Recapping the NHL Draft

What can you say about a draft that begins in the middle of the afternoon, in a very well-lit arena, where the commissioner is lustily booed and the teams get to send whoever they want to announce their picks?

Ladies and gentleman...live from GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia...the 2006 NHL Entry Draft!

To the surprise of no one (well, no one who follows the NHL), St. Louis chose first, going with D Erik Johnson. Despite using the Nordic spelling of his first name, Erik is indeed American, and will more than likely start for the Blues next season. They're that bad. Fortunately, he's that good. Jordan Staal went 2nd, to the Pittsburgh Penguins, joining with 2 other brothers in the NHL, with a 4th one on the way. Nothing beats the genetic lottery!

The first round plowed through, with a couple of trades to lighten up the day...Pavol Demitra went to the Wild in exchange for someone who doesn't ring a bell, Colorado sent Alex Tanguay to Calgary for Jordan Leopold and some Albertan beef (or something) and there was a goalie swap between the Maple Leafs and the Bruins. Honestly, the highlight of the rest of the first round was the Capitals' picking a guy named Semen.

The best thing about the NHL Entry Draft is how the teams without fail always say something gracious to the host city, and then make their pick. None of this Paul Tagliabue or David Stern hogging up the podium, it's whoever the team sends up. Washington (for the 2nd pick) let Alexander Ovechkin make the pick in surprisingly good English. Most teams sent their coach or GM, which brought us the return of former coach of the year, Ted Nolan. Yup, Nolan is back in the NHL, coaching the New York Islanders, and botched the name of their pick. Watch out, Ted. You've been blackballed before...don't think the minions of the USHL didn't notice your slight of their leading player you sentenced to the wasteland of Nassau Coliseum.

It kind of makes you wonder what would happen if you combined aspects of the NHL's draft with aspects of the NFL and NBA Drafts. Would Jets and Eagles fans be so vocally rude and hilariously disruptive if the lights were on and the whole world was watching? Yeah, probably so. Would a guy named Semen look as pimptacular as Jalen Rose did wearing that red pinstriped suit? Alas, we'll never know.