NHL Draft Review

Erik Johnson (pictured above), a Minnesota recruit, was the first pick of the 2006 NHL Draft which featured many and future collegians go in the first round. In fact eight of them went in the first round and a record 10 Americans also went in the first round.

There was a lot of speculation of this years draft on where these collegiate players would go and where they would go. Included in this mix were Jonathan Toews of North Dakota, and Phil Kessel of Minnesota were both predicted to be in the top five. Question is where would they go?

When Jordan Staal was taken by Pittsburgh, the next team on the clock, the Chicago Blackhawks, knew that they needed a center. They went with Toews with the number three pick. Was it a good pick? Rumor has it that Toews was going to return for his Sophomore season at North Dakota, but I highly think that he might go pro and play for a team who has struggled for years in Chicago.

With Nicklas Backstrom going number four to Washington, the Boston Bruins were on the clock, and their decision was an easy one. With the fifth pick the Bruins took Kessel, who was the leading Freshman scorer in the country last year with 18 goals and 33 assists for 51 points. No rumor on Kessel's decision yet, but the Bruins are in a need of a playmaker and look for the managment to go after Kessel right away.

Other first rounders include Kyle Okposo, a Minnesota recruit who was drafted by the New York Islanders with the seventh pick, Trevor Lewis, a Michigan recruit who went 17th to the Los Angeles Kings, Mark Mitera from Michigan went to the Anahiem Ducks at 19, David Fischer, another Minnesota recruit went 20th to the Montreal Canadians, and the Phoenix Coyotes selected Chris Summers, a Michigan recruit went 29th.

60 other colligans were drafted in rounds 2-7.

College Hockey appears to get stronger each year in the draft. Only time will tell how many of collegians will go in next year's draft which will be held in Ottawa, ON next year.

NHL Mock Draft

Phil Kessel (pictured above) is one of many collegiates that will be drafted tommorrow in Vancouver during the NHL draft. What sweater will he put on tommorrow? We won't know till a little after six p.m. but here is a mock draft on who will be drafted to what team.

#1 St. Louis Blues- Erik Johnson D USA NTDP (Minnesota Recruit)
#2 Pittsburgh Penguins- Phil Kessel C Minnesota (WCHA)
#3 Chicago Blackhawks- Jordan Staal C Peterbrough (OHL)
#4 Washington Capitals- Jonathan Toews C North Dakota (WCHA)
#5 Boston Bruins- Nicklas Backstrom C Brynas (Sweeden)
#6 Columbus Blue Jackets- Derick Brassard C Drummondville (QMJHL)
#7 New York Islanders- Nigel Williams D USA NTDP (Michigan Recruit)
#8 Phoenix Coyotes- Peter Mueller C Everett (WHL)
#9 Minnesota Wild- Bryan Little C Barrie (OHL)
#10 Florida Panthers- Jiri Tlusty LW Kladno (Czech Republic)
#11 Los Angeles Kings- Kyle Okposo RW Des Moines (USHL, Minnesota Recruit)
#12 Atlanta Thrashers- James Sheppard C Cape Bretton (QMJHL)
#13 Toronto Maple Leafs- Jonathan Bernier G Lewiston (QMJHL)
#14 Vancouver Canucks- Michael Frolik RW Kladno
#15 Tampa Bay Lightning- Ty Wishart D Prince George (WHL)
#16 Montreal Canadians- Chris Stewart RW Kingston (OHL)
#17 Minnesota Wild- Bob Sanguinetti D Owen Sound (OHL)
#18 Colorado Avalanche- Mark Mitera D Michigan (CCHA)
#19 Anahiem Ducks- Ryan White C Calgary (WHL)
#20 San Jose Sharks- Patrik Berglund C Vasteras Jr. (Sweeden)
#21 New York Rangers- Chris Summers D USA NTDP (Michigan Recruit)
#22 Philadelphia Flyers- Ben Maxwell C Kootenay (WHL)
#23 Washington Capitals- Brian Strait D USA NTDP (Boston University Recruit
#24 Buffalo Sabers- Cory Emmerton C Kingston (OHL)
#25 New Jersey Devils- Mike Forney LW Thief River High (Minnesota, North Dakota Recruit)
#26 Calgary Flames- Joe Ryan D Quebec (QMJHL)
#27 Dallas Stars- Leland Irving G Everett (WHL)
#28 Ottawa Senators- David Fischer D Apple River High (Minnesota, Minnesota Recruit)
#29 Detroit Red Wings- Michael Grabner RW Spokane (WHL)
#30 St. Louis Blues- Alexander Vasyunov LW Yaroslavl (Russia)

Other Collegiates to watch for in this years draft:

Jeff Zatkoff G Miami (CCHA)
Kevin Montgomery D USA NTDP (Ohio State Recruit)
Simon Danis-Papin D Maine (Hockey East)
Billy Sauer G Michigan (CCHA)
Carl Sneep D Brainerd (Minnesota, Boston College Recruit)

For all the results of this years NHL draft tune to OLN at 6 tommorrow night. And for post draft coverage read the draft review next week.

Bracketology June Edition 2006-2007

On the third off-season edition of Bracketology we see alot of changes. So lets get right to them.

Here are the rankings:

#1 Boston College=
#2 Wisconsin=
#3 Harvard+
#4 Boston University=
#5 Michigan State+
#6 Maine=
#7 Miami-
#8 Michigan=
#9 New Hampshire=
#10 St. Cloud State+
#11 Minnesota=
#12 Dartmouth+
#13 Denver+
#14 Northern Michigan-
#15 Sacred Heart=
#16 Niagara=

Out from last month are North Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha.

Breakdown:

CCHA: 4
Hockey East: 4
WCHA: 4
ECACHL: 2
Atlantic Hockey: 1
CHA: 1

The seedings are all set now lets place them

The #1 seed in this month's bracket is Boston College. The Eagles will be placed in the Northeast Region in Manchester, NH with host New Hampshire, as well as Michigan, and Niagara.

Northeast Regional:

#1 Boston College vs #4 Niagara
#2 Michigan vs #3 New Hampshire

The second overall seed in the tournament are the Wisconsin Badgers. They are placed in the Midwest Region in Grand Rapids, MI and joining them will be Miami, St. Cloud State, and Sacred Heart.

Midwest Regional:

#1 Wisconsin vs #4 Sacred Heart
#2 Miami vs #3 St. Cloud State

The third seed in the tournament is Harvard and they will be placed in the East Regional in Rochester, NY. Maine, Minnesota, and Northern Michigan will also be placed in this region.

East Regional:

#1 Harvard vs #4 Northern Michigan
#2 Maine vs #3 Minnesota

And the final number one seed is Boston University and they will be in the West Regional in Denver, CO with host Denver, Dartmouth, and Michigan State.

West Regional:

#1 Boston University vs #4 Denver
#2 Michigan State vs #3 Dartmouth

The bracket will look as follows:

Northeast vs West
Midwest vs East

Thats all for this month's edition of Bracketology. The NHL draft is on Saturday and there will be a preview on Friday as we will rank the top prospects from this years class.