It's the 2009 NHL Entry Draft!

10:14 pm - Looks like the Panthers are done for tonight. I must say I'm pretty happy to have Kulikov fall into the Panthers' lap. A top 10 talent and hopefully will turn into a top 4 blue liner for the Cats in the not-too-distant future. Bouwmeester is a Panther for at least one more night, hopefully Sexton can work some kind of magic to get something in return for J. Bo, but that might be hoping for too much. Until tomorrow...

_________________________________________________


9:08 pm - ...and the Panthers pick Dmitri Kulikov! (after some impressive French by Randy Sexton) Kulikov was a top 10 talent that fell into the Panthers' lap. Quick enough to launch an offensive attack, he's a solid pick up for the Cats, who added some much needed depth to the blue line. A question TSN brought up about his contract status with the Russian KHL, but hopefully that is much ado about nothing and Kulikov is contributing to the Panthers sooner rather than later.

_________________________________________________


9:05 pm - Panthers are on the clock. John Moore is available and the logical pick...

_________________________________________________


9:01 pm - TSN's Darren Dregger blogs that the Canadiens and Panthers were conversing, although it doesn't look like Florida is trading their pick. Montreal holds the 18th pick in the 1st round, just fy. And no news on Bouwmeester... yet...

_________________________________________________


8:56 pm - Garth Snow pulls the first surprise of the draft, trading picks 16, 77, and 182 to Minnesota for the 12th pick, which is used to take Calvin de Haan, who was a bit further down the ranking sheet of most of those who are in the know. Was Snow really worried someone was going to pick up de Haan before the 16th pick? Oh well... Panthers are on deck, waiting for the Sabres now...

__________________________________________________

8:35 pm - The Oilers finish up the top 10 by picking Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson. Few surprises in the first hour or so of the draft. 2 of my preview's 6 guys to watch for the Panthers have been drafted. John Moore would be my prediction right now, with 3 more picks to come before the Panthers hit the podium.

1. John Tavares (NYI)
2. Victor Hedman (TBL)
3. Matt Duchene (COL)
4. Evander Kane (ATL)
5. Brayden Schenn (LAK)
6. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (PHX)
7. Nazem Kadri (TOR)
8. Scott Glennie (DAL)
9. Jared Cowen (OTT)
10. Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson (EDM)

_______________________________________________________


8:08 pm - no love for Brian Burke or the Leafs in Montreal... big surprise... take Kadri, the first of my 6 to watch! 5 left on my list, hopefully Florida is able to snag one of them sometime tonight. Still no word on J Bo.

_____________________________________________________________

7:46 pm - Pretty quiet through the first 5 picks. Pronger got traded to the Flyers, so take Philly off the Bouwmeester list. George Richards latest update is intriguing though... "Just heard a rumor that Jay has been dealt...haven't been able to confirm and have no other details...am working on it..."

Hmmmm.... stay tuned... Coyotes are up next with pick #6...