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Everything you need to know that happened in Round 1 of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft

Photo of Kyle McKenna Kyle McKenna Follow on X June 23, 2018
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After three and a half hours the 2018 NHL Entry Draft’s first round came to a close on Friday night in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. Whether or not you were happy with which prospect your respective team selected, here’s everything that you need to know that took place in Round One of the 2018 NHL Draft.

Complete Coverage From HOHM

Pre-Draft

The Washington Capitals wasted no time trading away highly sought goaltender, Philipp Grubauer. Grubauer had been a popular trade rumor ever since the beginning of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the future starting masked man was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche along with defenseman Brooks Orpik in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick.

The Carolina Hurricanes were the first team to unveil their new Adidas third jersey for the upcoming 2018-19 campaign. No, this is not a mistake, nor one of those fashion jerseys the NHL tries extra hard to sell. Let’s just say Hooked on Hockey Magazine is not a fan…

On the other end of the ice, a team that we commend for their alternate sweater would be that of the Phoenix, we mean, Arizona Coyotes. Arizona hasn’t done much right at all over the past two decades, but one thing for certain is that re-introducing the team’s original dark sweater as a modern-day alternate receives five out of five stars.

TSN Hockey Insider, Pierre LeBrun, hinted that the Carolina Hurricanes made their second mistake of the day by not convincing stud forward Elias Lindholm to re-sign. Expect Lindholm to be dealt before July 1, and potentially by the end of the draft.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman put those in attendants on the night in their place, after fans tried to “boo” him during his speech for the Humboldt Broncos.

https://twitter.com/MichaelKlinck/status/1010307004131430400

No, the Ottawa Senators didn’t trade all-star defenseman Erik Karlsson, nor did the Montreal Canadiens.

The Draft

To no surprise, the Buffalo Sabres selected Swedish defenseman, Rasmus Dahlin, with the first overall selection. Oh, Swede it is for the city of Buffalo. Dahlin became the second Swedish born player since Mats Sundin to be selected No. 1 overall at the NHL Draft, and the second defenseman taken at No. 1 since Aaron Ekblad in 2014 (Florida Panthers).

The Hurricanes rebounded after missing the wide open net twice as mentioned above and selected forward Andrei Svechnikov.

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin is hoping and praying (perhaps in French Canadien too) that Finnish center Jesperi Kotkaniemi pans out to be just as good as a Finnish centerman the Canadiens took back in 1993…Saku Koivu. Montreal selected Kotkaniemi with the third-overall pick.

Like father, like sons. Brady Tkachuk was drafted a tad earlier than projected and at No. 4 overall, after the Ottawa Senators took the scrappy forward off of the draft board. His brother Matthew, and father Keith, were also drafted by Canadian clubs.

Center Barrett Hayton was surprisingly selected at No. 5 overall by the Arizona Coyotes, and they may regret that since Filip Zadina has made it clear that whichever teams decided not to take the Czech Republic native would be seeing a lot of rubber in the back of their nets next season. Zadina was drafted sixth overall by the Detroit Red Wings.

The New York Rangers made a big splash in the draft after the team selected two promising defensemen and one forward. The Broadway Blueshirts traded up with the Senators — exchanged 26th & 48th pick for Ottawa’s 22nd selection in the first round. With that 22nd overall selection, the Rangers took six-foot-four K’Andre Miller, who is committed to the University of Wisconsin next season. The other picks New York selected were Vitali Kravtsov and Nils Lundkvist. Yes, the Rangers selected another Swedish player with the name pronounced just like their future Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist.

Here’s the complete list for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft’s first round:


Tweet your NHL related questions to @KMcKenna_tLT5  to have them answered & be sure to use the hashtag #McKennasDigest

Kyle McKenna covers the NHL for Hooked On Hockey Magazine. He can be reached on Twitter (@KMcKenna_tLT5) 

Kyle McKenna

Kyle McKenna

NHL Writer
Kyle McKenna is a freelancer covering the NHL for various online outlets, and is a social media specialist. McKenna has produced NHL content for sites such as about dot com & Elite Sports New York.
Kyle McKenna
Kyle McKenna
Kyle McKenna

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Photo of Kyle McKenna Kyle McKenna Follow on X June 23, 2018
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