SPORTSNET PLUGS FANS INTO THE 2011 NHL ENTRY DRAFT WITH IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS AND BREAKING TRADE NEWS

Hockeycentral Draft Preview Show this Friday with Draft Recap Show later in the evening

TORONTO (June 21, 2011) – The debate on who will go No. 1 and the teams willing to wheel and deal are one of many questions Hockeycentral will answer at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Minnesota.

Hockeycentral analysts Nick Kypreos, Doug MacLean and host Daren Millard will discuss any draft news or trade speculations on Sportsnet Connected starting Thursday, June 23 at 6 p.m. (ET)/3 p.m. (PT). In addition, Connected reporters Ian Mendes and Tony Ambrogio will cover any news or activity by the Canadian NHL teams leading up to the draft. Connected will also run features all this week on many of the top-rated amateur players in advance of this Friday’s draft.

Hockeycentral Draft Preview Show starts on Friday, June 24 at 6 p.m. (ET)/3 p.m. (PT) on the Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific channels with host RJ Broadhead, Hockeycentral analyst Mike Brophy and CHL analyst Sam Cosentino in-studio to set the scene for the draft while Kypreos, MacLean and Millard will be live from the Xcel Energy Center reporting on any breaking draft and trade news. The 30-minute preview show will be followed by the Hockeycentral Draft Recap Show at 12 midnight (ET) on the Sportsnet East and Ontario channels to review all the first round picks and any big trades.

Kypreos, MacLean and Millard will also provide reports from Day 2 of the draft during the early and prime editions of Connected on Saturday, June 25th. Mendes and Ambrogio will interview players after being selected, while the Hockeycentral panel chats with the GMs from all the Canadian NHL clubs.

Over on sportsnet.ca, Patrick King and Sam Cosentino will each play the role of NHL GM when they post their mock drafts starting with King on Wednesday, June 22th and Cosentino on Friday. King will also follow up with draft profiles on the top-rated players all this week on sportsnet.ca, leading up to the start of this Friday’s NHL Entry Draft. Mark Spector will be in Minnesota, filing reports and tweeting any breaking news on the website.

Fans can also catch all the draft action live on sportsnet.ca, featuring a live draft tracker in real-time while the draft is being conducted on Friday, as well as rounds 2-7 on Saturday, June 25th, with bios on every selected player. Also on Friday, King will host a live chat on the website during the first round of the draft to offer his insight on all 30 players selected.

For all the scores, highlights, breaking news and inside stories from the NHL tune in to Hockeycentral, Sportsnet Connected and visit www.sportsnet.ca.

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