PANTHERS TAKE RUSSIAN WING NO. 15 OVERALL IN DRAFT
The Florida Panthers selected Russian winger Grigori Denisenko with the 15th overall selection in Friday night’s NHL draft in Dallas.
The pick added to an already heavy international flavor in the first round.
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin went first overall to the Buffalo Sabres and Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov second to the Carolina Hurricanes in widely expected choices.
The Sabres taking Dahlin was automatic since they won the draft lottery in April, and the 18-year-old wore a Buffalo Bills hat Friday prior to the selection. Svechnikov got to try on the Hurricanes’ draft hat before he was the No. 2 pick just as general manager Don Waddell acknowledged recently.
Dahlin is the second Swedish player to be taken No. 1 and the first since Mats Sundin in 1989. Sundin went on to a Hall of Fame career.
“It’s pretty crazy actually,” Dahlin said. “He’s a legend in the hockey world. It’s kind of weird but amazing.”
The selections after Dahlin and Svechnikov brought some surprises. Montreal took Finnish center Jesperi Kotkaniemi third and Arizona went a bit off the board with center Barrett Hayton fifth, allowing high-scoring Czech winger Filip Zadina to fall to Detroit with the sixth pick.
Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said before the draft they were going to take who they thought would be best down the road. Holland figured Zadina can be a 30-goal scorer in the NHL.
Dahlin should spark the rebuilding process for Buffalo, which has missed the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons.
About an hour before the Sabres were on the clock, the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals made the first trade of draft weekend by sending veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik and backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer to the Colorado Avalanche for a second-round pick. The trade netted Washington the 47th pick and cleared significant salary-cap space to attempt to re-sign pending free agent defensemen John Carlson and Michal Kempny.
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan has spoken with Carlson’s agent about a deal but had not agreed to one as of Friday night.
Schedule released: The Florida Panthers will open their 25th anniversary season on the road against intrastate rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, Oct. 6, before hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, Oct. 11, for their home opener at BB&T Center.
The 2018-19 schedule, released Friday, is highlighted by 14 Saturday home games, five Sunday home games and two international games as part of the NHL Global Series against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 in Helsinki, Finland.
In honor of the Panthers’ anniversary season, each Friday and Saturday home game of the season will celebrate the history of the franchise with “Flashback Fridays” and “Legacy Saturdays.”
For full season schedule, visit pbpost.com.