Although most of the excitement in the world of NHL hockey is focused on the start of the playoffs tonight, last night’s NHL Draft Drawing has hockey fans thinking, at least momentarily, about the more distant future of their beloved teams. The draft order for the first fourteen teams who did not make the post-season is as follows:
- Edmonton Oilers
- Colorado Avalanche
- Florida Panthers
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Islanders
- Ottawa Senators
- Atlanta Thrashers
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Boston Bruins (from Toronto)
- Minnesota Wild
- Colorado Avalanche (from St. Louis)
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Calgary Flames
- Dallas Stars
Note that the Edmonton Oilers, after posting the worst record in the league this year (25-45-12), will have the first overall draft pick for the second year in a row. The draft order for the rest of the teams will be decided at the conclusion of the playoffs.
The final NHL Central Scouting rankings were released earlier this week, and offer some possible insight into the caliber of players up for grabs in this year’s draft. These rankings can be found here.
NHL Central Scouting and NHL.com experts all seem to be in agreement that center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers this June. He currently plays for the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Central Scouting’s Peter Sullivan has indicated that “a couple of people from high up” believe Nugent-Hopkins may have “the best vision since No. 99.” This is an opinion that I am sure many will argue, but none the less it gives you a pretty good idea about the kind of player we are talking about here.
Congratulations to my Milton Academy teammate Rob O’Gara, and to my GBL Bruins teammate Mike Vecchione - ranked 107 and 209 respectively by Central Scouting’s North America Player rankings.
The first round of the draft will be held on June 24th at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
More draft information is sure to follow!
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