The consensus on Dylan Olsen was all over the place as some placed him as a low first round choice or placed him out of the top round altogether. In the end the Chicago Blackhawks thought enough of him to take him with their first pick in the 2009 draft.
Olsen, a defenseman who played for Camrose in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), showed a mix of production and spunk. Olsen picked up 29 points for the team and registered 123 PIM over the course of the year. Because he did not play major junior Olsen has the option of playing for a US College.
Dylan Olsen%2C courtesy of the NHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning made a trade with the Detroit Red Wings to select Carter Ashton who fell to the 29th pick despite being ranked by Central Scouting as the 12th best North American skater. Ashton is a big 6-3 winger who scored 30 goals for Lethbridge in the WHL last season.
“He is a power forward, for a big guy he skates well, he’s strong, he’s got a pretty good skill set, he shoots the puck pretty well and he goes to the net hard,” said Lethbridge coach Michael Dyck. “I think that is essentially why he’s had success this year.”
With the final pick in the first round the Pittsburgh Penguins snagged defenseman Simon Despres who also slid in the draft projections. Originally slotted as the 8th best North American, Despres was fortunate to be selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins rather than having to sleep on the draft for a second evening.
“Simon is a very good skater with and without the puck. He has good hands for a big man and he has outstanding vision as well as hockey sense,” said Saint John head coach Jacques Beaulieu. “To make it to the next level he will need to improve his upper body strength and his shot, but overall Simon is an outstanding person on and off the ice. He loves the game. He is without a doubt an NHL prospect.”
PHN analysis, during our discussions we thought Olsen and Despres were destined to go around this selection in the draft, but we thought teams were more enthusiastic about Ashton and expected him to go much earlier.
You must be logged in to post a comment.