2011 NHL Draft: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins No. 1 Overall Pick

The first day of the 2011 NHL Draft is usually the day with all of the glitz and the glamour. The majority of NHL Draft trades go down during it, the biggest names get drafted in it, and the television coverage is usually all over it. Day one of the 2011 NHL Draft on Friday seemed to be one of the more subdued opening rounds with the largest trade occuring after it ended.

The Edmonton Oilers continued their streak of selecting forwards with their first pick in the first round with the selection of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from the Red Deer Rebels. Nugent-Hopkins will complement the handful of talented forwards that Edmonton has on their roster with Taylor Hall, Jordon Eberle, and Magnus Paajarvi-Svenson all selected high in the first round in the last three years. Our Edmonton Oilers site, Copper And Blue, had this to say about the Oilers first pick:

Rakell was apart of the 2011 WJC Championships in Buffalo with Team Sweden as they finished 4th overall in that tournament. Rakell was the youngest player on that team and registered three assists during the tournament. For the Whalers, Rakell had 19 goals in 49 games while he was playing in his first full season with Plymouth.

Here is what Central Scouting had to say about Rakell:

Jensen played in his first full season in the OHL and finished fifth among rookies in scoring with 58 points in 61 games. His coach and general manager Chris DePiero had this to say about Jensen’s ability:

Read more on Nicklas Jensen at our Vancouver Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct.

Read more on Zack Phillips at our Minnesota Wild blog, Hockey Wilderness.

For full coverage of the 2011 NHL Draft, stick with this StoryStream and our 2011 NHL Draft hub. You can also find team-by-team coverage around our network of 34 hockey sites, where you can find player profiles, news and rumors. Be sure to check out our network-wide 2011 NHL Mock Draft as well.

Namestnikov’s strongest asset is his last name, which allows him to stand out relative to the North American players he goes head-to-head with in the OHL, thanks to the deep penetration of jersey letters into his arm pits. He’s also a fast skater, and if you ask scouts that have seen Namestnikov play, that’s usually the first thing you’ll hear about.

He’s a little undersized for his tall frame, but he’s only been in the OHL for one year, so that’s presumably something he can improve upon.

Danault led the Tigres in the QMJHL playoffs with 15 points in nine games, as the Tigres lost to the Saint John Sea Dogs, the league champions. He captained the Tigres this season and was also apart of the 2010 Ivan Hlinka tournament.

Here is some insight from his coach Yanick Jean:

Percy led all defensemen in the 2011 Memorial Cuo with four assists and was named to the Memorial Cup all-star team. Percy was ranked 53rd by NHL Central Scouting and was pegged by many experts as a second round pick so the Maple Leafs make a slight reach to grab Percy.

Percy becomes the 2nd Maple Leafs players to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft.

Puempel, ranked the 28th North American skater in the final rankings from Central Scouting, has been a phenomenal two-year career on a horrible team in the OHL, the Petes. He put up 69 points in 2010-11, a year after being named the OHL’s Rookie of the Year in 2009-10. He’s a bit of a rarity in the top portion of this year’s draft in that he’s more of a pure goal scorer than a well-rounded player.

Matchsticks & Gasoline writes that Puempel doesn’t want to be labeled as a one-dimensional player, but he has some work to do on his defensive game before that becomes a reality.

Morrow is swift skating, big defenseman, weighing in a 200 pounds on his 6’1” frame. He’s the 12th ranked skater in North America according to Central Scouting, and while he doesn’t exactly put up a lot of offense, he’s a very capable defensive defenseman with a lot of physical strength and the ability to beat players one-on-one, whether he’s defending the break or battling in the corner. He scored six of his nine goals on the power play, so while he’s not a huge offensive contributor, he can do so on the man advantage.

Read more on Joe Morrow at our Pittsburgh Penguins blog, Pensburgh.

Biggs is one of the few players who has shunned Canadian Major Junior stardom for a chance to play in the USHL and American college system. He was a second round pick in the Ontario Hockey League draft, but decided instead to join the USNTDP before committing to Miami University in Ohio. Not a bad choice.

Western College Hockey Blog sees Biggs as a contributor in the NHL, at worst a third or fourth liner with some touch, at best an established NHL scorer.

Noeson finished the 2010-11 season tied for the team lead in points with a total of 77 points in 68 games with the Plymouth Whalers. Noeson was ranked 35th by NHL Central Scouting in their final rankings and his head coach Mike Vellucci had this to say about Noeson’s play:

Read more on Stefan Noeson at our Ottawa Senators blog, Silver Seven.

Murphy led American defensemen in the Under-18 tournament with four points in six games in the tournament, which saw the U.S win gold over Sweden and scored the game winning goal during the gold medal game. Murphy is set to play hockey at Miami University next season.

Read more on Connor Murphy at our Phoenix Coyotes blog, Five For Howling.

The immediate reaction to this trade is that the Wild won this trade hands down. Setoguchi has a few more years ahead of him and more offensive production per game during his career than Burns.

For more on this trade, please visit our Sharks site, Fear The Fin, and our Wild site, Hockey Wilderness.

The European players with that attribute tend to already call North America home, unlike Klefbom, who’s still in Sweden. He’s a great skater for his size and he has a pretty nice shot as well, although he leaves a bit to be desired as a power play quarterback.

For full coverage of the 2011 NHL Draft, stick with our 2011 NHL Draft StoryStream and our 2011 NHL Draft hub. You can also find team-by-team coverage around our network of 34 hockey sites, where you can find player profiles, news and rumors. Be sure to check out our network-wide 2011 NHL Mock Draft as well.

Fore more on McNeill’s new home, head over to SB Nation’s Second City Hockey.

The Blackhawks now have two picks in the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft as they select 18th as well. For the Capitals, they will now not select in the 2011 NHL Draft until pick number 117 which is in the fourth round as they traded away their second and third round picks for players.

For more information on this trade, please visit our Chicago Blackhawks site, Second City Hockey, and our Washington Capitals site, Japers’ Rink.

Beaulieu improved upon his midseason Central Scouting ranking, jumping from 9th among North American skaters to 5th. He set a franchise record in the regular season with Saint John thanks to a plus-44 rating, and even if you disagree with the plus/minus stat, that’s a hell of a number. Who’d he beat for that record? Nathan Beaulieu, who had a plus-43 ranking a year prior.

Read more on Nathan Beaulieu at our Montreal Canadiens blog, Habs Eyes On The Prize.

Armia is a skilled 17-year-old forward playing with the big boys in Finland’s top league, SM-Liiga. He scored 18 goals tihs past season and he’s the fourth-ranked European skater according to NHL Central Scouting, dropping a few spots from his second-place ranking at the midterm.

At 6’3” and 187 pounds, he’s a pretty big kid that will probably fill in to his frame a little more over the next few years.He could stand to use that size to his advantage more in the defensive end of the ice.

Miller, who also goes by J.T., has committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2011-12 campaign. He’s a two-way forward that’s responsible anywhere on the ice, can use his body well and is very solid when it comes to dishing the puck. On the flip side, he isn’t the most consistent of players, and that’s something he’ll have to work on in college and, eventually, in the pro ranks.

Read more on Jonathan Miller at our New York Rangers blog, Blueshirt Banter.

Oleksiak is a pretty well-rounded defenseman with a year of college under his belt, something that’s rare for most draft eligible players. He is just an absolutely huge man, listed a 6’7” and 240 pounds, but despite the size, he’s actually quite mobile and can move the puck effectively.

Read more on Jamie Oleksiak at our Dallas Stars blog, Defending Big D.

He’s a big goal scorer in the WHL, and he put up 34 goals and 85 points in 66 games with Portland in 2010-11. He’s not a very big player, and that’s perhaps the only knock against him, as he doesn’t couple his small 5’11” size with fantastic speed like some other young players do.

But Bartschi makes up for it all with his offensive talent, and he’s one of the most dangerous players with the puck that you’ll find in the Canadian Major Junior ranks.

Murphy is a pretty small, under-6-foot-tall defenseman from Kitchener, and his offensive game is what makes him. He’s a power play quarterback, can skate with the best of them in the OHL and is good on the breakout. He lacks some skill in his own end, and surely some of that has to do with his size.

In SB Nation’s 2011 NHL Mock Draft, Murphy went No. 9 overall to our Boston Bruins bloggers at Stanley Cup of Chowder.

Siemens is a 6’2” defenseman from Saskatoon who was ranked 10th by NHL’s Central Scouting in their final rankings. He’s another one of these big defensemen that can move their feet as well, and as a result, he can keep up with the much smaller, speedier forwards that he faces.

Read more on Duncan Siemens at our Colorado Avalanche blog, Mile High Hockey.

Brodin’s a two-way defenseman that’s praised all around by scouts for his hockey smarts. He’s a brilliant student of the game and it shows in his play. He’s another player that’s a little bit undersized at 6’1”, 172 pounds, and when he comes over to the much more physical North American game, he’ll have to get on a fast track when it comes to bulking up and using his body more.

But that’s teachable. It’s hard to teach calmness with the puck and hockey intelligence, and Brodin has that.

Couturier is perhaps the best two-way forward in the draft. He has immense talent, scores at will in the Q (back-to-back 96 point years), and when he drops back on defense, he can play the role with the best of them. He’s used in literally every situation in Drummondville and that’s not an easy thing to come by when talking about a player with this kind of skill.

Read more on Sean Couturier at our Philadelphia Flyers blog, Broad Street Hockey.