Day 1 of the 2012 NHL draft is in the books and there weren’t too many surprises (though the Ducks raised a few eyebrows by taking Hampus Lindholm with the sixth overall pick), but there was a particular theme—defensemen. A record eight of the top 10 picks selected happen to be blueliners, and though all of them are young, the eight selected (and for that matter, the 13 D-men taken in the first round overall) have plenty of potential.
Here is the complete rundown of Round 1 of the 2012 NHL draft:
1. Edmonton, Nail Yakupov, RW, Sarnia (OHL)
2. Columbus, Ryan Murray, D, Everett (WHL)
3. Montreal, Alex Galchenyuk, C, Sarnia (OHL)
4. N.Y. Islanders, Griffin Reinhart, D, Edmonton (WHL)
5. Toronto, Morgan Rielly, D, Moose Jaw (WHL)
6. Anaheim, Hampus Lindholm, D, Rogle Junior (Sweden)
7. Minnesota, Mathew Dumba, D, Red Deer (WHL)
8. Pittsburgh (from Carolina), Derrick Pouliot, D, Portland (WHL)
9. Winnipeg, Jacob Trouba, D, USA U-18 (US West)
10. Tampa Bay, Slater Koekkoek, D, Peterborough (OHL)
11. Washington (from Colorado), Filip Forsberg, C, Leksand (Sweden)
12. Buffalo, Mikhail Grigorenko, C, Quebec (QMJHL)
13. Dallas, Radek Faksa, C, Kitchener (OHL)
14. Buffalo (from Calgary), Zemgus Girgensons, C, Dubuque (US West)
15. Ottawa, Cody Ceci, D, Ottawa (OHL)
16. Washington, Thomas Wilson, RW, Plymouth (OHL)
17. San Jose, Tomas Hertl, C, Slavia (Czech Republic)
18. Chicago, Teuvo Teravainen, LW, Jokerit (Finland)
19. Tampa Bay (from Detroit), Andrey Vasilevskiy, G, UFA 2 (Russia)
20. Philadelphia, Scott Laughton, C, Oshawa (OHL)
21. Calgary (from Buffalo through Nashville), Mark Jankowski, C, Stanstead College (US East)
22. Pittsburgh, Olli Maatta, D, London (OHL)
23. Florida, Michael Matheson, D, Dubuque (US West)
24. Boston, Malcolm Subban, G, Belleville (OHL)
25. St. Louis, Jordan Schmaltz, D, Green Bay (USHL)
26. Vancouver, Brendan Gaunce, G, Belleville (OHL)
27. Phoenix, Henrik Samuelsson, C, Edmonton (WHL)
28. N.Y. Rangers, Brady Skjei, D, USA U-18 (USHL)
29. New Jersey, Stefan Matteau, C, USA U-18 (USHL)
30. Los Angeles, Tanner Pearson, LW, Barrie (OHL)
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