The future looks bright again for all seven Canadian teams after strong draft performances.
The Edmonton Oilers can finally throw the band-aids away.
For the first time since Doug Weight was traded from the City of Champions, the Oilers finally have addressed the desperate need for a top-flight, playmaking centre. It was nearly 10 years ago to that the Oilers shipped Weight to the St. Louis Blues and since then the patchwork job to his successor is now seemingly over.
The Oilers used the first overall pick on a natural centre, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who could be the perfect fit between last year's first pick, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Eberle. The question Oilers fans now have is how long until Nugent-Hopkins can take over the line that has potential to be the best in hockey within the next five years.
With Nugent-Hopkins in the fold, Hall, who was alongside Nugent-Hopkins on stage, will likely never need to answer the question about moving from left wing to centre.
Although arm-chair general managers have already declared the Boston Bruins the winners of the blockbuster trade a year ago with Toronto, we now know exactly how the Phil Kessel trade shakes down. The Bruins used Toronto's first pick last year to draft Tyler Seguin and the second round pick on forward Jared Knight. Now the Bruins used the final piece of this trade to draft imposing defenceman Dougie Hamilton, with the ninth overall pick.
It would be hard to argue the Bruins made out like bandits, considering they won the Stanley Cup without Kessel while only using Seguin sparingly.
But for Leafs fans who are claiming to be the victors of the Tomas Kaberle trade, their favourite team used the first-round pick acquired and a second to move up on Friday to draft Tyler Biggs 22nd overall. Biggs is the prototypical Brian Burke player, with size, grit and character.
Toronto used its next pick, acquired in the Kris Versteeg trade with Philadelphia, to draft the rangy, intelligent defenceman Stuart Percy at No. 25. Percy was overshadowed far too long in his draft class and was a worthy draft pick.
Overall, the Oilers were the biggest winners amongst Canadian-based teams. After taking Nugent-Hopkins first, the Oilers used their second first-round pick on defenceman Oscar Klefbom. The Swedish rearguard has size, grit and a two-way game, which should lend itself well to the rebuilding Oilers in a few years. Edmonton also drafted David Musil with the first pick in the second round and took a flier on German forward Tobias Rieder from Kitchener.
If nothing else, the future looks bright again in the City of Champions.
The Ottawa Senators also cleaned up at the draft table. The rebuild is completely underway in the nation's capital and the Senators positioned themselves well for the future with three picks, the most of any team, in the opening round.
Although Ottawa may have surprised many by passing on Drummondville's Sean Couturier for Mika Zibanejad at No. 6, the Swedish forward is deemed to have a higher ceiling and offensive potential. The Senators then went with Plano, Texas native Stefan Noesen and Peterborough forward Matt Puempel with their next two picks. Noesen brings a solid, two-way dependability and could develop into an offensive forward, while Puempel is one of the draft's best goal scorers.
The scouting staff didn't need to look far for their next two picks. Ottawa could have two more snipers with Ottawa 67's forward Shane Prince and Gatineau Olympiques forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Canada's newest team, the Winnipeg Jets, went off the board by taking Barrie Colts playmaker Mark Scheifele seventh overall. No prospect grew by bigger leaps and bounds than Scheifele from the beginning to the end of the year and the Jets are banking on his immense potential. The newest incarnation of the Jets will also have size, since just one of the players drafted was shorter than 6-foot-2.
The Calgary Flames didn't have many picks, but made their choices count. The Flames went with Swiss forward Sven Baertschi at No. 13 overall, a prospect with a lot of upside and potential as a first-line forward. Baertschi makes up for his lack of size with his hustle, grit and determination. He was one of the Portland Winterhawks' best players in their extended playoff run and should become a fan favourite in Calgary.
After taking Markus Granlund, the brother of Minnesota's 2010 first rounder Mikael, with their next pick, the Flames took Baertschi's teammate in Portland, defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon. Wotherspoon is a physically-imposing player that will make life difficult for the opposition.
The Montreal Canadiens may have landed the steal of the draft when Saint John defenceman Nathan Beaulieu slid to the 17th spot. Beaulieu, who will need to practice his French, is a smooth-skating, puck-rushing defenceman with a lot of potential. Although he was ranked fifth among North American skaters, Beaulieu slid further than expected and the Canadiens were more than happy to take him. He could be a nice addition alongside P.K. Subban in a few years.
And finally, the Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks opted not to go with defence and took two-way power-forward Nicklas Jensen with their first pick. The Danish forward has big-time potential.
As if they didn't have enough goaltending, the Canucks then took Victoriaville's David Honzik with their next pick in the third round. Honzik had been compared to Pekka Rinne after his playoff performance
Although we won't know for sure which teams were winners and losers until five years down the road, many of the Canadian franchises made a splash at the draft. If nothing else, the rivalries in Canada are about to intensify.
