Canucks draft highly touted American defenceman
DALLAS — The Vancouver Canucks selected Quinn Hughes with the seventh pick in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday night.
The 18-year-old left-handed defenceman from Orlando, Florida, had five goals and 29 points in 37 games with the University of Michigan in 2017-18 and was named to the Big 10 all-rookie team, as well as a second-team all star.
Hughes, the No. 6-ranked North American skater by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, also won a bronze medal in the 2018 world junior championship with the United States.
“I’m excited. I obviously knew Vancouver would be right around my spot,” said Hughes.
“It’s a great hockey market and they’ve got a lot of young talent coming up.”
Before joining Michigan, Hughes played two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
The five-foot-10, 173-pound blue-liner is the son of Jim Hughes, who was a Boston Bruins assistant coach from 2001 to 2003 before eventually taking various roles with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization between 2006 and 2015. His younger brother Jack is currently part of the U.S. National Team Development Program and is expected to go high in the 2019 NHL draft.
Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres did the expected by selecting Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin with the No. 1 pick, but none of the trade chatter on the floor of American Airlines Center ever metastasized into a blockbuster deal.
“It was a very quiet day on the phone,” said Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion, who has been rumoured to be taking calls about captain Erik Karlsson.
“Very quiet,” Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin added. “I don’t know why.”
Considered far and away the class of the 2018 talent pool, Dahlin had seven goals and 13 assists in 41 games for Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League in 2017-18.
“It’s amazing to finally put on the Buffalo Sabres’ jersey,” said the slick 18-year-old. “I’ve been there twice. I love that city.”
The second Swedish-born player selected first overall after Mats Sundin was the top choice of the Quebec Nordiques in 1989, Dahlin also was named his country’s top junior hockey player last season.
The six-foot-three, 185-pound Dahlin was honoured as the top blue liner at the 2018 world junior championship in Buffalo, registering six assists in seven games. He also played twice for his country as a 17-year-old at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
“I’m so excited at the moment,” he said.
The Carolina Hurricanes, selecting second, took Russianborn Barrie Colts winger Andrei Svechnikov. Montreal, the first Canadian team to step to the microphone, took Finnish centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the No. 3 selection.
“He’s getting more mature, he’s getting more confident,” Bergevin said. “He’ll get stronger.”
The Ottawa Senators then selected Boston University winger Brady Tkachuk, the son of ex-NHLer Keith Tkachuk and the brother of Calgary Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk, at No. 4.
“The father had an illustrious NHL career. We’ve seen the brother play,” Dorion said. “Adding a third Tkachuk to the NHL family, it’s good for the NHL and it’s even better for the Ottawa Senators.”