Teammates Alex Galchenyuk & Nail Yakupov among top picks for 2012 NHL draft-NHL News
The schedule for 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) draft has been announced and as per plans, it will be held at Consol Energy Centre in Pittsburgh on June 22, 2012.
Among other highlights of this season’s draft is the higher number of Russian-born players’ appearance, which has lately become the leading discussion point for the game analysts and commentators.
Vladislav Namestnikov was the only player who had participated in the 2011 NHL Draft and was eventually recruited by the Tampa Bay Lightning at number 27 position.
This year, however, there are as many as four Russian-born players, expected to attend among first 30 picks, potentially signing NHL teams off the market.
Those who expected for this year’s draft are netminder, Andrei Vasilevski, from Ufa club of the Russian minor hockey league, Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting, centre, Mikhail Grigorenko, from the Quebec Remparts and the Russian-American, Alex Galchenyuk,
a centre at Ontario Hockey League's Sarnia Sting.
There is a possibility that Yakupov and Galchenyuk could be drafted with first two picks and if that happens, it will be for the first time in last 43 years that the teammates will be elected with first two draft picks.
Last time, it was the recruitment of Marc Tardif and Rejean Houle by the Montreal Canadiens with top two picks in 1969.
Galchenyuk is one of top few widely discussed draft picks of this year. It was unlucky for him to miss out on most part of the 2011-2012 season due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and later more games with an unknown upper body injury.
However, he has now joined the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoffs and has played about six games so far. He has scored two goals and four points in those six games.
The analysts who have been weighing prospective players attending this year’s draft are rating him to be among hot-pursuits.
Central Scouting's Chris Edwards said:
"I'd be shocked if he didn't go in the top 10. In the two playoff games I went to, he was noticeable in both games. He can really pass and handle the puck. He didn't look like he had any lingering effects from knee surgery. To me, he looked like he was 100
percent."
Galchenyuk has not been ranked in initial prospective drafts ranking of top 25 players. He was seen as ‘limited’ due to his injury problems.
His last year’s record, however, comes to his projection as one of the two top prospects. He, while playing with Yakupov in 68 games, managed to score 31 goals and 83 points.
Yakupov was also listed as number one North American skater to be eligible for this year’s draft.
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