note: due to my busy schedule, I haven't been able to post for a while. I apologize.
Well the NHL draft was this past Friday, and while the draft class may have been short on superstars and marketable players, it was still an above average class. There weren't explosive players in the draft like Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin, there were still many players who could get the job done. With any first round pick this year, you know you were getting an extremely formidable player (that is unless you are a New York Rangers fan).
The Edmonton Oilers had the first pick overall (again) and this year chose the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from the WHL. Nugent-Hopkins was one of the best offenseman in this year's class and he's had 177 points in his 141 career games for the Red Deer Rebels. The Canadian left-hander also won the 2009-2010 WHL rookie of the year award.
With the next pick, the Colorado Avalanche selected Swedish forward Gabriel Landeskog. Gabriel is another player with major upside and can get the job for the Avs. In his 7 games of playing for Sweden in the World Junior Classic, he has totaled an impressive 5 goals and 1 assist.
Then came the Florida Panthers who used their pick to draft. He seems like another good forward. He's played for the QAAA and the QMJHL (good luck trying to figure out what those are) and has scored a fantastic 190 points in 171 games (78 goals, 112 assists). He looks like he'll be good in the NHL and might help out the Panthers who were 27th in the league in scoring.
The New Jersey Devils won the Draft Lottery and that gave them the 4th pick. They used it on highly respected defenseman Adam Larsson. The big Swedish defenseman was regarded as the top defensive prospect. He is a shut down defenseman with an offensive plus side. He's been compared to Scott Neidermayer a countless number of times. He's 18 years old and has already won a silver medal IIHF U18 Championship and a bronze medal in the World Juniors Champmionship.
The New York Islanders then picked Ryan Strome. Strome is a solid offenseman. There's not much on him but here's his wikipedia page.
-Canada supplied the most players in the first round of the draft. 15 Canadiens were selected with the first 30 picks. Another 6 players were Swedish. There were 5 U.S. bourn players as well.
-There was a Blockbuster trade involving the Florida Panthers and the Chicago Blackhawks. Former Blackhawk GM, Dale Tallon (now GM of the Panthers), convinced 32 year old defenseman Brian Campbell that the Panthers would be a good fit for him. This deal sent skilled forward Rostislav Olesz to Chicago.
-The Calgary Flames resigned Alex Tanguay for another 5 years.
-The San Jose' Sharks traded away Devin Setoguchi to the Minnesota Wild for Brent Burns and a draft pick. Setoguchi has been great for the Sharks the past few years and Burns is a very talented defenseman.
-The Washington Capitals received skilled forward Troy Brouwer from the Chicago Blackhawks for a first round pick.
-The Toronto Maple Leafs traded a draft pick to the Colorado Avalanche and received a good defenseman in return. They got John-Michael Liles.
-The Edmonton Oilers got Ryan Smyth back from the Los Angeles Kings after losing Smyth back in 2007. Smyth was a long time Oiler before that and is happy to be back. In return, the Kings got Colin Fraser and a draft pick.
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