11:17 AM — And with Detroit having made the 211th pick, that's a wrap on the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Six BCHLers — Justin Schultz, Zac Dalpe, Derek Grant, Taylor Stefishen, Grant Rollheiser and Brett Hextall — were selected this weekend. Congratulations to all!
10:51 AM — No sooner do I wonder whether Andrew MacWilliam would be drafted than Toronto puts his name on the board. That's two picks from the AJHL in this draft.
10:34 AM — He's not a current BCHLer, but former Nanaimo Clippers forward Braden Birch was taken 179th out of the OPJHL by the Blackhawks. Attaboy.
10:30 AM — Earlier, it was mentioned that Harri Sateri was the best name of the draft, but not so. San Jose GM Doug Wilson obviously has a sense of humour, because the Sharks drafted both Sateri and this guy — Tommy Wingels. Tommy was an all-world tap dancer back in the roaring 20s.
10:27 AM — Curious to see whether or not New Jersey will take a BCHLer before the day is over. They pick at 202 and 205 in the 7th round, so there's still a couple chances. Glen Dirk and the Devils scout the league as good as anybody.
10:22 AM — Brett Hextall gets a mention from the NHL Net anchor, who notes that there's no relations to Ron. You can't get everything right (or you'd be on TSN or Sportsnet).
10:20 AM — Back-to-back BCHL picks. A surprise in a sense, since Brett and Grant weren't on too many draft lists. On the other hand, both are character guys heading to bigtime NCAA programs. Who's next?
10:16 AM — Whoa, now we're going. Immediately after Rollheiser, Phoenix grabs Penticton Vees captain Brett Hextall. Ron's son was the BCHL's nominee for Canadian Jr. A Player of the Year. Let's keep this up.
10:10 AM — Last year, Corbin McPherson was drafted by New Jersey despite not being ranked by Central Scouting. This year, BU-bound Grant Rollheiser is the guy. The Smokies tender goes to Toronto in the sixth round. Congratulations, Grant!
10:01 AM — Five rounds down, two to go.
9:45 AM — And Taylor Stefishen is a Nashville Predator. Congrats, Taylor! The Preds will get to keep a close eye on Stefishen, who won't be too far off at Ohio State. This is right about where he was expected to be chosen.
That's four BCHLers now in four rounds and a bit… Brodie Reid shouldn't be far behind.
9:36 AM — The Canucks' first pick since the second round is coming up. You know there may be some hockey-addiction issues when your ears perk up about a fifth round pick…
And the Canucks select Seattle T-Birds forward Prab Rai. You know your favorite team has hit a home run when they have to paint a sign with his name on it to put up on the big draft board behind the stage. Rai's a Surrey kid who scored 65 points in his draft year.
9:29 AM — After a brief hiatus, we're shaken back awake when the Ottawa Senators tab Langley Chiefs forward (and Abbotsford, BC kid) Derek Grant with a late fourth-round pick.
And we're definately into the territory where Taylor Stefishen or Brodie Reid could be picked up any time now.
8:38 AM — A quiet third round on all fronts. No BCHLers off the board and if there have been any trades, they've been ignored by the NHL Network. On the bright side, it's bound to pick up, right?
7:51 AM — Not as many updates this morning as during the first round. That's partly because the NHL Network is all over the place with their coverage, and partly because there isn't enough coffee in the world to make me forget that I'm awake before 8 AM on a Saturday morning.
7:48 AM — The second round is wrapping up and it was a good one for BCHL fans with two mid-round picks. It would be a surprise if Chiefs power forward Derek Grant doesn't get picked sometime soon.
7:30 AM — The Canucks picked QMJHL D Yann Sauve with their second round selection. What can Vancouver fans expect from Yann?
“I'm a hard worker and I'll do anything to win.”
Anything? We'll hold you to that, Yann.
7:26 AM — A nice plug for Zac and the BCHL by Bob McKenzie on TSN. Two BCHLers in the course of about six minutes. Can we keep up that pace?
7:24 AM — There was some buzz that the Carolina Hurricanes might choose Zac Dalpe with the 14th pick of the first round, so no surprise that they jumped on the opportunity to grab him in the second round with the 45th selection. Congratulations, Zac!
7:20 AM — The first BCHLer of the draft goes to the Anaheim Ducks — but it's Justin Schultz, not Zac Dalpe. Congratulations to Justin, who's headed to an organization that embraces college-bound players. He was rated 38th amongst North American skaters and likely went a handful of spots higher than many expected.
7:09 AM — Florida kicks of Round 2 by taking netminder Jacob Markstrom while the second Canadian Junior A product of the draft – Corey Trivino from Stouffville of the OPJHL – goes to the Islanders.
7:06 AM — Jim Gregory replaces Gary Bettman at the podium for the second round (though the teams make the picks from their draft tables now). Bettman is already undergoing intensive therapy after getting booed out of the building yesterday while Pierre Maguire is replaced by former Flames GM Craig Button at the commentator's desk. We did receive an e-mail from Pierre, though:
“I love all of today's picks in advance.”
7:00 AM — We're back for Day 2 of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The NHL Network has full extended coverage for those with a little bit too much time on their hands.
8:00 PM — Whew, four hours really flies. While Zac Dalpe didn't get the call tonight, he won't have to wait long when the second round begins come morning. And that will be awfully early on the West Coast… there are six rounds on tap Saturday and it all gets started at 6:30 AM.
Undaunted, the blog will be back to track as many as 8 or 10 BCHLers who are set to be picked on Day 2. See you then.
7:53 PM — Steve Yzerman announces Guelph Storm netminder Thomas McCollum as the final pick of the first round. And that's a wrap.
7:52 PM — Detroit heads up to the podium to make the final pick of the first round. Whoever the Red Wings pick is more or less annointed a future star at this point, wouldn't you say?
7:50 PM — Atlanta takes Ontario Jr. B wunderkid Daultan Leveille at 29. This kid was a top buzz guy in recent months, and snuck into the first round.
7:43 PM — The Coyotes grab Viktor Tikhonov, who Pierre Maguire descibes as “more Californian than Arnold Schwarzenegger”, which is obviously saying something. Tikhonov approaches the stage in Raybans and board shorts.
The song that TSN picked as it's Draft Day theme song is starting to grate. Maybe because I've heard a ten-second chunk of it 86 times now. Or maybe because it sounds like Blink-182 (its 2008, isn't it?). Either way, I'm campaigning for a new song when the extended draft coverage picks up tomorrow. I'm not hopeful.
7:40 PM — Phoenix trades a pair of second rounders to Anaheim for the 28. A defenceman is a good bet here since they gave up Boynton and Ballard in the Olli Jokinen robbery, um, trade.
7:38 PM — Philly deals the 27 for Steve Eminger and 84. Interesting, given Eminger's dipping stock in DC. McKenzie notes that Eminger played very well in the postseason. The Caps use the pick to grabs W John Carlson, who is out of the USHL and is very large.
7:30 PM — Buffalo takes Tyler Ennis, a Medicine Hat Tiger, at 26. Maguire notes that Ennis is the second Tyler selected by the Sabres tonight. Guess he broke the code on their scouting process.
7:23 PM — Calgary picks Windsor Spitfire Greg Nemisz, a teammate of Mickey Renaud (who passed away midseason and was<
