NHL Draft Notes

Following are notes from the first
round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, held today at STAPLES Center in Los
Angeles:

BENNETT BECOMES TOP CALIFORNIA PICK IN ENTRY DRAFT HISTORY;
TWO CALIFORNIANS SELECTED, MOST EVER IN FIRST ROUND
RW Beau Bennett (Gardena, Calif.) of the BCHL Penticton Vees was selected
by the Pittsburgh Penguins 20th overall, becoming the highest drafted
California-born and -trained player in Entry Draft history. Long Beach
native D Jonathon Blum was selected by the Nashville Predators 23rd overall
in 2007. When the Anaheim Ducks selected RW Emerson Etem (Long Beach,
Calif.) with the 29th overall pick it marked the first time that two
Californians had been selected in the first round.

RECORD-TYING 10 U.S.-BORN PLAYERS SELECTED IN FIRST ROUND
There were a record-tying 10 U.S.-born players selected in the first round,
matching the total of the 2006 and 2007 drafts.

2006: Erik Johnson (St. Louis/1st), Phil Kessel (Boston/5th), Kyle Okposo
(NY Islanders/7th), Peter Mueller (Phoenix/8th), Trevor Lewis (Los
Angeles/17th), Mark Mitera (Anaheim/19th), David Fischer (Montreal/20th),
Bobby Sanguinetti (NY Rangers/21st), Nick Foligno (Ottawa/28th), Chris
Summers (Phoenix/29th).

2007: Patrick Kane (Chicago/1st), James Van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia/2nd),
Ryan McDonagh (Montreal/12th), Kevin Shattenkirk (Colorado/14th), Ian Cole
(St. Louis/18th), Max Pacioretty (Montreal/22nd), Jonathon Blum
(Nashville/23rd), Patrick White (Vancouver/25th), Nick Petrecki (San
Jose/28th), James O'Brien (Ottawa/29th)

2010: Jack Campbell (Dallas/11th), Derek Forbert (Los Angeles/15th), Austin
Watson (Nashville/18th), Nick Bjugstad (Florida/19th), Beau Bennett
(Pittsburgh/20th), Jarred Tinordi (Montreal/22nd), Kevin Hayes
(Chicago/24th), Charlie Coyle (San Jose/28th), Emerson Etem (Anaheim/29th),
Brock Nelson (NY Islanders/30th).

(note: 2010 total does not include Cam Fowler (b. Windsor, Ont.), a dual
citizen who represents the United States in international play. Fowler was
selected by Anaheim 12th overall.

MOVING UP: FIRST-ROUND PICKS SELECTED AHEAD OF DRAFT RANKINGS
The first round of the 2010 Entry Draft provided fans and prospective
players with a few surprises as players made a jump from their Central
Scouting ranking to their position on the actual draft board: Joey Hishon
(Stratford, Ontario) No. 55 ranked was selected 17th overall by Colorado;
Jeff Skinner (Markham, Ontario) No. 34 ranked was selected 7th overall by
Carolina; and Jaden Schwartz (Melfort, Saskatchewan) No. 28 ranked was
selected 14th overall by St. Louis.

CHL SWEEPS TOP EIGHT SELECTIONS
The top eight picks of the NHL Entry Draft all played for Canadian Hockey
League teams in 2009-10. That's the most to start a draft since 1987, when
the first 18 picks were from the CHL.

FIRST-ROUND PICKS WITH NHL TIES
Nick Bjugstad (selected 19th overall by Florida) is the nephew of Scott
Bjugstad who played nine NHL seasons spanning 317 games between 1983-84 and
1991-92 with the Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles
Kings.

Jarred Tinordi (selected 22nd overall by Montreal) is the son of Mark, who
totaled 1,514 penalty minutes in 12 NHL seasons as a defenseman with the
New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars and Washington
Capitals from 1987-99 — Jarred wears 24, the same number as his father.

Kevin Hayes’ (selected 24th overall by Chicago) older brother, Jimmy, was
selected 60th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008. He is also the
second cousin of former NHLers Tom Fitzgerald and Keith Tkachuk.

Charlie Coyle (selected 28th overall by San Jose) is the cousin of former
NHL players Tony Amonte and also related to Bobby Sheehan. Amonte was
drafted 68th overall in 1988 by the New York Rangers and had 900 points in
the NHL playing for New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Calgary
(1991-2007). Sheehan was selected by the Montreal Canadiens 32nd overall in
the 1969 amateur draft playing 310 NHL games (1969-70 to 1981-82).

Brock Nelson (selected 30th overall by New York Islanders) is the nephew of
Dave Christian who was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning
team and enjoyed an NHL career that spanned over 1000 games and totaled 773
points. His grandfather, Billy Christian, and great uncle, Roger Christian,
played on Team USA’s 1960 gold-medal winning men's hockey team. Gordon
Christian, also his great uncle, played hockey for the University of North
Dakota (1947-1950) and was a member of the U.S. Olympic team that won
silver in 1956.

TRADES COMPLETED
Florida traded Boston's 1st-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft
(previously acquired, 15th overall) to Los Angeles for Los Angeles'
1st-round pick in 2010 (19th overall) and Philadelphia's 2nd-round pick in
2010 (previously acquired, 59th overall).

Ottawa traded its 1st-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (16th overall) to
St. Louis for D David Rundblad.

Phoenix traded its 1st-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (22nd overall)
and Buffalo's 4th-round pick in 2010 (previously acquired, 113th overall)
to Montreal for Montreal's 1st- and 2nd-round picks in 2010 (27th and 57th
overall).

Florida traded D Keith Ballard and RW Victor Oreskovich to Vancouver for RW
Michael Grabner, RW Steve Bernier and Vancouver's 1st-round pick in the
2010 Entry Draft (25th overall).

Chicago traded its 1st-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft (30th overall) to
NY Islanders for the Islanders' 2nd-round pick in 2010 (35th overall) and
San Jose's 2nd-round pick in 2010 (previously acquired, 58th overall).
 
FIRST ROUND BREAKDOWN BY BIRTHPLACE
Canada 15, USA 10, Russia 3, Finland 1, Switzerland 1