Never had we witnessed such a scenario in the history of the National Hockey League. Never had three players from the same team been drafted in the first round, except of course the members of the American development program.
Posted at 11:54 a.m.
Not only were Owen Power, Matthew Beniers and Kent Johnson first, but they were drafted into the top five in July 2021…
The University of Michigan Wolverines lost all three simultaneously this weekend following their elimination to Denver and Canadian prospect Brett Stapley in the Frozen Four tournament.
All three are likely to make their NHL debuts this week, with defenseman Power, the No. 1 overall pick, with the Sabers on Tuesday night, as will center Beniers, No. 2 overall pick, with the Kraken, and left wing for the Blue Jackets. , Johnson, fifth overall pick, against the Canadiens on Wednesday.
The Buffalo Sabers’ rebuild has been going on for ages, but it’s hard to see how they could go wrong now, with Power, 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds of speed and talent, Rasmus Dahlin, another top pick defending. overall in 2018, 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, already 44 points this season, and 22-year-old Henri Jokiharju, another first-round pick who’s finally hatched, got from the Chicago Blackhawks a while ago. a few years for Alex Nylander, who is still in the American League at 24.
Power, 19, 32 points in 33 games at Michigan, a member of the Canadian team at the World Junior Championship, but also of the Olympic team, will pair up with Jokiharju on Tuesday. Dahlin will reunite with former U.S. junior team partner Jordan Harris, Mattias Samuelsson, another giant at 6-foot-4, 227 pounds, drafted early in the second round, 32e in total, in 2018.
Buffalo is already brimming with offensive talent, with Tage Thompson, 24, the club’s first center, 58 points in 70 games, traded for Ryan O’Reilly, Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt, not to mention Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch, obtained against Jack Eichel, and the others in the shadows, among others Jack Quinn, eighth overall pick in 2020, smoking in the American League with 54 points in 37 games.
Buffalo will nevertheless have to wait another year before seeing Quebec goalkeeper Devon Levi. He will play another season at Northeastern in the NCAA.
The Sabers will also draft in the top ten this year and also hold first-round picks from the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights. They also had two first-round draft picks last year with a Flyers pick for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Beniers, 19, 43 points in 37 games for the Wolverines, is already at the center of the first line in training with the Seattle Kraken, between Ryan Donato and Jordan Eberle.
Those who followed Cole Caufield’s last participation in the World Junior Championship with the American team, in 2021, will remember him. Beniers, then 18, formed a line with Caufield and young Minnesota Wild star Matt Boldy, but chemistry never could be established between the three.
Rebuilding could take time in Seattle, since the Kraken didn’t rack up draft picks like the Golden Knights when they entered the League, but they will likely draft in the top three this year and hold four second-round picks this year. summer.
Kent Johnson’s Columbus debut, 37 points in 32 games at Michigan, a member of the Canadian Olympic team like Power, solidifies GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s impressive youth turn this summer.
Johnson can also play in the center, as well as on the wing. He is first recognized as a passer. Johnson will begin his career on the wing. He was training with center Justin Danforth, a veteran of the minor or European leagues for most of his career, before breaking into the formation of the Jackets this winter, and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
The young man will have company since Wolverines defender Nick Blackenburg, 23, has just signed with the club as a free agent.
Johnson won’t be the youngest on offense. The second first-round pick in 2021 (12e in total, in return Columbus gave up his 32e pick overall), Cole Sillinger, broke through the roster at just 18 years old. This 6-foot-2 young colossus has amassed 24 points in 70 games at the center of the third line.
Sillinger was drafted thanks to the Chicago Blackhawks’ first-round pick of Seth Jones.
This transaction also allowed Columbus to acquire 21-year-old offensive defenseman Adam Boqvist, 8e 2018 overall pick, the same Hawks’ 2021 second-round pick served as the bait to land defenseman Jake Bean.
Kekalainen also holds the Hawks’ first pick this year. His own pick is twelfth and Chicago’s is seventh. The Hawks will lose their pick unless they win the lottery and hold one of the first two picks. If so, they will transfer their first choice to 2023.
This meeting, Wednesday in Columbus, will be doubly interesting for those who do not only have an eye on CH.
Has Brett Stapley earned enough points?
PHOTO BRIAN FLUHARTY, USA TODAY SPORTS
Brett Stapley
The Canadiens’ initial plans weren’t aimed at hiring 23-year-old Brett Stapley, the team’s seventh-round pick in 2018. Will his performance in the NCAA playoffs be a game-changer? This 5-foot-11, 177-pound center scored in the semi-finals and finals and helped win this prestigious tournament. He finished the season with 43 points in 41 games.
The young man saw his university career marked by a serious injury last year, where he played only 13 games. The director of player development at the Canadian, Rob Ramage, was also angry for having cast a bad spell on him. Ramage jokingly declined in a November interview to identify his most underrated prospect. “The last time I did this, I was so excited about Brett Stapley, but I brought him bad luck. The youngster was a rookie, quarterback on the power play, he was one of their smartest players, he seemed assured of having a future with us after his third year, then he had both of them rebuilt shoulders over the next two years. I blamed myself afterwards. I thought to myself: “you idiot, why did you do that?” So respectfully, I decline! But we haven’t forgotten about Brett and he’s had a good start to the season. »
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