2010 NHL Draft Notes

The NHL Draft begins Friday night in Los Angeles. Obviously, I will be covering the event as thoroughly as I can for FanHouse, but I will also try to throw a few posts up here.

To start off the week, I turn to TSN guru Bob McKenzie, who locked himself in his house until he came up with his list of the top 75 prospects in the draft.

You can find that here. For fans of local players, Duluth native Derek Forbort, a defenseman from the U.S. Under 18 National Team, is No. 11. Forbort should become the first player from Duluth to ever go in the first round, and he might add to that by becoming a top ten pick (pretty good chance this happens). Forbort heads to North Dakota this fall.

UMD recruit Justin Faulk, also a defenseman from Under 18 Team, is No. 30. While Faulk doesn't have Forbort's size, he is an impressive prospect because of his passing skill and compete level. Both are highly-regarded.

Fellow incoming Bulldog freshman Joe Basaraba didn't make McKenzie's top 75, but is listed as honorable mention. He's a big forward with a lot of skill, and he will add muscle to his impressive frame while attending UMD.

My top 35 -- published for FanHouse -- is here. I have Forbort at No. 8. You can find FanHouse's NHL Draft coverage here. Colleague Chris Botta -- as good a guy as he is a writer, and that's saying a lot -- roped an NHL scout into divulging his top ten. It's very interesting to get an insider's take on the top prospects.

This is going to be a fun draft to follow, if only because there is such a divergence of opinions about even the highest-rated prospects. That Botta's scout puts goalie Jack Campbell at No. 2 tells you a lot, because virtually everyone has been assuming that Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin were the top two prospects.

It should be a good first round for college prospects, as we could see ten of them picked. We could go over a dozen American players if things break the right way.

Beyond that, there will be a goodly number of trades this week, as teams look to reshape their rosters while facing up to a free agent class that isn't terribly deep or impressive.

Oh, and the 2010-11 NHL schedule is out Tuesday. Hockey Hall of Fame inductees will be named, too.

Should be a fun week.

BRETT HULL AMONG HOCKEY HALL CLASS OF '09

Before his illustrious career in the National Hockey League, Brett Hull played two seasons at UMD, basically re-writing the Bulldogs' record book while he was there.

Yes, Hull will be remembered primarily for his 741 career NHL goals, trailing only Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe on the all-time list.

Before any NHL team did it, UMD retired Hull's jersey in front of a capacity crowd at the DECC.

Now, Hull joins his father, Bobby, and other all-time greats, as he will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto later this year.

Here is the official release from the Hall.

TORONTO (June 23, 2009) — Bill Hay, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame's Board of Directors and Jim Gregory and Pat Quinn, Co-Chairmen of the Hockey Hall of Fame's Selection Committee, announced today that Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille and Steve Yzerman have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Player Category and Lou Lamoriello has been elected in the Builder Category. The vote took place today at the annual meeting of the Selection Committee in Toronto.

"The Hockey Hall of Fame is proud to welcome these five hockey legends as Honoured Members," said Jim Gregory. "Their contributions to the game of hockey are well documented and their election to the Hockey Hall of Fame is richly deserved."

A native of Belleville, Ontario, Brett Hull played college hockey for two seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth before embarking on a professional career in 1986. Hull played 19 NHL seasons, earning First Team All-Star selection on three occasions and winning Stanley Cups with Detroit and Dallas. Along with his father Bobby, the duo is the only NHL father and son to each record 600 goals and 1,000 career points.

"It is hard to put into words what this means to me, especially since I'm joining my father in the Hockey Hall of Fame," said Hull. "Simply getting to the NHL was a challenge for me, and I would like to thank all of my supporters who made many sacrifices on my behalf."

Brian Leetch played his collegiate hockey at Boston College and was drafted in the first round (9th overall) in 1986. He turned pro with the Rangers in 1987 and went on to play 18 NHL seasons, winning the James Norris trophy twice. Leetch was a key member of the Rangers' 1993-94 Stanley Cup-winning team and became the first U.S.-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL's playoff MVP.

"I am humbled and excited by this honour, particularly since for me it is difficult to think of myself as a member of the Hall of Fame," said Leetch. "My hockey career has been a long and enjoyable process. I am appreciative of all those who have helped me. From my father, as my youth coach, to Mark Messier who helped me out so much - both on and off the ice surface."

Luc Robitaille played his Junior hockey in Hull, Quebec under the tutelage of Pat Burns. A late selection (9th round) of the Los Angeles Kings in 1984, he went on to win the Calder Trophy in his rookie season in 1986-87. He played 19 NHL seasons, ranking 10th amongst NHLers all time in scoring. His eight 40+-goal seasons are surpassed only by Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy.

"My goal was always just to play in the NHL and I never dreamed of anything beyond that," said Robitaille. "To be honoured in the same room as The Rocket, Guy Lafleur and Wayne Gretzky is a tremendous honour."

Steve Yzerman was selected 4th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1983 Entry Draft and went on to play 22 seasons for the Wings. The longest-serving team captain in Red Wings history (1986 to 2006), Yzerman holds numerous team records, led the team to three Stanley Cups and was a member of Canada's gold-medal winning Olympic team in 2002.

"It is a tremendous honour to receive this news," said Steve Yzerman. "I want to thank the Selection Committee for recognizing my contributions — I truly had chills down my spine when I got the news."

In the Builder Category, long-time New Jersey Devils General Manager, Lou Lamoriello was honoured for his over 40 years of contributions to the game — both at the collegiate and NHL levels. Under his leadership the Devils have won three Stanley Cups: in 1995, 2000 and 2003.

"This award is completely unexpected," said Lamoriello. "Over my career I have been fortunate to have been associated with great players and coaches, and this award recognizes their contributions to my career."

The 2009 Induction Celebration will be held on Monday, November 9th at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Established in 1943, the Hockey Hall of Fame is a museum and place of entertainment offering state-of-the-art multimedia presentations and exhibits from its premises at Brookfield Place, Toronto, Canada. Its mandate is to recognize and honour the achievements of individuals who bring special distinction to the game of hockey, and to collect and preserve objects, images and resource materials connected with the game as it is played in Canada and throughout the world.

Brett and Bobby will be the first father-son tandem to have both gained Hall enshrinement.

It's also worth noting that both Brett Hull and Brian Leetch turned pro after playing college hockey. While I refuse to say that college hockey is the only way to make yourself into a successful player at the next level (that would be taking my obvious biases too far and crossing over into complete stupidity), it's nice to know that the college game is capable of churning out all-time greats.