99 CHL Players Selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft
Pittsburgh, PA – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that 99 CHL players were selected in the seven rounds of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft representing nearly 47% of the 211 drafted players.
Of the 99 players selected, the Ontario Hockey League leads the way with 48 players which represents a modern draft record and their highest total since 1999 when 52 OHL players were picked in the nine-round draft process. This season the Western Hockey League had 32 players selected, and the Quebec Major Junior League had 19 players selected.
“On behalf of the Canadian Hockey League I would like to congratulate all of our players and their families as they celebrate this special day and look forward to professional careers,” said CHL President David Branch. “I would also like to congratulate all CHL teams who continue to work together to see that the CHL remains the number one development league in the world.”
The 99 players included 18 selected in the first round beginning with Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting who became the sixth straight CHL player to be chosen first overall when he was picked by the Edmonton Oilers. Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips was the second overall pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets and one of five WHL defencemen selected in the top-eight picks and among the record-tying 13 defencemen that were chosen in the first round matching the 1996 Entry Draft. The Sting’s Alex Galchenyuk was the third overall pick to the Montreal Canadiens and alongside Yakupov became just the fourth pair of teammates to be selected in the top-three picks following the Sedin twins in 1999, Wilf Paiement and Rick Hampton of St. Catharines in 1974, along with Rejean Houle and Marc Tardif of the Montreal Jr. Canadiens in 1969.
48 CHL teams produced NHL Entry Draft picks including the OHL champion London Knights who led the CHL with six players selected including first round pick Olli Maatta. The Owen Sound Attack set a new franchise record with five players selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, while the Belleville Bulls, Guelph Storm, and Windsor Spitfires all had four players selected. Three WHL teams had three players selected including the league-champion Edmonton Oil Kings who had two first round selections in Griffin Reinhart and Henrik Samuelsson. The Calgary Hitmen also had three players selected as did the Portland Winterhawks who tied a league-high with four players last year and just one season after leading the WHL with eight players picked in 2010. The Quebec Remparts led the QMJHL with three players selected including first round pick Mikhail Grigorenko.
29 of the NHL’s 30 teams selected at least one CHL player with the exception of the New York Rangers. The host Pittsburgh Penguins led the way selecting six CHL players including two first round picks Derrick Pouliot and Olli Maatta. Four NHL teams each had five CHL picks including the Colorado Avalanche who used all five of their choices on CHL players, along with the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs each selected four CHL players, with the Calgary Flames selecting three players along with the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets, followed by the Vancouver Canucks selecting just two CHL players.
In total there were 110 forwards selected in 2012 including 59 from the CHL, 77 defencemen including 32 from the CHL, and 24 goaltenders picked including eight from the CHL.
Last season, 101 CHL players were taken in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft including 46 from the OHL, 33 from the WHL, and 22 from the QMJHL.
The CHL continues to be the number one supplier of talent to the NHL.
CHL Players Selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft:
First Round (18 CHL Players):
1. Nail Yakupov (Sarnia Sting) – Edmonton Oilers
2. Ryan Murray (Everett Silvertips) – Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Alex Galchenyuk (Sarnia Sting) – Montreal Canadiens
4. Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oil Kings) – New York Islanders
5. Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw Warriors) – Toronto Maple Leafs
7. Mathew Dumba (Red Deer Rebels) – Minnesota Wild
8. Derrick Pouliot (Portland Winterhawks) – Pittsburgh Penguins
10. Slater Koekkoek (Peterborough Petes) – Tampa Bay Lightning
12. Mikhail Grigorenko (Quebec Remparts) – Buffalo Sabres
13. Radek Faksa (Kitchener Rangers) – Dallas Stars
15. Cody Ceci (Ottawa 67’s) – Ottawa Senators
16. Thomas Wilson (Plymouth Whalers) – Washington Capitals
20. Scott Laughton (Oshawa Generals) – Philadelphia Flyers
22. Olli Maatta (London Knights) – Pittsburgh Penguins
24. Malcolm Subban (Belleville Bulls) – Boston Bruins
26. Brendan Gaunce (Belleville Bulls) – Vancouver Canucks
27. Henrik Samuelsson (Edmonton Oil Kings) – Phoenix Coyotes
30. Tanner Pearson (Barrie Colts) – Los Angeles Kings
Second Round (16 CHL Players):
32. Mitchell Moroz (Edmonton Oil Kings) – Edmonton Oilers
35. Matt Finn (Guelph Storm) – Toronto Maple Leafs
39. Lukas Sutter (Saskatoon Blades) – Winnipeg Jets
40. Dylan Blujus (Brampton Battalion) – Tampa Bay Lightning
41. Mitchell Heard (Plymouth Whalers) – Colorado Avalanche
46. Raphael Bussieres (Baie-Comeau Drakkar) – Minnesota Wild
47. Brock McGinn (Guelph Storm) – Carolina Hurricanes
48. Dillon Fournier (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) – Chicago Blackhawks
49. Martin Frk (Halifax Mooseheads) – Detroit Red Wings
50. Colton Sissons (Kelowna Rockets) – Nashville Predators
51. Dalton Thrower (Saskatoon Blades) – Montreal Canadiens
54. Mike Winther (Prince Albert Raiders) – Dallas Stars
55. Chris Tierney (London Knights) – San Jose Sharks
57. Alexandre Mallet (Rimouski Oceanic) – Vancouver Canucks
58. Jordan Martinook (Vancouver Giants) – Phoenix Coyotes
60. Damon Severson (Kelowna Rockets) – New Jersey Devils
Third Round (17 CHL Players):
64. Tim Bozon (Kamloops Blazers) – Montreal Canadiens
65. Adam Pelech (Erie Otters) – New York Islanders
69. Daniel Altshuller (Oshawa Generals) – Carolina Hurricanes
70. Scott Kosmachuk (Guelph Storm) – Winnipeg Jets
71. Tanner Richard (Guelph Storm) – Tampa Bay Lightning
72. Troy Bourke (Prince George Cougars) – Colorado Avalanche
73. Justin Kea (Saginaw Spirit) – Buffalo Sabres
76. Chris Driedger (Calgary Hitmen) – Ottawa Senators
77. Chandler Stephenson (Regina Pats) – Washington Capitals
80. Jake Paterson (Saginaw Spirit) – Detroit Red Wings
82. Jarrod Maidens (Owen Sound Attack) – Ottawa Senators
83. Matthew Murray (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) – Pittsburgh Penguins
84. Steven Hodges (Victoria Royals) – Florida Panthers
99. James Melindy (Moncton Wildcats) – Phoenix Coyotes
89. Brendan Leipsic (Portland Winterhawks) – Nashville Predators
90. Ben Johnson (Windsor Spitfires) – New Jersey Devils
91. Daniil Zharkov (Belleville Bulls) – Edmonton Oilers
Fourth Round (14 CHL Players):
92. Matia Marcantuoni (Kitchener Rangers) – Pittsburgh Penguins
94. Brady Vail (Windsor Spitfires) – Montreal Canadiens
95. Josh Anderson (London Knights) – Columbus Blue Jackets
96. Ben Thomson (Kitchener Rangers) – New Jersey Devils
101. Cedric Paquette (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada) – Tampa Bay Lightning
103. Loic Leduc (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) – New York Islanders
104. Gemel Smith (Owen Sound Attack) – Dallas Stars
105. Brett Kulak (Vancouver Giants) – Calgary Flames
108. Andrew O’Brien (Chicoutimi Sagueneens) – Anaheim Ducks
109. Christophe Lalancette (Acadie-Bathurst Titan) – San Jose Sharks
110. Andreas Athanasiou (London Knights) – Detroit Red Wings
115. Trevor Carrick (Mississauga Steelheads) – Carolina Hurricanes
116. Nicholas Walters (Everett Silvertips) – St. Louis Blues
117. Taylor Leier (Portland Winterhawks) – Philadelphia Flyers
Fifth Round (13 CHL Players):
122. Charles Hudon (Chicoutimi Sagueneens) – Montreal Canadiens
124. Ryan Culkin (Quebec Remparts) – Calgary Flames
131. Seth Griffith (London Knights) – Boston Bruins
132. Michael Clarke (Windsor Spitfires) – Colorado Avalanche
133. Logan Nelson (Victoria Royals) – Buffalo Sabres
134. Branden Troock (Seattle Thunderbirds) – Dallas Stars
135. Graham Black (Swift Current Broncos) – New Jersey Devils
139. Garret Ross (Saginaw Spirit) – Chicago Blackhawks
143. Clark Seymour (Peterborough Petes) – Pittsburgh Penguins
145. Cody Payne (Plymouth Whalers) – Boston Bruins
146. Francois Tremblay (Val-d’Or Foreurs) – St. Louis Blues
149. Travis Brown (Moose Jaw Warriors) – Chicago Blackhawks
151. Colin Miller (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) – Los Angeles Kings
Sixth Round (12 CHL Players):
155. Jesse Graham (Niagara IceDogs) – New York Islanders
156. Connor Brown (Erie Otters) – Toronto Maple Leafs
157. Ryan Rupert (London Knights) – Toronto Maple Leafs
160. Ryan Olsen (Kelowna Rockets) – Winnipeg Jets
161. Jake Dotchin (Owen Sound Attack) – Tampa Bay Lightning
162. Joseph Blandisi (Owen Sound Attack) – Colorado Avalanche
165. Coda Gordon (Swift Current Broncos) – Calgary Flames
166. Francois Brassard (Quebec Remparts) – Ottawa Senators
171. Tomas Hyka (Gatineau Olympiques) – Los Angeles Kings
173. Anton Zlobin (Val-d’Or Foreurs) – Pittsburgh Penguins
174. Francis Beauvillier (Rimouski Oceanic) – Florida Panthers
180. Artur Gavrus (Owen Sound Attack) – New Jersey Devils
Seventh Round (9 CHL Players):
182. Gianluca Curcuruto (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) – Columbus Blue Jackets
187. Kenton Helgesen (Calgary Hitmen) – Anaheim Ducks
191. Brandon Whitney (Victoriaville Tigres) – Chicago Blackhawks
192. Colin Smith (Kamloops Blazers) – Colorado Avalanche
193. Brady Austin (Belleville Bulls) – Buffalo Sabres
197. Jaynen Rissling (Calgary Hitmen) – Washington Capitals
206. Tyrel Seaman (Brandon Wheat Kings) – St. Louis Blues
208. Justin Hache (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) – Phoenix Coyotes
211. Nick Ebert (Windsor Spitfires) – Los Angeles Kings
For complete results from the 2012 NHL Entry Draft please visit www.nhl.com.