Five Top Picks Crack NHL Opening Night Lineups
07/10/2008 03:44
Not since 1990 - when Owen Nolan, Petr Nedved, Keith Primeau, Mike Ricci and Jaromir Jagr did it - have the first five picks of the Entry Draft been on opening night NHL rosters in the same year they were drafted.
But it looks like it's going to happen this year.
First overall pick Steven Stamkos, of course, has already played two games for the Tampa Bay Lightning and will be a fixture there.
No. 2 pick Drew Doughty has made the Los Angeles Kings' roster and they just don't see any upside to sending him back for a fourth OHL season.
Atlanta will have defenceman Zach Bogosian as one of its top six to start, but will see after nine games how he is adapting.
Both the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs will adopt the same philosophy with defencemen Alex Pietrangelo and Luke Schenn. Pietrangelo and Schenn have excelled in training camp and deserve to be there on opening night, but their rebuilding clubs will re-assess before the 10th game for each.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
For more from TSN hockey analyst Bob McKenzie, click here.