Devils pick Hischier No.1 at NHL draft
Highly-rated Patrick goes to Flyers as second overall, newcomers Golden Knights opt for Glass
>> CHICAGO: Nico Hischier became the first Swiss player to be taken first overall on Friday when the New Jersey Devils made the slick centre the top pick in the National Hockey League entry draft.
The 18-year-old from Naters was excited to go first in the 2017 draft, the annual selection of top prospects that helps teams replenish their talent pools.
“I am speechless,” said Hischier, who played last season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. “I don’t know what to say. It is an incredible feeling.”
Unlike the last two drafts, this year there was no consensus on who would be the top pick as Hischier and Canadian Nolan Patrick were considered the top two players available.
Patrick was quickly taken second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers as the first round got under way at the United Center arena in Chicago. The draft concludes with rounds two to seven this morning (Thai time).
It was the first time the entry draft was held in Chicago and with the inclusion of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights it boasted a recordhigh 31 teams.
There were a number of trades made during the draft and a record six Finnish players taken in the first round. Canada topped the nationality list with 12 players selected while the USA had five and the Czechs two. There was also one Russian.
The Golden Knights used their first draft pick at No.6 overall to select Cody Glass, an 18-year-old from the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. Glass scored 94 points in 69 games last season.
Finland’s Miro Heiskanen was the first defenceman taken when the Dallas Stars selected him at No.3.
Defenceman Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche) and centre Elias Petterson (Vancouver Canucks) rounded out the top five picks.
Hischier is a skilled offensively and can infuse the Devils with some much-needed scoring.
Nino Niederreiter was the highest picked Swiss player before Hischier when New York Islanders took him fifth in 2010.
Hischier racked up 86 points (38 goals, 48 assists) in 57 games last season with Halifax. He was named the league’s rookie of the year.
The selection marked the Devils’ first No.1 overall draft pick in franchise history.
Like Hischier, Patrick is considered a slick playmaker. The 6-foot-2 (1.88metre), 90kg Winnipeg native had 20 goals and 46 points in just 33 games last season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League.
If Patrick was disappointed in going No.2 he didn’t show it.
“He [Hischier] is an awesome guy. I have got to know him the last month,” Patrick said. “I am really happy and honoured be a Flyer.
“I am a two-way centreman. I can play against the other team’s top guys and contribute offensively.”
The smallest player to be drafted in the first round was 5-foot-7 (1.7m) right winger Kailer Yamamoto, who went to the Edmonton Oilers with the 22nd pick.
Yamamoto, who grew up in Los Angeles where he played for the Junior Kings programme, racked up 99 points (42 goals, 57 assists) in 65 games last season with Spokane of the Western Hockey League.
“I was hoping to go to the Oilers,” Yamamoto said.