Battle of NY Draft LiveBlog

8:57 PM Colton Gillies to Minnesota. Clarke Gillies' nephew. I will be re-starting for the next post.

8:57 PM Minnesota to the podium.

8:56 PM INSIDER's PERSPECTIVE

Mike Chen, Battle of California


Sometimes, the Sharks make trades up to zero in on someone whom theythink will have even the tiniest chance of being taken by someoneelse. Logan Coutre (who, by the way, has an awesome porn name) waspenned anywhere from 10-15 in most of the draft stuff I saw, so forSan Jose to grab him at 9 means that Wilson & Co. really, really,ridiculously wanted him. The forward depth of the organization'sprospects is drying up, pretty much because players like Bernier,Michalek, and Pavelski have already made the big club.

Courtre's a character and grit guy with skill, which is big with theSharks' staff. I don't know if the comparison to Jonathan Cheechoo isaccurate, but I can see parallels in their personality that must havefit the scouting staff's liking. I'm assuming the first thing they'llbe doing is sending him to power skating school.

If Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton are signed to multi-yearextensions, Courtre won't get an opportunity to get serious scoringplaying time for the next few years. That's fine for now cause he'llneed time to develop, but Courtre will have to seriously turn someheads or experiment with wing if he hopes to crack the Sharks lineupover the next 3-4 years.

8:55 PM They're saying this is where it ends for Esposito or Cherepanov...Possibly Colton Gillies.

8:54 PM Minnesota is up.

8:53 PM Trade the #16 to Minnesota for picks #19 and 42.

8:53 PM TRADE!

8:52 PM Anaheim is up.

8:50 PM Plante out of Calgary of the WHL.

8:50 PM Alex Plante, and Lepore calls it!

8:50 PM Edmonton to the podium.

8:49 PM This is the pick EDM got from the Isles.

8:48 PM A MINOR TRADE. Pens deal Chris Thorbrun to ATL for a 3rd rounder.

8:47 PM Another cliffhanger.

8:46 PM Edmonton is up next. Let's see if Lou goes to work here. Hey, I'm just saying.

8:45 PM KEVIN SHATTENKIRK. Another American kid. From New Rochelle, New York.

8:45 PM Avs to the Podium.

8:43 PM Avs are on the clock.

8:41 PM Lars Eller. I thought this would be Mikael Backlund. But the Danish kid gets in at #13 to St. Louis. Should be interesting.

8:40 PM Blues to the podium.

8:37 PM St. Louis is on the board again. We'll be getting Mike Chen's take on the Sharks pick shortly...

8:35 PM RYAN MCDONAGH to HABS. Mr. Hockey in Minnesota, Esposito and Cherepanov fall past #12. Doug McLean calls him the sleeper of the draft. His uncle is Super Bowl winning QB Steve Walsh.

8:30 PM BRANDON SUTTER. Very interesting. The 9th Sutter to the NHL.

8:29 PM Carolina to the podium.

8:28 PM Carolina is on the clock. This could be Espo.

8:24 PM Keaton Ellerby. Interestinly, I had him going #7 to the CBJ.

8:23 PM After a quick break, we're back and the Cats are at the podium.

8:17 PM Logan Couture. Of the Ottawa 67's. Out of the OHL. A character pick.

8:15 PM San Jose heading to the podium. Could this be Cherepanov?

8:14 PM A TRADE!!! St. Louis Trades the #9 to San Jose for the #13 and their 2nd this year and their 3rd next year. San Jose's on the clock.

8:11 PM New Boston jerseys. Next up is St. Louis, San Jose looks to be involved in something.

8:09 PM Zach Hamill! Ryan the temp goes at #8.

8:08 PM Cam Neely at the podium

8:05 PM Boston is up. I think they might get Esposito.

8:04 PM Jakub Voracek is the first Euro to go into the draft.

8:03 PM Jakub Voracek!

8:01 PM Or not, CBJ is on the podium.

8:00 PM Apparently Bettman is going to announce something.

7:55 PM Columbus is on the clock.

7:54 PM Edmonton take Sam Gagner, son of Dave, out of London of the OHL.

7:53 PM Oilers are headed to the podium.

7:50 PM Edmonton is on the clock. This will be interesting.

7:49 PM It's Alzner! Karl Alzner of the WHL at #5.

7:48 PM Washington is on the podium. Wyshynski says Alzner.

7:46 PM Pittsburgh may be dealing with ATL. This will be a curious pick for the Caps.

7:42 PM I had Hickey going at #22. Washington's on the clock. New Jersey alert.

7:41 PM WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA? Thomas Hickey, a defenseman from Seattle of the WHL. 5'11'', 182 lbs. at D. The first shocker of the draft. 6 teams had him as a 2nd rounder.

7:40 PM Kings to the podium.

7:36 PM Turris is headed to America, to play at the U. of Wisconsin. The worry is that he's not dominant vs. Top Tier players.

7:35 PM Kyle Turris to PHX!

7:34 PM Gretzky at the podium to standing ovations.

7:32 PM Coyotes are looking to start from scratch.

7:30 PM The Coyotes are on the clock. Holmgren says JvR reminds him of John LeClair.

7:29 PM This is the first time ever that Americans have gone 1-2.

7:28 PM Americans go 1-2 as the Flyers take JvR outta the National Team Dev. Program. Many compare him to Rick Nash, but Doug MacLean questions that. Some say he may be the most NHL ready player.

7:27 PM JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK!

7:26 PM Philly's at the podium.

7:23 PM Kane reminds many of Pavel Datsyuk, the worries are about his size. I say, with Brian Gionta scoring bunches of goals, it's not a worry.

7:21 PM Pat Kane it is! Patrick Kane of London of the OHL. This is the 1st time that two consecutive Americans will be drafted at #1.

7:20 PM Here we go, Chicago at the podium....

7:19 PM Booos for the Hawks

7:16 PM Booooooooooo! Bettman steps to the podium.

7:15 PM Apparently Craig Leipold has advised that the NHL not approve the sale of the Preds to Jim Ballsillie. Everyone on the team, however, can get the hell out.

7:14 PM Apparently it's curious that Bettman han't addressed the crowd yet, there's no clock or anything. A deal perhaps?

7:13 PM Eric McErlain reports that Nationwide Arena is full.

7:11 PM Habs are talking with CBJ, ANA and SJ.

7:08PM Dennis Bernstein says the Hawks should hold on to the 1st pick.

7:05 PM Montreal and Anaheim are looking to make a deal according to TFP.

7:04 PM Eric Duatscheck says it may be almost done.

7:00 PM HERE WE GO!

6:57 PM The Latest from Greg Wyshynski at the NHL Fanhouse (NHL.AOLSPORTSBLOG.com)

"Latest rumor on the floor is Phoenix trading for the top pick and selecting Kyle Turris (C, Burnaby, BCHL), in exchange for a position player (Derrek Morris?) and the No. 3 pick. This could open the door for the Philadelphia Flyers to potentially take Patrick Kane (RW, London, OHL) or James vanRiemsdyk (D, US U-18, USDP).
Ah, but the latest? That the deal has fallen through, and Chicago will take Kane. Stay tuned..."

Ah, the fun of rumors.

6:55 PM New rumor is that the roster player is Boynton headed to CHI. However, some are denying that it is happening.

6:51 PM Once again, EDMONTON and PHILADELPHIA are interested in Gomez for a trade and sign. The report is that the Devils are not returning the Flyers calls, but are seriously talking with the Oilers.

6:42 PM This draft special is very depressing I must say. Anyway, here are the rules for our rumors. All rumor sites, TSN, TFP, HockeyBuzz, will be used and taken with a grain of salt. Right now HB is reporting that Phoenix has Traded a roster player for the #1 pick from Chicago. Phoenix will take Turris, Philly will take van Riemsdyk and Chi-Town at #3 would take Kane.

6:30 PM Here we go folks, the NHL Draft is 30 minutes away. Right now, VERSUS is airing an all access special on the St. Louis Blues which I saw on the Blues website. Boy it mustg suck to be a Blues scout, based on this. Right now, there is a lot of news flowing around, and it'll be interesting to see where the night takes us. The big thing were following right now is the Washington Caps jersey unveiling. Even though you've all already seen it on a billion different blogs.

Leave questions for myself and Patricia (Who will suit up shortly for the blogging) in the comments section and one of us will try and respond.