New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Huskies, Bobcats have picks in top 75
The details regarding the upcoming college hockey season are still being worked out, but if what transpired during the second and final day of the 2020 NHL draft is any indication, this could be a season to remember for Connecticut college hockey programs.
UConn sophomore defenseman Yan Kuznetsov got it started when he was selected 50th overall by the Calgary Flames, joining 2017 first-rounder Juuso Valimaki as the only defensemen taken by Calgary in the top 50 picks since 2013. It was the team that was the most diligent checking in on Kuznetsov in the weeks leading up to the draft.
“They also checked on me,” Kuznetsov said. “They asked if am I in Russia or the United States, what is my health status?”
Kuznetsov, who was just 17 when he made his debut as a freshman at UConn, had two goals and nine assists in 34 games as a college freshman.
“I advanced my game a lot,” Kuznetsov said. “I played against pretty good competition and I was able to grow as a player.”
It is the third time in the last five drafts that a player from UConn went in the top 50. Tage Thompson was the 26th overall selection in 2016 and Ruslan Iskhakov was picked 43rd by the New York Islanders in 2018.
UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh said Kuznetsov reminds him of two-time Stanley Cup champion Brooks Orpik who Cavanaugh worked with when he was an assistant coach at Boston College. Kuznetsov said he would like to pattern his game after Seth Jones of the Nashville Predators.
Quinnipiac freshman forward Ty Smilanic was being touted as a potential first-round selection, but he was slowed by three separate injuries or illnesses while playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program.
“I think they got a good one here, I think there is a lot of untapped potential in Ty’s