Louis) – D-Rasmus Sandin [Sault-Ste Marie Greyhounds – OHL]
Kyle Dubas steps to the mic and thanks Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars for “their hospitality.” This has always confused me. It’s an NHL event and the GM of the host team has nothing to do with managing the actual event.
Another defenseman picked. Dubas being talked up here for moving down and getting the extra pick while ‘probably’ still getting the guy he wanted all along. That could be. I’d like to know how Dubas knew the Blackhawks wouldn’t take Sandin here. The Hawks love their Swedish defensemen.
Sandin was projected all over the place in the independent scouting rankings and as high as mid-1st round.
#30 pick – Detroit Red Wings – C-Joe Veleno [Drummondville – QMJHL]
This is the pick Detroit got from Vegas in the Tomas Tatar trade.
Veleno finally gets picked. He fell from being projected as high as 9 or 10. Button says Veleno fell because he has a lack of elite skill and upside. Veleno was awarded “exceptional status at age 15 thus began his major junior career a year early.
So, going into this draft, pretty much everyone had Detroit picking Quinn Hughes, who is the Michigan Wolverine defenseman who is closely compared to Duncan Keith. Instead, Detroit takes two forwards with its two first round picks.
Ken Holland interviewed by Tappen about those selections:
“We want to get some D at some point but we just felt we couldn’t pass these forwards up.”
He’s lying. Detroit has given up on playing defense.
#31 pick – Washington Capitals – D-Alexander Alexeyev [Red Deer Rebels – WHL]
Another d-man. Big (6’3”) left-shooting blue liner who played for Brent Sutter at Red Deer the past two seasons after coming over from Russia. His mother passed away suddenly during this past season, which forced him to miss the CHL Top Prospects game, an important draft evaluation event for scouts.
And that does it for the first round.
Still some names who most figured would have been long gone by now remaining available.
Bode Wilde, a big right-shooting defenseman out of the USA National Team Development Program. Wilde played some of his midget hockey in Chicago. He’s slid down in the draft because scouts consider him to be something of an enigma.
Akil Thomas [Niagara-OHL] and Serron Noel [Oshawa-OHL] are a couple of names that should go quickly in the second round on Saturday morning.
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