Eden Prairie's Nick Leddy was the first player selected in the 2009-2010 NHL Entry Draft coming out of Minnesota at the high school level. On Friday night, he was selected in the first round as the 16th pick overall by the 'home' team, the Minnesota Wild. Leddy, a defenseman, was Minnesota's 2008-2009 Mr. Hockey and is verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota.
Today, with the 41st pick in the second round, the Nashville Predators selected forward Zach Budish from the Edina Hornets. Budish did not play this last year due to an ACL injury that he had suffered during football season. Like Leddy, Budish is verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota before pursuing his professional career.
Round 1:
Vancouver Canucks: 22nd pick overall: Jordan Schroeder (C) (St. Thomas Academy '05-'06): Schroeder currently plays for the University of Minnesota. In 35 games this past season, Schroeder scored 13 goals and assisted on 32 others as a freshman.
Round 3:
Pittsburgh Penguins: 63rd pick overall: Ben Hanowski (RW) (Little Falls '08-'09): He is Minnesota's all-time scoring leader and is verbally committed to play for St. Cloud State University.
Florida Panthers: 67th pick overall: Josh Birkholz (RW) (Blake School '07-'08): Played for the Fargo Force of the USHL in 2008-2009. He is verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota.
Edmonton Oilers: 71st pick overall: Troy Hesketh (D) (Minnetonka '08-'09): Hesketh, a junior at Minnetonka High School, scored 22 points for the Skippers this past season scoring 7 goals (4 powerplay goals) and assisting on 15 in 28 games. He also collected 42 penalty minutes and had a +23 plus/minus. Hesketh has verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin.
Chicago Blackhawks: 89th pick overall: Dan DeLisle (C/LW) (Totino-Grace '08-'09): The 6'4", 222 pound DeLisle is verbally committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Phoenix Coyotes: 91st pick overall: Mike Lee (G) (Roseau '07-'08): Lee decided to fore go his senior season at Roseau and play for Fargo of the USHL. He has verbally committed to play for St. Cloud State University. He will also be on Team USA at the World Junior Championship in December and January of this coming year. There was an article out today about Lee on the ESPN website.
Round 4:
Nashville Predators: 110th pick overall: Nick Oliver (C/LW) (Roseau '08-'09): Oliver has verbally committed to St. Cloud State University.
New Jersey Devils: 114th pick overall: Seth Helgeson (D) (Faribault '06-'07): Helgeson played for the Sioux City Muskateers of the USHL the last two seasons. Helgeson is verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota.
Round 5:
Detroit Red Wings: 150th pick overall: Nick Jensen (D) (Rogers '07-'08): Jensen skipped his senior season at Rogers and played for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. Jensen is verbally committed to play for St. Cloud State University.
Round 6:
New York Islanders: 152nd pick overall: Anders Lee (C) (Edina '08-'09): Lee, the star center for the Edina hockey team and the star quarterback for the Edina football team, has verbally committed to play for Notre Dame University.
Round 7:
Ottawa Senators: 191st pick overall: Michael Sdao (D): Sdao was born in Minneapolis, MN but played minor hockey in Colorado through his freshman year of high school. As a sophomore, he left Colorado and attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana until he graduated. He has played for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL since '07-'08. He is verbally committed to play at Princeton University.
St. Louis Blues: 202nd pick overall: Max Tardy (C) (Duluth East '08-'09): Tardy has verbally committed to play for the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
The Minnesota Wild selected the following players during the draft:
Round 1: Pick 16: D-Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie HS) - 5'11", 179 lbs, 03/20/91
Round 3: Pick 77: G-Matthew Hackett (Plymouth - OHL) - 6'2", 170 lbs, 03/07/90
Round 4: Pick 103: LW-Kristopher Foucault (Calgary - WHL) - 6'1", 202 lbs, 12/12/90
Round 4: Pick 116: RW-A Fallstrom (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - 6'2", 192 lbs, 09/15/90
Round 6: Pick 161: G-Darcy Kuemper (Red Deer - WHL) - 6'4", 195 lbs, 05/05/90
Round 6: Pick 163: RW/LW-Jere Sallinen (Blues Jr. - Finland Jr.) - 6'0", 183 lbs, 10/26/90
Round 7: Pick 182: LW-Erik Haula (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - 5'11", 170 lbs, 03/23/91
Round 7: Pick 193: C-Anthony Hamburg (Dallas Stars AAA) - 6'1", 185 lbs, 08/30/91
