NHL Draft Day Blog

June 22, 2007

by Jacob Bestebroer

2:00pm - Two hours till draft time. Several draft day deals have been made. The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional 1st round pick, a second round pick in today's draft and a 4th round pick in the 2009 draft. As of right now, the Sharks have Toronto's first round pick in today's draft (13th overall) but if a player they want is not available, they have the option of giving the pick back to the Leaf and taking Toronto's first round pick in next year's draft. The Calgary Flames have acquired Adrian Aucoin and a 7th round pick in this weekend's draft from Chicago in exchange for Andrei Zyuzin and former Medicine Hat Tiger Steve Marr.

2:10pm - The Hamilton, ah, Nashville Predators continue to dump salary, sending goaltender  Thomas Vukoun to Florida in exhange for a first round and two second round picks. Not sure if any of these picks are for today's draft. This leaves former Victoria / Prince George Cougar Chris Mason as the go to guy in Nashville. Speaking of the NHL in Hamilton, does anyone remember the TV show Power Play?  Great show about a fictional NHL team in Hamilton, called the Steelheads. Check out the theme song here.

2:30 - Just got an email from a Bruins fan asking if Mark Santorelli will be drafted this weekend. Santorelli was eligible for last year's draft but was not picked. Some NHL teams I've talked to tell me he may be a mid round pick this weekend. Rounds 2 - 7 of the draft start Saturday morning at 7am pst.

2:35 - Nashville got Florida's first-round selection in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, a second-round selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft (No. 58) and a conditional second-round selection in either 2007 or 2008.

3:33 - Leafs GM John Ferguson just said tonight's draft might turn into a circus. Excellent. TSN's Pierre McGuire just chimed in with his thoughts. In 90 seconds he dropped about 37 names. McGuire knows alot of NHL people. We get it already.

3:38 - McGuire is predicting the first three picks will be Kane, Van Riemsdyk and Turris. He also says that several teams are involved in serious trade talks including Vancouver trying to trade up to get Kyle Turris.

3:40 - Where's Bob McKenzie? He better be a part of this.

4:00 - Here we go. Opening segment features the parents of the top ranked players. Great stuff. Hockey moms rule.

4:05 - Leafs GM John Ferguson is asked why he traded for Toskala. Translation of his politically correct answer: "Andrew Raycroft wasn't very good for us last year, why else would we make this deal?"

4:08 - Bob McKenzie is in the house and immediately hits us with some huge news. The Nashville sale is off the table. Hamilton will not be getting an NHL team any time soon. WOW.

4:10 - Beer commercial. Remember when beer commercials were good?

4:16: NHL Commish Gary Bettman is greeted by boos. He rallies the crowd by saying Columbus fans are the best. No they aren't..

4:19 - Chicago is on the clock. Hawks take Patrick Kane of the London Knights. He led the OHL in scoring with 145 points. Can you believe he doesn't have an agent? I could be his agent.

4:28 - Philly is up next and selects Van Reimsdyk. Big kid who is probably two years away from the NHL. He was a force against Canada at the U18 earlier this year.

4:31 - Phoenix Coyotes are up. Smart money is on Turris. Wayne Gretzky gets a standing ovation from Columbus fans. I told you Columbus fans were the best.

4:34 - Turris it is. Bob McKenzie stresses that Turris only played a handful of games this year against top competition and was just "ok". He also notes that 7 of 10 NHL scouts love him. When did Bob McKenzie get glasses?

4:40 - LA Kings are next. Kings take Thomas Hickey of the Seattle Thunderbirds. WOW. Complete shock to everyone at TSN. I love the kid. Of all the opposition players I saw this past season, the only player to impress me more than Hickey was Milan Lucic. In a late season Bruins road loss in Seattle, Hickey was by far the best player on the ice. Right on cue, TSN shows Hickey scoring against the Bruins. I love this pick.

4:48: McKenzie tells us that Cherpanov is the most talented player on the board. Without an agreement with the Russian Hockey Federation, some teams may pass on him.

4:49: Washington takes Karl Alzner of the Calgary Hitmen. You won't find an NHL scout who doesn't think this guy will play a long time as a top four NHL defenceman. Real solid player with a great sense of fashion.

4:54 - Edmonton is up with their first of three first round picks. McKenzie says no way the Oilers take a Russian player. I say they take Sam Gagne of the London Knights. Gagne it is. He played with Patrick Kane last season. Won a gold medal with Canada at the World Juniors in January. Oilers GM Kevin Lowe says the Oilers are not trading the 15th overall pick.

4:59 - Columbus picks next. The fans are fired up.

5:01 - Columbus Blue Jackets'  star forward Rick Nash is in the house sporting a great playoff beard. Columbus didn't make the playoffs

5:03 - Columbus selects Jakub Voracek of the Halifax Mooseheads. Voracek was the first overall selection in the 2006 CHL Import Draft. The second overall pick? Oscar Moller.

5:06 - James Duthie reminds Rick Nash that Columbus has NEVER made the playoffs.

5:09 - Boston is up and Cam Neely is announcing the pick: Zach Hamill of the Everett Silvertips. Hamill led the WHL in scoring with 93 points. Bob tells us that's the lowest total ever for a WHL leading scorer but blames former Tips bench boss Kevin Contantine. How good is Hamill? Check out this sick move. Or check out these moves. Here's a look at the Bruins new unis.

5:15 - Trade. No players involvied, just draft picks. San Jose gets the next pick from St.Louis and the Blues drop down to 13th. San Jose picks Logan Couture of the Ottawa 67s. Bob says no player at any level of hockey anywhere on the planet played more minutes per game than Couture. I don't know how Bob knows this but I believe him. Bob's the best.

5:22 - Florida is at the podium. The Panthers take Keaton Ellerby of the Kamloops Blazers, the third WHL defenceman to be picked in the top ten. TSN says he might be the toughest player in the draft.

5:25: McGuire says Cherpanov not being picked yet is unconscionable and complete insanity.

5:29 - Carolina is next. Bob says no way they pick Cherpanov. He's right. They picked Brandon Sutter of the Red Deer Rebels. Brandon is the 9th member of the Sutter family to be drafted by the NHL. Bob says Brandon is smarter than the other eight. Brandon is asked what the best and worst things are about being a Sutter. Brandon shows his smarts by saying it's all good.

5:31 - Montreal is up. Will they take home town boy Angelo Exposito? Nope. They take American defenceman Ryan McDonaugh, McDonaugh is the reigning Mr.Hockey in Minnesota. Bob tells us that the current agreement with the Russian Federation is not the reason Cherpanov is dropping. With the current agreement all he has to do is give his Russian team two weeks notice. Just like Malkin did.

5:40 - St.Louis with their first of three first round picks select forward Lars Eller, a Danish player who played in Sweden last year. Bob wastes no time in calling him a Great Dane. Bob then tells us that Eller's dad's jersey is on display in the International wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Great stuff. McGuire is losing his mind about Cherpanov again.

5:44 - Colorado, with the 14th pick, take Kevin Shattenkirk.

5:46 - Commercial break gives me time to look up unconscionable: "not in accordance with what is just or reasonable." Edmonton is up again.

5:50 - The Oilers go off the board and take defenceman Alex Plante of the Calgary Hitmen.

5:55 - Anaheim is up next. No they aren't. They trade the pick to Minnesota for the 19th pick today and a second round pick. Minnesota takes Colton Gillies from the Saskatoon Blades. Seven of the first sixteen picks have been from the Western Hockey League. The New York Rangers are next.

6:00 - Bob McKenzie correctly predicts that the Rangers are going to take Cherpanov. McGuire is giddy. James Duthie tells us that Cherpanov doesn't have the work ethic to play in the NHL. Duthie is then all smiles as he interviews Cherpanov. St.Louis is at it again and are now up next in a swap of picks with Calgary. McGuire tells us Glen Sather was smiling like a cheshire cat when the Rangers made this pick. Ok Pierre.

6:07 - St.Louis picked American dman Ian Cole. Anaheim is next.

6:12 - Anaheim picks Logan MacMillan of the Halifax Mooseheads. 19 picks, only three are European. James Duthie interviews Brian Burke and asks him if he would have picked Cherpanov. Burke smirks and says "next question". Burke rules.

6:19 - Pittsburgh picks Angelo Esposito. Based on the crowd reaction, Esposito must have about 4,000 family members in the audience. Bob Mckenzie tells us that one year ago, Esposito was ranked first for this draft. This kid is pure offence, how fun is Pittsburgh going to be to watch in a few years. Esposito is all smiles as he mentions playing with Crosby and Malkin.

6:24 - Another trade involving only draft picks. The Oilers now have the next pick, their third of the day. The Oilers go off the board and select Riley Nash.

6:30 - Montreal picks Max Pacioretty.

6:36 - Nashville picks defenceman Jonathan Blum from the Vancouver Giants. For those of you scoring at home, Blum is the 8th WHL player selected in the first round.

6:43 - Calgary takes Swedish forward Mikael Backlund. Backlund was a linemate of Chilliwack's Oscar Moller for Sweden at the U18 Championships in April.

6:47 - Vancouver picks Patrick White. TSN guys are quiet as they look this guy up. White was the Boys player of the year in Minnesota this year. Not to be confused with Minnesota's Mr.Hockey.

6:52 - With their third pick in the first round, St.Louis picks David Perron of the Lewiston MAINEiacs. He looked good at the Memorial Cup in Vancouver. Most people thought he would go higher than this.

6:56 - Holiday Inn commercial - hilarious.

6:58 - Detroit picks Brendan Smith, a Tier Two player from Ontario.

7:03 - Washington trades the next pick to San Jose. The Sharks pick defenceman Nick Petrecki. Two more picks left in the first round.

7:10 - Ottawa is up next and pick Jim O'Brien, an American centre who may switch to defense. Phoenix will wrap this up with the final pick of the first round.

7:15 - With the final pick of the first round, the Phoenix Coyotes select, from the Regina Pats, Nick Ross. Nine WHL players selected in the first round, six of them defensemen. To compare, the Ontario Hockey League had three players selected and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League had four. Breakdown by Country:

Canada: 16

USA: 10

Russia: 1

Sweden: 1

Denmark: 1

Czech Republic: 1

Rounds 2-7 begin at 7am Pacific Standard Time on Saturday.