Islanders Draft Tavares First, Oilers Get Svensson
27/06/2009 05:15
The future stars of the National Hockey League are up for grabs at the Bell Centre in Montreal, as the 2009 NHL Entry Draft is underway.
The New York Islanders ended weeks of speculation about who would go first overall when they selected forward John Tavares of the London Knights.
Tavares and the Islanders had to share the spotlight on Friday as the Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers swung a major deal involving Chris Pronger. The deal saw the 1999-2000 Hart and Norris Trophy winner and Ryan Dingle head to the Flyers for Luca Sbisa, Joffrey Lupul, the Flyers 1st Round pick (21st overall) in 2009, 1st Round pick in 2010 and a conditional 3rd Round pick in 2010 or 2011.
Tavares is a skilled offensive player who should thrill Islander fans with his highlight reel goals. He has the ability to elevate his game when need be and the few times in his career where his skills have been questioned, he has responded quickly to prove his abilities.
"Obviously it has been a long time coming for me," explained Tavares to TSN'. "[I've] been through a great process in junior and now I have a great opportunity to go to a rebuilding franchise in New York. Hopefully we'll bring the tradition back."
"Now you can have the offence to match up with teams like Washington and Pittsburgh. [Tavares] is the right guy at the right time for a team that needs an identity," said TSN's Pierre McGuire following the pick.
The Islanders were busy in the early going after taking Tavares. They swung a deal with the Blue Jackets exchanging several draft picks. Columbus picked up the 26th, 37th, 62nd and 92nd overall picks, with New York getting the 16th and 77th selections. The Islanders were not done there as they made another deal a later in the first round with the Minnesota Wild to acquire the 12th overall pick (D Calvin De Haan - Oshawa Generals). In return the Wild picked up the 16th, 77th and 182nd selections.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were up second and selected defenceman Victor Hedman from Modo of the Swedish Elite League.
"[Hedman] is a very mature guy on and off the ice," said TSN's Bob McKenzie. "This is a guy who played 21 minutes a game on average against men in the Swedish Elite League."
The Colorado Avalanche selected Matt Duchene with the third overall pick. The Brampton Battalion playmaker possesses a great combination of speed and on-ice vision.
"This kid's got character, heart and soul. He can score and check, but the biggest thing is that he's a Bryan Trottier type player - he plays all ends of the ice and uses all 200 feet," said McGuire of Duchene.
Vancouver Giants forward Evander Kane was taken by the Atlanta Thrashers with the 4th pick. Although cut by Team Canada prior to the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, he was recalled due to an injury to Dana Tyrell. Kane played well, scoring two goals with four assists over six games as Canada captured the gold.
The Los Angeles Kings followed the Thrashers and took forward Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings at five. He is the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn.
The Phoenix Coyotes took defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson from Leksand in Sweden with the 6th pick. Ekman-Larsson is skilled with puck and possesses a good shot, he also has the ability to deliver big hits.
The first Canadian team to get to the podium was the Toronto Maple Leafs. General manager Brian Burke was given a spirited round of boos by the pro-Montreal Canadiens crowd. Despite expressing an interest in moving up, the Maple Leafs were unable to make a deal and selected London Knights forward Nazem Kadri with the 7th pick.
"He's got a chance to be a very good offensive player," said McKenzie about Kadri. "This is a terrific kid who has tremendous offensive ability. He just needs a little consistency."
The Dallas Stars selected forward Scott Glennie of the Brandon Wheat Kings 8th overall.
The Ottawa Senators took Jared Cowen of the Spokane Chiefs with the ninth pick.
"He's a Memorial cup winner, has overcome his knee injury, but most importantly he has big body presence," McGuire said of the defenceman. "Ottawa won't be easy to forecheck against Cowen and Erik Karlsson."
The Edmonton Oilers were up after the Senators in the 10th spot and made Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson from Timra of the Swedish Elite league. The winger brings a big offensive upside to the Oilers.
"The Edmonton Oilers love speed and Svensson is the fastest skater in this draft," said McKenzie. "This was the youngest Swede to ever play in the World Juniors. He drives to the net very well and has speed to burn."
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SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It will be interesting to see how Svensson works out for the Oilers. Gosh only knows, they need a winger who can put the puck in the net on a consistent basis.