Congrats to Jonathan Toews who was the third pick in the NHL draft today by the Chicago Blackhawks. The lowest pick by a Sioux player I believe also and is only 18 years of age. Gonna be one heck of a player.
And that other kid from Minneosta, Kessel I think his name is again (doesn't really matter) was the 5th pick.
Jonathan Toews
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by big_tyme_hockey » Sun Jun 25, 2006 5:02 pm
Congrats to both players, more so to Toews. He is a very nice young man, a great player, and very well spoken. I had the chance to meet him this past season. It is a joy to watch him.
Here's to hoping that he decides to stay for at least one more year. He said that he's going to stay at UND until he's ready, but the Hawks want to sign him right away it sounds like.
Here's to hoping that he decides to stay for at least one more year. He said that he's going to stay at UND until he's ready, but the Hawks want to sign him right away it sounds like.
- big_tyme_hockey
by rep » Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:36 am
sounds like the entire state of minnesota made a pretty huge impact in the draft:
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - The NHL draft turned into a showcase for hockey in Minnesota.
Bloomington native Erik Johnson became just the fifth American chosen first overall when the St. Louis Blues selected him Saturday.
Fellow Minnesota natives Kyle Okposo and Peter Mueller followed Johnson in the top 10 with Okposo going to the Islanders and Mueller to the Coyotes. Gophers star Phil Kessel was taken fifth, and Jonathan Toews _ who used to play for Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in Faribault _ went third.
In all, 10 players with ties to the state were drafted in the first three rounds. Four of them were high school stars last season, including Apple Valley's David Fischer _ a Gophers recruit who went to Montreal with the 20th pick.
Fischer's teammate, defenseman Kyle Medvec, was taken by the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round.
And the Wild also made big news with a draft-day trade, acquiring star forward Pavol Demitra from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 17th pick and top prospect Patrick O Sullivan.
"It's a great day for USA hockey, as well as Minnesota," said Johnson, who played with both Okposo and Mueller in summer leagues growing up. "A lot of my buddies have just been selected and I just can't wait to congratulate them, it's just awesome."
Johnson joins Brian Lawton (1983), Mike Modano (1988), Bryan Berard (1995) and Rick Dipietro (2000) as the only Americans taken No. 1. Blessed with great skating ability, a big body, and soft hands, Johnson is known for making big hits and big plays offensively.
Ten Americans were selected in the first round, the most ever, topping the previous high by two set in the last draft.
The 6-foot-4, 222-pound Johnson spent last season with the U.S. National Team Development Program, recording 11 goals and 22 points in just 38 games with the under-18 team. He became the top-ranked prospect with a strong World Junior Championships in Vancouver in January.
Johnson patterns his play after Colorado star Rob Blake, but is compared more often to Edmonton's Chris Pronger, who won a Hart and Norris Trophy in St. Louis.
The only question now is whether he'll follow through on plans to attend the University of Minnesota next season, or go straight to St. Louis, where the Blues are still looking to replace Pronger after trading the All-Star to Edmonton following the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
"It just depends on what St. Louis wants me to do," Johnson said. "If they think it's in my best interests to try and turn pro, I'm definitely open to doing that."
Chicago selected Toews third. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Canadian center scored 21 goals and added 17 assists in 41 games at the University of North Dakota last season.
Boston selected Kessel with the fifth pick. The Madison, Wis., native was considered the consensus No. 1 pick heading into last season and earning comparisons to Pittsburgh super rookie Sidney Crosby.
Kessel slipped despite scoring 18 goals and 51 points as a freshman at the University of Minnesota last season. A dynamic scorer, he only had one goal _ to go with 11 assists _ in seven games at the World Junior Championships, a big drop off from the nine goals and 16 points he managed at the event the year before.
"I don't know what happened but I'm happy to be a Bruin," Kessel said. "Hopefully I'll go out and show that maybe I should have gotten draft picked higher."
New head coach Ted Nolan announced the New York Islanders' selection of Okposo _ the first pick that registered off the ranking charts. Okposo had 58 points in just 50 games and was named rookie of the year in the United States Hockey League.
"It's kind of like a reunion," said Okposo, noting he played with Johnson and Mueller, who was chosen next. "We were always on the same summer team growing up."
Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky received a raucous welcome as he stepped up to announce the Coyotes had selected Mueller.
"We all grew up playing hockey on the pond," Mueller said. "I'm very proud to be a Minnesotan and an American today."
All three were gone just before Minnesota picked so the Wild picked big two-way Canadian forward James Sheppard ninth. But Minnesota still managed to make a splash a short while later by acquiring Demitra, the Kings third-leading scorer with 25 goals and 62 points in just 58 games last year. Demitra has 241 goals and 581 points in 611 NHL games with St. Louis and Los Angeles.
O'Sullivan was the AHL's rookie of the year in Houston with 47 goals and 93 points last season.
Montreal used the 20th pick _ acquired earlier from San Jose in exchange for the 20th and 53rd picks _ to choose Fischer, and the New York Rangers selected New Jersey defenseman Bob Sanguinetti 21st. Fischer, a big defenseman, was the Associated Press player of the year for Minnesota.
The only other big trade involving draft picks came before the second selection was announced, as Calgary acquired forward Alex Tanguay from Colorado in exchange for defenseman Jordan Leopold, a second-round pick _ 59th overall _ and a conditional second-round pick in next year's draft.
Leopold _ surprise! _ was a Hobey Baker award winner at the University of Minnesota who grew up in Golden Valley.
In the second round, Brainerd defenseman Carl Sneep was selected by Pittsburgh at No. 32. Jamie McBain, a former Shattuck-St. Mary's defenseman and native of Faribault, was picked 63rd by Carolina.
In the third round, Thief River Falls left wing Michael Forney was taken by Atlanta at No. 80, and Warroad native Aaron Marvin was picked by Calgary at No. 89.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - The NHL draft turned into a showcase for hockey in Minnesota.
Bloomington native Erik Johnson became just the fifth American chosen first overall when the St. Louis Blues selected him Saturday.
Fellow Minnesota natives Kyle Okposo and Peter Mueller followed Johnson in the top 10 with Okposo going to the Islanders and Mueller to the Coyotes. Gophers star Phil Kessel was taken fifth, and Jonathan Toews _ who used to play for Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in Faribault _ went third.
In all, 10 players with ties to the state were drafted in the first three rounds. Four of them were high school stars last season, including Apple Valley's David Fischer _ a Gophers recruit who went to Montreal with the 20th pick.
Fischer's teammate, defenseman Kyle Medvec, was taken by the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round.
And the Wild also made big news with a draft-day trade, acquiring star forward Pavol Demitra from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 17th pick and top prospect Patrick O Sullivan.
"It's a great day for USA hockey, as well as Minnesota," said Johnson, who played with both Okposo and Mueller in summer leagues growing up. "A lot of my buddies have just been selected and I just can't wait to congratulate them, it's just awesome."
Johnson joins Brian Lawton (1983), Mike Modano (1988), Bryan Berard (1995) and Rick Dipietro (2000) as the only Americans taken No. 1. Blessed with great skating ability, a big body, and soft hands, Johnson is known for making big hits and big plays offensively.
Ten Americans were selected in the first round, the most ever, topping the previous high by two set in the last draft.
The 6-foot-4, 222-pound Johnson spent last season with the U.S. National Team Development Program, recording 11 goals and 22 points in just 38 games with the under-18 team. He became the top-ranked prospect with a strong World Junior Championships in Vancouver in January.
Johnson patterns his play after Colorado star Rob Blake, but is compared more often to Edmonton's Chris Pronger, who won a Hart and Norris Trophy in St. Louis.
The only question now is whether he'll follow through on plans to attend the University of Minnesota next season, or go straight to St. Louis, where the Blues are still looking to replace Pronger after trading the All-Star to Edmonton following the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
"It just depends on what St. Louis wants me to do," Johnson said. "If they think it's in my best interests to try and turn pro, I'm definitely open to doing that."
Chicago selected Toews third. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Canadian center scored 21 goals and added 17 assists in 41 games at the University of North Dakota last season.
Boston selected Kessel with the fifth pick. The Madison, Wis., native was considered the consensus No. 1 pick heading into last season and earning comparisons to Pittsburgh super rookie Sidney Crosby.
Kessel slipped despite scoring 18 goals and 51 points as a freshman at the University of Minnesota last season. A dynamic scorer, he only had one goal _ to go with 11 assists _ in seven games at the World Junior Championships, a big drop off from the nine goals and 16 points he managed at the event the year before.
"I don't know what happened but I'm happy to be a Bruin," Kessel said. "Hopefully I'll go out and show that maybe I should have gotten draft picked higher."
New head coach Ted Nolan announced the New York Islanders' selection of Okposo _ the first pick that registered off the ranking charts. Okposo had 58 points in just 50 games and was named rookie of the year in the United States Hockey League.
"It's kind of like a reunion," said Okposo, noting he played with Johnson and Mueller, who was chosen next. "We were always on the same summer team growing up."
Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky received a raucous welcome as he stepped up to announce the Coyotes had selected Mueller.
"We all grew up playing hockey on the pond," Mueller said. "I'm very proud to be a Minnesotan and an American today."
All three were gone just before Minnesota picked so the Wild picked big two-way Canadian forward James Sheppard ninth. But Minnesota still managed to make a splash a short while later by acquiring Demitra, the Kings third-leading scorer with 25 goals and 62 points in just 58 games last year. Demitra has 241 goals and 581 points in 611 NHL games with St. Louis and Los Angeles.
O'Sullivan was the AHL's rookie of the year in Houston with 47 goals and 93 points last season.
Montreal used the 20th pick _ acquired earlier from San Jose in exchange for the 20th and 53rd picks _ to choose Fischer, and the New York Rangers selected New Jersey defenseman Bob Sanguinetti 21st. Fischer, a big defenseman, was the Associated Press player of the year for Minnesota.
The only other big trade involving draft picks came before the second selection was announced, as Calgary acquired forward Alex Tanguay from Colorado in exchange for defenseman Jordan Leopold, a second-round pick _ 59th overall _ and a conditional second-round pick in next year's draft.
Leopold _ surprise! _ was a Hobey Baker award winner at the University of Minnesota who grew up in Golden Valley.
In the second round, Brainerd defenseman Carl Sneep was selected by Pittsburgh at No. 32. Jamie McBain, a former Shattuck-St. Mary's defenseman and native of Faribault, was picked 63rd by Carolina.
In the third round, Thief River Falls left wing Michael Forney was taken by Atlanta at No. 80, and Warroad native Aaron Marvin was picked by Calgary at No. 89.
- rep
by ndfan » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:05 am
Reading this article their is still a good chance Toews could be heading to the NHL sooner then later. Would be a big hit for a Sioux team that has already lost some good players.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com ... -headlines
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com ... -headlines
Matt Houdek. @ndfan55
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