The 49th NHL Entry Draft is slated for this evening and throughout the day tomorrow, coming at an ideal time with renewed interest in the league given the rebirth of the Winnipeg Jets and the new NHL deal with ESPN. As with any draft, there’s plenty of drama and intrigue as well as the excitement of adding new talent to each franchise. Without any further ado, here’s the lowdown you’ll need to know heading into the first round.
The draft is being held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota and the first round begins in less than an hour at 7pm ET/6pm CT. Rounds 2-7 play out tomorrow beginning at 11:30am ET and continuing throughout the afternoon. Television coverage is limited to those cable subscribers with access to Versus in the U.S. while TSN will carry it in Canada.
Additional radio coverage can be heard on NHL Radio. A press release from NHL notes that the station involves "XM channel 92 and Sirius Premier (formerly known as “The Best of XM”) channel 207." You can also keep track at NHL.com.
Here’s the official order for the first round:
2011 NHL Entry Draft First Round Order:
1. Edmonton Oilers
2. Colorado Avalanche
3. Ottawa Senators
4. New Jersey Devils
5. New York Islanders
6. Florida Panthers
7. Winnipeg Jets
8. Philadelphia Flyers (from Columbus)
9. Boston Bruins (from Toronto)
10. Minnesota Wild
11. Colorado Avalanche (from St. Louis)
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. Calgary Flames
14. Dallas Stars
15. New York Rangers
16. Buffalo Sabres
17. Montreal Canadiens
18. Chicago Blackhawks
19. Edmonton Oilers (from Los Angeles)
20. Phoenix Coyotes
21. Ottawa Senators (from Nashville)
22. Anaheim Ducks
23. Pittsburgh Penguins
24. Detroit Red Wings
25. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Philadelphia)
26. Washington Capitals
27. Tampa Bay Lightning
28. San Jose Sharks
29. Vancouver Canucks
30. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Boston)