While trade speculation ran rampant in the lead up to Round 1 of the NHL Draft, the biggest deal came before it even started.
Montreal made the biggest deal of the day, sending Max Domi and a third-round pick to Columbus for power forward Josh Anderson. Once the picks started coming, though, the only deals made were a couple by Calgary, swapping selections to move down the order a few picks.
It was Alexis Lafreniere’s night, as he went first overall to the New York Rangers. But just two picks later Alex Trebek stole the show when the host of Jeopardy! (and a University of Ottawa grad) made the Senators’ third overall pick. A total of 19 Canadians were chosen in the first round, matching the 2003 draft for the most in the past 32 years. You’d have to go back to 1987 to find a draft where more Canadians went in the first round — all 21 of those first-rounders hailed from Canada.
Round 1 of the 2020 draft brought a couple surprise picks, heart-warming moments and terrific theatre as the virtual proceedings brought a completely different look than we’ve ever seen.
Here is a recap of every pick made in Round 1, with a tweet for added context.
1) New York Rangers – Alexis Lafreniere, LW
2) Los Angeles Kings – Quinton Byfield, C
3) Ottawa Senators – Tim Stuetzle, 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
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8) Buffalo Sabres – Jack Quinn, RW
9) Minnesota Wild – Marco Rossi, C
https://twitter.com/racheldoerrie/status/1313634152428773377
10) Winnipeg Jets – Cole Perfetti, C
https://twitter.com/Michael_Traikos/status/1313635765453193216
11) Nashville Predators – Yaroslav Askarov, G
12) Florida Panthers – Anton Lundell, C
13) Carolina Hurricanes – Seth Jarvis, C
On the call, Rod Brind'Amour showed Seth Jarvis this locker stall.
Brind'Amour: "Now you've got to go earn it, right?" pic.twitter.com/iCPuKBWDGa
— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) October 7, 2020
14) Edmonton Oilers – Dylan Holloway, C
https://twitter.com/JDylanBurke/status/1313641948029218816
15) Toronto Maple Leafs – Rodion Amirov, LW
16) Montreal Canadiens – Kaiden Guhle, D
17) Chicago Blackhawks – Lukas Reichel, LW
18) New Jersey Devils – Dawson Mercer, C
TRADE ALERT: Flames acquire 22nd, 72nd picks from Rangers for 19th overall pick
19) New York Rangers – Braden Schneider, D
20) New Jersey Devils – Shakir Mukhamadullin, D
21) Columbus Blue Jackets – Yegor Chinakhov, RW
TRADE ALERT: Flames acquire 24th and 80th picks from Washington for 22nd overall pick
22) Washington Capitals – Hendrix Lapierre, C
23) Philadelphia Flyers – Tyson Foerster, RW
24) Calgary Flames – Connor Zary, C
25) Colorado Avalanche – Justin Barron, D
26) St. Louis Blues – Jake Neighbours, LW
https://twitter.com/TheDraftAnalyst/status/1313664146366509056
27) Anaheim Ducks – Jacob Perreault, RW
28) Ottawa Senators – Ridly Greig, C
https://twitter.com/ChrisDilks/status/1313666495600353280
29) Vegas Golden Knights – Brendan Brisson, C
30) Dallas Stars – Mavrik Bourque, C
31) San Jose Sharks – Ozzy Wiesblatt, RW
