Just over a week after the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup, the first major step of the offseason came to an end with the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft on Tuesday. The New York Rangers won the NHL Draft Lottery earlier this summer and used the pick to select Quebec Major Junior Hockey League star Alexis Lafreniere.
Lafreniere has spent the last three seasons starring for Rimouski Océanic. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2017 QMJHL Draft and burst onto the scene with 42 goals in 60 games. To put that into perspective, Lafreniere had the highest number of goals in a rookie season since Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby scored 54 for Rimouski Oceanic in 2004. In his three seasons in the QMJHL, Lafreniere has accumulated 297 points (114 goals & 183 assists) and blossomed into one of the most dangerous young players in the world.
Many believe that Lafreniere is a generational talent that will become one of the NHL’s biggest stars sooner rather than later. The Rangers will look to pair Lafreniere with a nucleus that already includes the likes of Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.
Rounding out the top five was Quinton Byfield, who became the highest drafted black player in NHL history when the Los Angeles Kings selected him No. 2 overall, German international Tim Stutzle, who got drafted by the Senators, Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings) and top American prospect Jake Sanderson (Senators).
Here are the complete results of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft
Round 1
1. New York Rangers: Alexis Lafrenière, LW 2. Los Angeles Kings: Quinton Byfield, C 3. Ottawa Senators (from Sharks): Tim Stutzle, LW 4. Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond, LW 5. Ottawa Senators: Jake Sanderson, D 6. Anaheim Ducks: Jamie Drysdale, D 7. New Jersey Devils: Alexander Holtz, RW 8. Buffalo Sabres: Jack Quinn, RW 9. Minnesota Wild: Marco Rossi, C 10. Winnipeg Jets: Cole Perfetti, C 11. Nashville Predators: Yaroslav Askarov, G 12. Florida Panthers: Anton Lundell, C 13. Carolina Hurricanes (from Leafs): Seth Jarvis, C 14. Edmonton Oilers: Dylan Holloway, C 15. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Penguins): Rodion Amirov, LW 16. Montreal Canadiens: Kaiden Guhle, D 17. Chicago Blackhawks: Lukas Reichel, LW 18. New Jersey Devils (from Coyotes): Dawson Mercer, C 19. New York Rangers (from Flames): Braden Schneider, D 20. New Jersey Devils (from Lightning via Canucks): Shakir Mukhamadullin, D 21. Columbus Blue Jackets: Yegor Chinakhov, RW 22. Washington Capitals (from Flames via Rangers via Hurricanes): Hendrix Lapierre, C 23. Philadelphia Flyers: Tyson Foerster, RW 24. Calgary Flames (from Capitals): Connor Zary, C 25. Colorado Avalanche: Justin Barron, D 26. St. Louis Blues: Jake Neighbours, LW 27. Anaheim Ducks (from Bruins): Jacob Perreault, RW 28. Ottawa Senators (from Islanders): Ridly Greig, C 29. Vegas Golden Knights: Brendan Brisson, C 30. Dallas Stars: Mavrik Bourque, C 31. San Jose Sharks (from Lightning): Ozzy Wiesblatt, RW
Round 2
32. Detroit Red Wings: William Wallinder, D 33. Ottawa Senators: Roby Jarventie, LW 34. Buffalo Sabres: John-Jason Peterka, RW 35. Los Angeles Kings: Helge Grans, D 36. Anaheim Ducks: Sam Colangelo, RW 37. Minnesota Wild: Marat Khusnutdinov, C 38. San Jose Sharks: Thomas Bordeleau, C 39. Minnesota Wild: Ryan O’Rourke, D 40. Winnipeg Jets: Daniel Torgersson, LW 41. Carolina Hurricanes: Noel Gunler, RW 42. Nashville Predators: Luke Evangelista, RW 43. Florida Panthers: Emil Heineman, LW 44. Ottawa Senators: Tyler Kleven, D 45. Los Angeles Kings: Brock Faber, D 46. Chicago Blackhawks: Drew Commesso, 47. Montreal Canadiens: Luke Tuch, LW, 48. Montreal Canadiens: Jan Mysak, C 49. Arizona Coyotes: Pick forfeited 50. Calgary Flames: Yan Kuznetsov, D 51. Detroit Red Wings: Theodor Niederbach, C 52. Pittsburgh Penguins: Joel Blomqvist, G 53. Carolina Hurricanes: Vasili Ponomarev, C 54. Philadelphia Flyers: Emil Andrae, D 55. Detroit Red Wings: Cross Hanas, LW 56. San Jose Sharks: Tristen Robins, RW 57. Tampa Bay Lightning: Jack Finley, C 58. Boston Bruins: Mason Lohrei, D 59. Toronto Maple Leafs: Roni Hirvonen, C 60. New York Rangers: William Cuylle, LW 61. Ottawa Senators: Egor Sokolov, LW 62. Tampa Bay Lightning: Gage Goncalves, C
Round 3
63. Detroit Red Wings: Donovan Sebrango, D 64. Toronto Maple Leafs: Topi Niemela, D 65. Minnesota Wild: Daemon Hunt, D 66. Los Angeles Kings: Kasper Simontaival, RW 67. Anaheim Ducks: Ian Moore, D 68. Vegas Golden Knights: Lukas Cormier, D 69. Carolina Hurricanes: Alexander Nikishin, D 70. Detroit Red Wings: Eemil Viro, D 71. Ottawa Senators: Leevi Merilainen, G 72. Calgary Flames: Jeremie Poirier, D 73. Nashville Predators: Luke Prokop, D 74. Florida Panthers: Ty Smilanic, C 75. Colorado Avalanche: Jean-Luc Foudy 76. San Jose Sharks: Danil Gushchin, LW 77. Pittsburgh Penguins: Calle Clang, G 78. Columbus Blue Jackets: Samuel Knazko, D 79. Chicago Blackhawks: Landon Slaggert, LW 80. Calgary Flames: Jake Boltmann, D 81. Chicago Blackhawks: Wyatt Kaiser, D 82. Vancouver Canucks: Joni Jurmo, D 83. Los Angeles Kings: Alex Laferriere, RW 84. New Jersey Devils: Nicolas Daws, G 85. Tampa Bay Lightning: Maxim Groshev, RW 86. St. Louis Blues: Dylan Peterson, C 87. Florida Panthers: Justin Sourdif, RW 88. St. Louis Blues: Leo Loof, D 89. Boston Bruins: Trevor Kuntar, C 90. New York Islanders: Alexander Ljungkrantz, RW 91. Vegas Golden Knights: Jackson Hallum, C 92. New York Rangers: Oliver Tarnstrom, C 93. Tampa Bay Lightning: Jack Thompson, D
Round 4
94. Philadelphia Flyers: Zayde Wisdom, RW 95. Florida Panthers: Michael Benning, D 96. Calgary Flames: Daniil Chechelev, G 97. Detroit Red Wings: Sam Stange, RW 98. San Jose Sharks: Brandon Coe, RW 99. New Jersey Devils: Jaromir Pytlik, C 100. Edmonton Oilers: Carter Savoie, LW 101. Nashville Predators: Adam Wilsby, D 102. Montreal Canadiens: Jack Smith, C 103. New York Rangers: Dylan Garand, G 104. Anaheim Ducks: Thimo Nickl, D 105. Florida Panthers: Zachary Uens, D 106. Toronto Maple Leafs: Artur Akhtyamov, G 107. Detroit Red Wings: Jan Bednar, G, 108. Pittsburgh Penguins: Lukas Svejkovsky, C 109. Montreal Canadiens: Blake Biondi, C 110. Chicago Blackhawks: Michael Krutil, D 111. Arizona Coyotes: Mitchell Miller, D 112. Los Angeles Kings: Juho Markkanen, G 113. Vancouver Canucks: Jackson Kunz, LW 114. Columbus Blue Jackets: Mikael Pyyhtia, LW 115. Carolina Hurricanes: Zion Nybeck, LW 116. Tampa Bay Lightning: Eamon Powell, D 117. Washington Capitals: Bogdan Trineyev, RW 118. Colorado Avalanche: Colby Ambrosio, C 119. St. Louis Blues: Tanner Dickinson, C 120. New Jersey Devils: Ethan Edwards, D 121. New York Islanders: Alex Jefferies, LW, 122. Toronto Maple Leafs: William Villeneuve, D 123. Dallas Stars: Antonio Stranges, LW 124. Montreal Canadiens: Sean Farrell, C
Round 5
125. Vegas Golden Knights: Jesper Vikman, G 126. Edmonton Oilers: Tyler Tullio, RW 127. New York Rangers: Evan Vierling, C 128. Los Angeles Kings: Martin Chromiak, RW 129. Anaheim Ducks: Artyom Galimov, LW 130. New Jersey Devils: Artem Shlaine, C 131. Buffalo Sabres: Matteo Costantini, C 132. Detroit Red Wings: Alex Cotton, D 133. Winnipeg Jets: Anton Johannesson, D 134. New York Rangers: Brett Berard, LW 135. Philadelphia Flyers: Elliot Desnoyers, LW 136. Montreal Canadiens: Jakub Dobes, G 137. Toronto Maple Leafs: Dimitry Ovchinnikov, C 138. Edmonton Oilers: Maksim Berezkin, LW 139. Colorado Avalanche: Ryder Rolston, RW 140. Los Angeles Kings: Ben Meehan, D 141. Chicago Blackhawks: Isaak Phillips, D 142. Arizona Coyotes: Carson Bantle, LW 143. Calgary Flames: Ryan Francis, RW 144. Vancouver Canucks: Jacob Truscott, D 145. Columbus Blue Jackets: Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm, D 146. Minnesota Wild: Pavel Novak, RW 147. Tampa Bay Lightning: Jaydon Dureau, LW 148. Washington Capitals: Bear Hughes, C 149. Pittsburgh Penguins: Raivis Ansons, RW 150. St. Louis Blues: Matthew Kessel, D 151. Boston Bruins: Mason Langenbrunner, D 152. New York Islanders: William Dufour, RW 153. Dallas Stars: Kasper Puutio, D 154. Dallas Stars: Daniel Ljungman, C, 155. Ottawa Senators: Eric Engstrand, LW
Round 6
156. Detroit Red Wings: Kyle Aucoin, D 157. Tampa Bay Lightning: Nick Capone, RW 158. Ottawa Senators: Philippe Daoust, C 159. Carolina Hurricanes: Lucas Mercuri, C 160. Anaheim Ducks: Albin Sundsvik, C 161. New Jersey Devils: Benjamin Baumgartner, C 162. Dallas Stars: Yevgeni Oksentyuk, LW 163. St. Louis Blues: Will Cranley, G 164. Winnipeg Jets: Tyrel Bauer, D 165. New York Rangers: Matt Rempe, C 166. Nashville Predators: Luke Reid, D 167. Colorado Avalanche: Nils Aman, C 168. Toronto Maple Leafs: Veeti Miettinen, RW 169. Edmonton Oilers: Filip Engaras, C 170. Pittsburgh Penguins: Chase Yoder, C 171. Montreal Canadiens: Alexander Gordin, RW 172. Chicago Blackhawks: Chad Yetman, C 173. Arizona Coyotes: Filip Barklund, C 174. Calgary Flames: Rory Kerins, C 175. Vancouver Canucks: Dmitry Zlodeyev, C 176. Columbus Blue Jackets: Samuel Johannesson, D 177. Toronto Maple Leafs: Axel Rindell, D 178. Philadelphia Flyers: Connor McClennon, RW 179. Washington Capitals: Garin Bjorklund, G 180. Toronto Maple Leafs: Joe Miller, C 181. Ottawa Senators: Cole Reinhardt, LW 182. Boston Bruins: Riley Duran, C 183. New York Islanders: Matias Rajaniemi, D 184. Vegas Golden Knights: Noah Ellis, D 185. Dallas Stars: Remi Poirier, G 186. Tampa Bay Lightning: Amir Miftakhov, G
Round 7
187. Detroit Red Wings: Kienan Draper, RW 188. Chicago Blackhawks: Louis Crevier, D 189. Toronto Maple Leafs: John Fusco, D 190. Los Angeles Kings: Aatu Jamsen, RW 191. Vancouver Canucks: Viktor Persson, D 192. Arizona Coyotes: Elliot Ekefjard, RW 193. Buffalo Sabres: Albert Lyckasen, D 194. St. Louis Blues: Noah Beck, D 195. Toronto Maple Leafs: Wyatt Schingoethe, C 196. San Jose Sharks: Alex Young, C 197. New York Rangers: Hugo Ollas, G 198. Florida Panthers: Elliot Ekmark, C 199. Carolina Hurricanes: Alexander Pashin, RW 200. Edmonton Oilers: Jeremias Lindewall, RW 201. San Jose Sharks: Adam Raska, RW 202. Nashville Predators: Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, LW 203. Detroit Red Wings: Chase Bradley, LW 204. Arizona Coyotes: Ben McCartney, LW 205. Calgary Flames: Ilya Solovyov, D 206. San Jose Sharks: Linus Oberg, C 207. Anaheim Ducks: Ethan Bowen, C 208. Carolina Hurricanes: Ronan Seeley, D 209. Nashville Predators: Chase McLane, C 210. San Jose Sharks: Timofey Spitserov, RW 211. Washington Capitals: Oskar Magnusson, LW 212. Florida Panthers: Devon Levi, G 213. Toronto Maple Leafs: Ryan Tverberg, C 214. New York Islanders: Henrik Tikkanen, G 215. Vegas Golden Knights: Maxim Marushev, C 216. Buffalo Sabres: Jakub Konecny, C 217. Tampa Bay Lightning: Declan McDonnell, RW
SINGAPORE (AP) — Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen gave only brief answers at a Saturday news conference in an apparent protest against series governing body the FIA for punishing him for swearing.
Verstappen appeared at the FIA’s news conference for the top three in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying — he finished second — but was reluctant to speak.
On Friday, Verstappen was ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest” at the FIA’s discretion for using an expletive to describe his car in another FIA news conference the day before.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has signaled he wants to cut down on swearing in F1, setting up the governing body’s latest disagreement with drivers.
After a brief statement that he was happy with second place in qualifying and thanked his Red Bull team, Verstappen kept his answers to a minimum and said he risked being fined if he said more.
What had the team changed on his car? “A lot.” Was he confident ahead of Sunday’s race? “Maybe.” What about starting alongside title rival Lando Norris on the grid? “I will find out tomorrow.”
As the event’s host struggled to get a response to his questions, the Dutch driver clarified: “This is not towards you, don’t worry. I don’t want to upset you.”
Verstappen’s silence was confined to the FIA news conference. He earlier answered questions on TV from the pit lane and invited reporters to question him outside of the news conference room.
Asked how long he’d refuse to give answers in FIA events, he said: “I’m answering, just not a lot. Problem with my voice.”
Verstappen was supported by Norris and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who has voiced his own concerns over Ben Sulayem’s stance.
After joking that Verstappen deserved his punishment for “foul language”, Norris said: “It’s pretty unfair. I don’t agree with any of it.”
Hamilton said: “It’s a bit of a joke, to be honest. This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made.” Hamilton also seemed to suggest Verstappen should avoid the work mandated by the earlier ruling. “I certainly wouldn’t be doing it. And I hope Max doesn’t do it.”
Hamilton, F1’s only Black driver, earlier objected to Ben Sulayem’s statement that F1 should not resemble “rap music,” which the FIA president made while explaining his objections to swearing in an interview with the motorsport.com website this week. Hamilton said Ben Sulayem’s language was “stereotypical” and had a “racial element.”
PENTICTON, B.C. – Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks.
Now the former Nashville Predators winger is wearing a Canucks jersey.
After signing with Vancouver in free agency, Sherwood is at training camp in Penticton, B.C., lining up against the players he frustrated in the first round of the playoffs last season.
His former foes have welcomed him welcomed with open arms.
“I try to be hard to play against and try to hate the other team and play with that hate and that fire. But at the end of the day, it’s a business and it’s a game of respect,” Sherwood said. “You’re not going after guys if you don’t respect them, right? So now that we’re teammates, it’s just respect.”
The 29-year-old Sherwood’s path to Vancouver wasn’t linear.
A six-foot, 194-pound forward from Columbus, Ohio, he went undrafted before signing with the Anaheim Ducks as a free agent in March 2018, and played 50 games for the team during the 2018-19 campaign.
But Sherwood struggled to stick in the NHL, bouncing back and forth between the minors during stints with Anaheim, Nashville and the Colorado Avalanche.
Eventually, he realized that to cement his spot, he needed to find what made him special — and he landed on speed.
“It’s definitely something that I had to learn and kind of ingrain in myself and train. I think the saying is adapt or die,” Sherwood said. “At the end of the day, you can light up the minors all you want, but you want to be here in this league.”
To hone his speed, Sherwood added more dynamic movement to his training regime, looking to create a new level of explosiveness in his skating.
That explosiveness is the key to winning puck battles, he said.
“I want to hunt. I want to get in on the forecheck, I want to create time and space for my linemates,” he said. “And ultimately, it’s a possession game too. So I want the puck on our tape and to get it to guys that can make plays. We value the puck, we value possession, we value plays. And if we’re dumping it in or forechecking, I want to get it back.”
When he can’t get the puck back, Sherwood wants to wear down the other team.
“It’s kind of the game within the game,” he said. “And it’s that fire that I’m really focused on bringing every night.”
Last season marked a career-best campaign for Sherwood, who put up 10 goals and 17 assists in 68 regular-season appearances for Nashville.
He also appeared in all six of the Predators post-season games and contributed a goal before the team was eliminated by the Canucks.
“I’ve had to look inward a little bit and try to figure out what it’s going to take, and dig deep,” Sherwood said of his career. “And then from there, just keep refining and growing the identity that I need to play with night in and night out.”
His speed and tenacity hasn’t gone unnoticed at his first Canucks training camp.
“Even the forecheck drills, always he’s moving his feet. His effort’s high,” said head coach Rick Tocchet.
“I thought some of the one-on-one drills, he made some nice moves with the puck. That’s the stuff I want to see. But he’s high-energy, big-motor guy. Guys like that, they’re all over the forecheck.”
Playing against Sherwood in last spring’s playoffs, Canucks captain Hughes learned that Sherwood’s playing style means opponents need to always be aware of when the winger’s on the ice.
“He’s a really good player.” Hughes said. “I think he’s got more game than people give him credit for. I’m not the coach, but I think he can play anywhere in the lineup. And I think he’s just a great addition.”
Tocchet also believes Sherwood could have more offensive upside to his game, noting that the Canucks coaching staff has identified some places they want the new addition to work on his game.
“There’s sometimes when he has (the puck), he can slow it down a bit to make a play,” the coach said. “But … I’d rather him have the motor going, and we’ll worry about the other stuff. And he’s a guy you can bounce around on different lines too. So it’s a luxury.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.
CALGARY – Trevor Harris had a rushing touchdown and threw a TD pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker to lead the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 37-29 win over the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night.
Backup quarterback Shea Patterson ran for a pair of touchdowns for the Roughriders (6-7-1), who ended a seven-game winless streak.
Brett Lauther kicked three field goals for Saskatchewan, while newly acquired running back Ryquell Armstead had an impressive debut with 207 yards rushing on 25 carries.
Clark Barnes and Jalen Philpot caught touchdown passes from quarterback Jake Maier for the Stampeders (4-9-1), who are 0-5-1 in their past six games.
Tommy Stevens and Dedrick Mills had rushing touchdowns for Calgary, while Rene Paredes kicked a field goal.
The Stamps had a strong start as Stevens ran for a 69-yard touchdown at 1:38 of the first quarter. Paredes missed the convert, so Calgary had to settle for an early 6-0 lead.
Harris then led the Riders on an eight-play, 63-yard drive that Patterson completed by scrambling across the goal line for a one-yard touchdown.
Following a 33-yard field goal by Lauther at 10:15, Paredes answered with a 41-yarder with just 33 seconds left in the first quarter.
While Maier and the Calgary offence struggled in the second quarter, the same couldn’t be said for Harris and his Saskatchewan squad.
After Harris led the Riders down to Calgary’s two-yard line, Patterson ran for his second score of the game at 12:58 to cap an impressive eight-play, 99-yard drive.
Harris then punctuated a seven-play, 92-yard drive by running for a one-yard score with just one second left in the first half to give the Riders a 24-9 lead.
Barnes caught an eight-yard TD pass from Maier at 4:15 of the third quarter to pull the Stamps back within eight points.
Shaffer-Baker made an acrobatic catch just shy of the goal line and remained on his feet despite taking a pair of hits from Calgary’s Branden Dozier and Kobe Williams. He then ran into the end zone for a 25-yard score at 10:01 of the third.
Philpot hauled in an eight-yard TD catch at 1:01 of the fourth quarter before Louther kicked a 32-yard field goal at 3:44 to put the Riders up 34-23.
After Mills ran for a two-yard TD at 8:39 of the final quarter, the Stamps weren’t able to score a two-point convert as Maier was sacked by Saskatchewan’s C.J. Reavis.
It looked as though the Stamps were going to get the ball back after the Riders went two-and-out, but Tyler Richardson took a costly penalty for contacting punter Adam Korsak.
The Riders subsequently took a 37-29 lead after Lauther kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:43 left on the clock.
Calgary had one more chance to extend the game, but former Stampeder Jameer Thurman picked off an errant pass by Maier to secure the victory for Saskatchewan.
UP NEXT
Roughriders: Host the Ottawa Redblacks (8-4-1) on Sept. 28.
Stampeders: Visit the B.C. Lions (7-7) on Oct. 4.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.
