He had 43 points in 49 games this past season for the Plymouth Whalers.
10:58 p.m.: The Canucks take the podium, and they are booed loudly by the Minnesota fans. The Vancouver brass does congratulate the Bruins on their Stanley Cup win before selecting winger Nicklas Jensen with the 29th overall pick.10:51 p.m.: The hometown Minnesota Wild are having themselves quite the night.
After adding Devon Setoguchi and Charlie Coyle earlier, they take Zack Phillips, a center who was compared to Adam Oates twice during the TSN broadcast.
10:46 p.m.: The Tampa Bay Lightning draft another dynamic offensive threat grabbing Russian center Vladislav Namestnikov.
Namestnikov has good speed, and he had a solid season this year with the London Knights with 30-38-68 totals.
10:37 p.m.: Winger Phillip Danault is the No. 26 pick. He poured in 67 points this season at Victoriaville, and could be the latest in a growing line of impressive Chicago forwards.
10:27 p.m.: Brian Burke announces the Maple Leafs next pick, as they take defenseman Stuart Percy with the No. 25 pick in the first round.
10:21 p.m.: The Senators use the No. 24 pick they just acquired from Detroit to take winger Matt Puempel, the 2009-10 CHL Rookie of the Year. TSN says he's comparable to Thomas Vanek, so if that pans out, the Sens certainly won't complain.
10:15 p.m.: The Penguins take defenseman Joe Morrow with the 23rd pick, the consensus top pick still left on the board.
10:13 p.m.: We just found out that the Red Wings have sent the No. 24 pick in the draft to the Senators for the 35th and 48th picks.
10:04 p.m.: The Leafs use the pick they just traded for to grab Tyler Biggs at No. 22, adding another U.S.-born forward to Brian Burke's stable.
9:56 p.m.: Ottawa makes its second pick of the night, tabbing Stefan Noesen at No. 21. Noesen played with Tyler Seguin at Plymouth (OHL) last year.
There's also been a couple more traded, with Anaheim sending the 22nd pick to Toronto for No. 30 (originally Boston's before the Tomas Kaberle trade) and No. 39. Also, Chicago sent Troy Brouwer to Washington for the 26th overall pick.
9:50 p.m.: Phoenix makes the next selection, and it has some Boston ties. The Coyotes take defenseman Connor Murphy at No. 20.
He's the son of former Bruin Gord Muprhy and was born in Beverly, Mass.
9:41 p.m.: It's the Western Conference's turn to pick now, with Chicago going with Prince Albert (WHL) center Mark McNeill at 18 and Edmonton taking Swedish defenseman Oscar Klefbom at 19.
Solid first round for the Oilers, who opened things with the top forward available in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and now add a solid offensive blueliner with size in the 6-foot-3 Klefbom.
9:33 p.m.: The host Wild just pulled off a blockbuster deal to the delight of the Xcel Center crowd.
Minnesota sends defenseman Brent Burns and a second-rounder to San Jose for Devon Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and a first-rounder (No. 28). Coyle is an East Weymouth, Mass. native who just wrapped up a strong freshman season at Boston University. He was the Sharks' first-round pick last year.
9:26 p.m.: It's another Northeast Division rival's turn, as the Canadiens hold the No. 17 pick and they take defenseman Nathan Beaulieu.
Beaulieu was thought to be a possibility for the Bruins at No. 9, but Boston couldn't pass up Hamilton when he slipped to them. Likewise, the Habs are fortunate to find Beaulieu fall to them at 17. The Montreal media won't be soo happy to learn he doesn't speak French, however.
9:16 p.m.: The Sabres go overseas with the 16th pick, taking Finnish forward Joel Armia.
9:10 p.m.: Nice moment as the late Derek Boogaard's brother, Aaron, made the Rangers' pick after a hearty standing ovation from the Minnesota fans.
Derek Boogaard, who passed away recently, spent time with both the Rangers and Wild.
The Rangers used the 15th pick to take American forward J.T. Miller.
9:02 p.m.: Jamie Oleksiak goes at No. 14 to the Dallas Stars. Oleksiak, of course, is a name familiar to Hockey East fans, as he spent last season playing at Northeastern.
Dallas will defintely get some size with the pick in the 6-foot-7, 240-pound defenseman.
8:55 p.m.: Sven Bartschi was an option for Carolina at No. 12, but obviously Murphy was too much to pass up. So, Bartschi, a Swedish winger who registered 85 points this past season in the WHL ends up in Calgary at No. 13.
8:47 p.m.: Ryan Murphy, the consensus pick as the draft's best offensive defenseman, drops to No. 12 where Carolina gladly picks him up.
Murphy registered 26-53-79 totals last season with Kitchener.
8:40 p.m.: Again, it's a defenseman, and once again, that defenseman is not named Ryan Murphy.
The Avalanche use the 11th pick to grab Duncan Siemens, a Canadian defenseman who played for Saskatoon in the WHL.
8:35 p.m.: The Wild continue the run on defensemen not named Ryan Murphy, as they take Swedish blueliner Jonas Brodin with the 10th pick.
8:25 p.m.: The Bruins get their pick of defensemen at No. 9, and go with Dougie Hamilton.
He's a very well-rounded blueliner out of Niagara (OHL). He's got good size (6-4, 187), good offensive ability (12-46-58 in 67 games), some toughness (77 PIMs) and is extremely bright (OHL's top student).
8:20 p.m.: The Flyers go with center Sean Couturier at No. 8.
The Bruins are on the clock with their pick of defensemen, though rumors of a potential trade have picked up considerable here in St. Pul. Nashville's Ryan Ellis, a talented young defenseman in his own right, is the name being mentioned most often.
8:10 p.m.: Winnipeg makes its first pick, but not before confirming the relocated Thrashers will indeed be called the Jets.
The Jets then take forward Mark Scheifele at No. 7. One more pick before the Bruins, who will have at least a couple of talented defensemen to choose from, plus some enticing forward options as well at No. 9.
8 p.m.: The Senators go off the board a bit, but it's not too much of a reach in taking talented center Mika Zibanejad with the sixth pick.
That will leave at least one of the top offensive defensemen on the board for the Bruins at No. 9 if they choose to go in that direction. Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Murphy and Nathan Beaulieu are all still in play with just two picks before Boston goes to the podium.
7:55 p.m.: The Islanders allow St. Paul native Kyle Okposo to announce their pick, which is a bit of a surprise as they go with forward Ryan Strome out of Niagara (OHL) rather than Ice Dogs teammate and defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
Three picks left before the Bruins, with three top offensive defensemen left on the board in Hamilton, Ryan Murphy and Nathan Beaulieu. Will one of them fall to the Bruins?
7:47 p.m.: The Devils, with the fourth pick, are the first team to congratulate the Bruins on their Cup win before announcing their selection.
The Devils then take the first defenseman off the board, grabbing Swedish star Adam Larsson.
7:39 p.m.: The Panthers continue the run on forwards at the start of the draft, taking center Jonathan Huberdeau.
Huberdeau is the first of several members of the Memorial Cup champion Saint John Sea Dogs. The Bruins could be interested in one of those teammates in defenseman Nathan Beaulieu at 9, but that's only if fellow blueliners Adam Larsson, Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Murphy don't slip to Boston.
7:29 p.m.: The Avalache also go up front, selecting Gabriel Landeskog with the second pick.
Landeskog hails from Sweden, but played in North America with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL. He's one of the few players who will be taken tonight that could step right into the NHL next year.
7:21 p.m.: The draft is officially under way, with the Oilers taking center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the first pick.
Taylor Hall gets his steup man as the Oilers continue to load up on young talent up front.
7:15 p.m.: NHL vice president Colin Campbell, father of Bruins forward Gregory, opens the night with a stirring tribute to E.J. McGuire, the head of the NHL's Central Scouting who passed away in April.
Commissioner Gary Bettman and McGuire's family then take the stage, with McGuire's wife and daughters drawing a standing ovation from fans, media and NHL personnel alike.
7 p.m.: Things are about to get under way here in St. Paul, where the Oilers will have the first pick in this year's draft.
6:45 p.m.: The start of the draft is just a few minutes away now, and Edmonton will be on the clock first for the second year in a row.
Last year the Oilers ended the Taylor Hall-Tyer Seguin debate by taking Hall with the top pick, leaving Seguin for the Bruins at No. 2.
This year, Edmonton can get a future playmaker to set up Hall in talented center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or bolster their blue line with top-rated defenseman Adam Larsson.
6 p.m.: Just about an hour away from the start of the draft now, and Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli just spoke with the handful of Boston reporters on hand here in St. Paul.
Chiarelli doesn't expect to move out of the No. 9 spot, noting "We've got a pretty good pick" and adding that no one has put in any late offers for that pick.
Unlike past drafts, Chiarelli doesn't expect to be active on the trade front at all in this draft as he plans to keep his Cup-winning squadintact as much as possible.
"I've talked to maybe 15 other GMs and I've told them that we're not trading anyone off our roster," Chiarelli said.
He also said there was no update on any talks with unrestricted free agents Tomas Kaberle and Michael Ryder, but did announce that restricted free agent Brad Marchand has been qualified, though talks yet on a new deal have not yet begun.
The Bruins won't be qualifying goalie Matt Dalton and Anton Khudobin is likely to leave as well. He has an offer to play in Russia, but Chiarelli wouldn't rule out Khudobin getting a chance as a backup elsewhere in the NHL. The Bruins may look to address the need for some additional depth in the organization at the goaltender position later in this draft.
Chiarelli also added that no changes were planned on the coaching staff and that he hadn't thought about bringing Craig Ramsay back. The new Providence coach will be announced on Saturday.
5 p.m.: The NHL Draft will kick off in just about two hours here at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, but the action has already begun.
After Thursday's blockbusters involving the Flyers, the trading has continued with Toronto acquiring defenseman John-Michael Liles from Colorado for a 2012 second-round pick. That pick was actually Boston's originally, but was sent to the Leafs as part of the Tomas Kaberle trade.
That's important to Boston only if they want to make an offer on a restricted free agent. That's unlikely, but to do so the Bruins have to have their own draft picks to put up as compensation, so not having that second-round pick limits the amount of money the Bruins can offer to an RFA if they were to choose that route.
Another defneseman is also off the market, as the Lightning have re-signed Eric Brewer to a four-year deal reportedly worth just under $16 million. There aren't going to be a lot of enticing defensemen on the market in free agency this summer, which could impact Boston's decision on whether or not to re-sign Kaberle. It might also give Kaberle the leverage to seek a deal beyond what the Bruins want to pay to retain him.
8 a.m.: The Bruins don't necessarily want to turn the page on their championship season just yet, but the transition from celebrating a title to defending it begins on Friday with the start of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Minnesota.
Unlike most reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Bruins won't have to wait until the final pick of the first round. Boston gets to pick ninth with the final piece of the Phil Kessel trade with Toronto, and there should be plenty of talent available to the Bruins that high in the draft.
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli doesn't expect to move out of that spot, as he's happy with the options he expects to find at No. 9.
"I don't think there will be any magic for us," Chiarelli said. "We're picking nine. I'd say there's maybe after three or four [picks], there's a real good group of another eight [quality prospects]. There's a good batch of defensemen, there's a good batch of wingers and there's a good batch of centermen. So we're pretty content where we are and we'll see where it goes. Oftentimes, players that you have ranked below your group go in and really good players drop in your lap."
The Bruins don't have their own pick, having surrendered that 30th selection to Toronto as part of the Tomas Kaberle deal. Boston also traded its second-round pick to Ottawa for Chris Kelly and third-rounder to Florida as part of the deal that brought Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell to Boston. But the Bruins will pick 40th with a second-rounder acquired from Minnesota in the Chuck Kobasew trade and 81st with a third-rounder received from Phoenix in the Derek Morris deal.
Those picks could be valuable in what Chiarelli sees as a draft with valuable assets available beyond the opening round.
"I think it's a fairly deep draft," Chiarelli said. "I don't think that there's been a lot of discussion in our group, but I know in other people's groups their top four and five, seven and six and it changes a lot. There's no definitive No. 1 and that runs deep through the first five or six [picks] I think. And you know I'd say it's a good round and a half as far as guys that you're excited to get these players, guys that you really feel strong with playing and maybe turning into something. I think it's a good round and a half [deep]."
The Edmonton Oilers will be on the clock first when the draft opens at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local), so check back here for updates on all the action throughout the evening.
