Columbus Blue Jackets sign second pick of NHL draft Ryan Murray soon after trading Rick Nash
It looks like Columbus Blue Jackets are moving on well after trading their captain Rick Nash to New York Rangers, as they have signed 2nd overall pick of the 2012 NHL draft, Ryan Murray of Canada.
It now means that in last few days, top three picks of the 2012 NHL draft have been signed; 1st Nail Yakupov by Edmonton Oilers, 3rd Alex Galchenyuk by Montreal Canadiens and now Ryan Murray. And Murray has now become 10th
played drafted in the first round of the last month’s NHL draft, to sign an entry-level deal with the clubs that had selected these players.
Other first round selected players who signed contracts are, 6th pick Hampus Lindholm (Anaheim Ducks), 7th pick Mathew Dumba (Minnesota Wild), 11th pick Filip Forsberg (Washington Capitals), 12th pick Mikhail Grigorenko
(Buffalo Sabres), 13th pick Radek Faksa (Dallas Stars), 14th pick Zemgus Girgensons (Buffalo Sabres) and 16th pick Thomas Wilson (Washington Capitals).
18-year-old defenseman told team’s official website that he had a lot of fun and learned a lot in the one week’s development camp but it took a lot out of him and it was very tough. Murray said,
"It was a tough week, they really put us through the grinder. They had us do some tough workouts and some tough skates, but it was a lot of fun, too, and I learned a lot."
One thing that has made people so excited about him is his age. Everybody knows that he has a long career ahead of him and will have a lot to offer in coming years. After watching him at the development, Brad Larsen, the coach of Blue Jackets’ American Hockey
League (AHL) affiliates Springfield Falcons, was very much impressed by Murray as he said,
"Ryan just got better every day. He's been pretty much what's advertised, from what I saw. He calms pucks down, he makes a good first pass, and when we did line-rush stuff. He's a defenseman that makes the right decisions”.
White City, Saskatchewan native had started his career with Everett Silvertips in Western Hockey League in 2008-2009 season and played for them four seasons. He scored 20 goals, 84 assists and 104 total points in 168 games.
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