Ducks Take Action to Draft Right Wing
With three picks Saturday in the first round of the NHL entry draft, not to mention a greater need for immediate help, the Kings seemed the most likely of the league's two Southland franchises to make a trade involving draft choices.
But while the Kings took the safe route on the first day of the two-day selection process at Nashville, turning down all offers and holding onto their prized picks, the Mighty Ducks made a deal.
And so the Ducks, after sending two second-round picks to the Dallas Stars for the 28th overall choice in what was widely described as a deep draft, wound up with two first-round selections, stealing a bit of the Kings' thunder.
The Kings, picking 13th, 26th and 27th, took right wing Dustin Brown of Ithaca, N.Y., 6-foot-5 center Brian Boyle of Dorchester, Mass., and left wing Jeff Tambellini of Calgary in the opening round. Tambellini's father, Steve, played 10 seasons in the NHL and is assistant general manager of the Vancouver Canucks.
The Ducks, whose first pick was the 19th overall, took center Ryan Getzlaf of Regina, Canada, and right wing Corey Perry of Peterborough, Canada, in the first round.
It has become a laughable cliche for club executives in any sport to say they're surprised to see players they like still available when it's their turn to pick. But Duck General Manager Bryan Murray backed up his words with action, making a hasty deal when he saw Perry still on the board.
"We moved up to make sure we got him," said Murray, who sent the 36th and 54th picks to the Stars. "We just didn't want to miss the kid."
The Pittsburgh Penguins, who originally owned the third choice overall, felt the same about goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury of Sorel, Canada, whom they made the No. 1 pick in the draft after completing a trade with the Florida Panthers.
The Penguins, who also got a third-round choice, sent the No. 3 selection, a second-round pick and right wing Mikael Samuelsson to the Panthers.
Samuelsson was one of the few players changing teams on draft day. Unlike in the last few years, most of the trades involved draft picks on a day when center Eric Staal of Thunder Bay, Canada, was the first skater taken. Staal, generally considered the top prospect in the draft, went to the Carolina Hurricanes at No. 2.
Defenseman Ryan Suter of Madison, Wis., taken by the Nashville Predators with the seventh pick, was the first of a record eight U.S.-born players selected in the first round, topping the previous high of seven taken in 1986.
