Jason La Rose
From the first pick to (almost) the last, World Under-17 Hockey Challenge alumni heard their names called early and often last weekend at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver.
No. 1 pick Jack Hughes, who led the 2017 tournament in scoring with 15 points to help the United States to gold in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C., started a parade to the stage on Friday night; in all, 26 alumni were first-round selections, the most ever (the old record of 23 was set last year).
When all was said and done and all 217 picks had been made, 88 players with U17 ties were chosen, from Hughes to Massimo Rizzo, who went 216th to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The list included 23 players who competed in the gold medal game in northern British Columbia – 17 from the U.S. (Beecher, Boldy, Caufield, Caulfield, Fensore, Helleson, Hughes, Knight, Lindmark, McCarthy, Moynihan, Thrun, Turcotte, Vlasic, Warren, York, Zegras) and six from Canada Red (Byram, Cozens, Krebs, Suzuki, Tracey, Washkurak).
(That number could grow a year from now; three Canadians with late birthdays – Justin Barron, Dylan Holloway and Alexis Lafrenière – are being talked about as potential early picks in 2020.)
Also included among the draftees are four of the six 2017 tournament all-stars (Byram, Caufield, Hughes, Robertson) and one from 2016 (Fagemo).
By country, Canada led the way with 32 picks, followed by the United States (18), Finland (12), Sweden (11), Russia (10) and the Czech Republic (5).
CLICK HERE for a complete list of World Under-17 Hockey Challenge alumni selected at the 2019 NHL Draft.
The 88 alumni selected this year mean that since the tournament debuted as the Quebec Cup in 1986, more than 1,800 players with U17 experience have been chosen at the NHL Draft, including 436 first-rounders.
U17 ALUMNI SELECTED FIRST OVERALL AT THE NHL ENTRY DRAFT
2019 – Jack Hughes | New Jersey Devils | 2017 – United States 2016 – Auston Matthews | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2014 (Nov.) – United States 2015 – Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers | 2013 – Ontario 2014 – Aaron Ekblad | Florida Panthers | 2012 & 2013 – Ontario 2013 – Nathan MacKinnon | Colorado Avalanche | 2011 & 2012 – Atlantic 2011 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Edmonton Oilers | 2010 – Pacific 2010 – Taylor Hall | Edmonton Oilers | 2008 – Ontario 2009 – John Tavares | New York Islanders | 2006 – Ontario 2007 – Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks | 2005 – United States 2006 – Erik Johnson | St. Louis Blues | 2005 – United States 2004 – Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | 2002 – Russia 2003 – Marc-André Fleury | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2001 – Quebec 2002 – Rick Nash | Columbus Blue Jackets | 2001 – Ontario 2001 – Ilya Kovalchuk | Atlanta Thrashers | 2000 – Russia 1998 – Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1997 – Quebec 1997 – Joe Thornton | Boston Bruins | 1995 – Ontario 1995 – Bryan Berard | Ottawa Senators | 1994 – United States 1993 – Alexandre Daigle | Ottawa Senators | 1992 – Quebec 1989 – Mats Sundin | Quebec Nordiques | 1988 – Sweden 1987 – Pierre Turgeon | Buffalo Sabres | 1986 – Quebec
CLICK HERE for an all-time list of World Under-17 Hockey Challenge alumni selected at the NHL Draft.