The draft should have held in Europe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just over a week after the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup, the first major step of the offseason came to an end with the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft on Tuesday. The New York Rangers won the NHL Draft Lottery earlier this summer and used the pick to select Quebec Major Junior Hockey League star Alexis Lafreniere.

 

Lafreniere has spent the last three seasons starring for Rimouski Océanic. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2017 QMJHL Draft and burst onto the scene with 42 goals in 60 games. To put that into perspective, Lafreniere had the highest number of goals in a rookie season since Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby scored 54 for Rimouski Oceanic in 2004. In his three seasons in the QMJHL, Lafreniere has accumulated 297 points (114 goals & 183 assists) and blossomed into one of the most dangerous young players in the world.

 

Many believe that Lafreniere is a generational talent that will become one of the NHL's biggest stars sooner rather than later. The Rangers will look to pair Lafreniere with a nucleus that already includes the likes of Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.

 

Rounding out the top five was Quinton Byfield, who became the highest drafted black player in NHL history when the Los Angeles Kings selected him No. 2 overall, German international Tim Stutzle, who got drafted by the Senators, Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings) and top American prospect Jake Sanderson (Senators).

 

 

Here are the complete results of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft

Round 1

 

1. New York Rangers: Alexis Lafrenière, LW 
2. Los Angeles Kings: Quinton Byfield, C
3. Ottawa Senators (from Sharks): Tim Stutzle, LW
4. Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond, LW
5. Ottawa Senators: Jake Sanderson, D
6. Anaheim Ducks: Jamie Drysdale, D
7. New Jersey Devils: Alexander Holtz, RW
8. Buffalo Sabres: Jack Quinn, RW
9. Minnesota Wild: Marco Rossi, C
10. Winnipeg Jets: Cole Perfetti, C
11. Nashville Predators: Yaroslav Askarov, G
12. Florida Panthers: Anton Lundell, C
13. Carolina Hurricanes (from Leafs): Seth Jarvis, C
14. Edmonton Oilers: Dylan Holloway, C
15. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Penguins): Rodion Amirov, LW
16. Montreal Canadiens: Kaiden Guhle, D
17. Chicago Blackhawks: Lukas Reichel, LW
18. New Jersey Devils (from Coyotes): Dawson Mercer, C
19. New York Rangers (from Flames): Braden Schneider, D
20. New Jersey Devils (from Lightning via Canucks): Shakir Mukhamadullin, D
21. Columbus Blue Jackets: Yegor Chinakhov, RW
22. Washington Capitals (from Flames via Rangers via Hurricanes): Hendrix Lapierre, C
23. Philadelphia Flyers: Tyson Foerster, RW
24. Calgary Flames (from Capitals): Connor Zary, C
25. Colorado Avalanche: Justin Barron, D
26. St. Louis Blues: Jake Neighbours, LW
27. Anaheim Ducks (from Bruins): Jacob Perreault, RW
28. Ottawa Senators (from Islanders): Ridly Greig, C
29. Vegas Golden Knights: Brendan Brisson, C
30. Dallas Stars: Mavrik Bourque, C
31. San Jose Sharks (from Lightning): Ozzy Wiesblatt, RW

 So many non OHL players were taken, you would think that they they all have the virus, no, they just could have the virus. 

I am not Don Cherry, not even Brian Burke, but you'd think more GM's would have stopped and thought about the talent right under their noses.