NHL Draft 2012: New Jersey Devils To Keep 1st-Round Pick

The decision is somewhat of a head scratcher considering the Devils will be picking down at No. 29 as a result of their run to the Stanley Cup Finals. New Jersey will now have to give up either its 2013 or 2014 selection. Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello declined to comment while speaking with NorthJersey.com.

The NHL ruled at the time that Kovalchuk’s contract circumvented the salary cap. The Devils also had to pay a $3 million fine and give up their third-round 2011 pick.

The tickets are free and will be handed out on a first come, first serve basis beginning Tuesday, June 5, at 10 a.m. Eastern time. The 2012 NHL draft will be held at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The first round will be held on June 22 with 1,500 tickets available to the public. There will be an additional 3,500 tickets available to watch the second through seventh rounds on June 23.

For complete coverage of the 2012 NHL draft, visit this StoryStream or check out any of the team-specific sites across SB Nation’s network of hockey blogs.

The NHL announced that it has invited 105 players to attend its annual draft Scouting Combine, held this year from May 29 to June 2 at the Toronto International Centre. The list includes 88 players from North America, including 78 skaters and 10 goaltenders, plus 17 European players, including 14 skaters and three goaltenders.

You wanted a list? Okay, here’s a list:

But apparently, the Blue Jackets can’t even do this properly.

The rest of the top 14 will stay the same. Here’s the full draft order, as far as we know it, following Tuesday’s Draft Lottery:

We’ll learn the rest of the draft order as the Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway beginning Wednesday night. For more on the Oilers, check in with The Copper & Blue. For reaction from Blue Jackets fans, stop by The Cannon.

Beyond the top two spots, the rest of the draft order remains the same.

For more on the Oilers, check in with The Copper & Blue.

Before the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs get under way Wednesday night, the NHL will determine the first 14 picks of the 2012 NHL Draft with the 2012 Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday night.

TSN will produce the 30-minute program, which will also air on NBC Sports Network.

It doesn’t ring like the “Suck For Luck!” battle cry did throughout the NFL season, but the NHL has its own catchy little moniker for bad teams to enjoy.

“Fail for Nail!”

The NHL regular season has wrapped up and the schedule for the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs has been announced. But while 16 teams hope for a chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s eponymous trophy, the remainder of the league will now set its sights on the first major event of the offseason; namely, the 2012 NHL Draft, which will take place in Pittsburgh in June.

The NHL has released its final list of draft-eligible prospect rankings before the draft takes place. As NHL.com notes, it is no surprise that the name topping the list is that of Nail Yakupov, the 18-year-old Russian right wing who currently skates for the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League. Yakupov put up 101 points in his rookie season with the Sting in 2010-11 and recorded another 69 points in 42 games this past season before being sidelined with an injury.

The National Hockey League announced that the 2012 NHL Entry Draft will be held at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Round 1 will be held on Friday, June 22, with Rounds 2 through 7 held on Saturday, June 23.

The draft is expected to be held on June 22-23, shortly after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. The draft is expected to keep the same format, with the first round taking place on Friday night and the remaining rounds taking place during the day on Saturday.

Pittsburgh recently hosted one of the NHL’s other major events, the Winter Classic, in January at Heinz Field. The last time the NHL Draft was held in Pittsburgh was in 1997.