The 2009 NHL Entry Draft for Minnesota hockey fans should be one of the most interesting in years. It will be held June 26-27 in Montreal.

One Gopher player and two incoming recruits could all go in the first round. And beyond those three, seven other players with state ties also are considered high prospects.

The player expected to be picked the earliest in the  first  round is center Jordan Schroeder. As a freshman last season for the Gophers, he was the second-leading scorer in WCHA games, one point behind linemate Ryan Stoa.

North Central Scouting has Schroeder rated at No. 5 in its final rankings. He is expected to go somewhere in the top 10.

The other two state players expected to be taken near the bottom of the first round are forward Zach Budish of Edina High School. He is rated No. 22 by Central Scouting. That’s impressive considering he missed his entire senior season after knee surgery because of a football injury.

Gophers coach Don Lucia has said several times that the status of Budish’s knee will determine if he will join the Gophers this fall or not.

One player that will be a Gophers freshman for sure — unless he signs with an NHL team, not likely — is defenseman Nick Leddy of Class 2A state champion Eden Prairie. He is rated No. 24 by Central Scouting.

 

Three other Gophers recruits expected to be drafted are forward Josh Birkholz of the Fargo Force (USHL), defenseman Seth Helgeson of Sioux City (USHL) and forward Erik Haula of Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Haula is from Pori, Finland.

All six players mentioned so far are among the 104 players invited to the 2009 NHL Scouting Combine in Toronto from May 25-30. So are these four with Minnesota ties:

* Swede Alexander Fallstrom. He is playing for Shattuck-St. Mary’s and has committed to Harvard.

* Forward Ben Hankowski of Little Falls. He has committed to St. Cloud State.

* Goalie Mike Lee of Roseau who is playing for the Fargo Force of the USHL. He has committed to St. Cloud State. He is one of only nine goalies at the combine.

* Danny Mattson, a forward at Holy Angels this past season. He has committed to North Dakota.

Here is a breakdown of those 104 invitees:

Home countries

Canada: 52

U.S.: 26

     By state: Minnesota 8, New York 3, Colorado 2, Massachusetts 2, Utah 2, Alaska 1, Connecticut 1, Florida 1, Illinois 1, Maine 1, Michigan 1, Rhode Island 1, Texas 1, Wisconsin 1.  

Sweden: 16

Finland: 4

Russia: 3

Czech Republic: 2

Slovakia: 1

COMBINE DETAILS

At the combine, players spend three hours taking physical, medical and psychological tests. From push-ups and sit-ups to exercise bikes. No skating, though.

Sounds like fun.

MOCK DRAFTS

NHL.com asked three of its experts and two NHL scouts to guess who would be picked in the first round.

* Jordan Schroeder was taken in the first round of everyone’s mock draft. Two experts and one scout, had Schroeder being taken at No. 11 by the Wild. With a new regime running things over there, who knows? Another expert had him gong at No. 12 to Nashville.

And then there was the Western Conference scout. He predicted Schroeder would be gone at No. 6, taken by the L.A. Kings.

* The three NHL.com experts all predicted Zach Budish would go in the early 20s. At No. 22 to Carolina, at No. 23 to Chicago or at No. 24 to Calgary. The scouts did not have Budish taken in the first round.

* The Western Conference scout had Nick Leddy going at No. 14 to Nashville, the Eastern Conference scout had Leddy taken at No. 25 by Chicago. And one NHL.com expert had him going at No. 27, taken by the New Jersey Devils. The other two experts did not list Leddy.

Obviously, all three of these Minnesota players are in the first round mix. If Budish’s knee is sound at the combine, that could really help his stock or vise versa.Â

This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 7:31 pm and is filed under Gophers men's hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.