The Draft pt. I

Tavares first, Hedman second, Duchene third - the first picks went just as expected. The Thrashers took their scorer in Kane, LA acquired yet another premier offensive player in Schenn and the Yotes got their top D prospect in Larsson. Magnus Paajarvi-Svenson joined the young core in Edmonton. The Islanders provided the surprise yet again by picking Calvin De Haan at no. 12 - ahead of such players as David Rundblad or Dmitri Kulikov.

Vancouver Canucks seem to be the big winners - they got potential game-breaking talent in Jordan Schroeder (rated by the CSS as the 4th North American skater) with the 22nd selection. Schroeder, a slick playmaker, outshined James Van Riemsdyk at the WJC. His size is the big concern (5'8), but his abilities should have caused him to be picked in the top 15 - especially after he had showed both in the NCAA and the WJC that he can compete with bigger players.