Jan 11, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf (15) talks to teammates during a break in play against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Anaheim Ducks
The NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft was held on Friday. The two captains, Nick Foligno and Jonathan Toews, had two assistant captains apiece to help them draft their respective All-Star teams. For Team Foligno, the assistant captains are Patrick Kane and Drew Doughty. For Team Toews, the two assistant captains are Ryan Getzlaf and Rick Nash.
The rules for the draft were as follows. A puck was flipped to determine which team would pick first. All teams must have six defensemen and three goalies. The goalies must be drafted by Round 10, while the defensemen must be drafted by Round 15. After Round 11, the rookies would be split into groups, and the loser of the puck-flip gets their pick of the rookie pair. The last pick (guaranteed to be a forward) is guaranteed a car for being “Mr. Irrelevant”. One trade is permitted for each team.
Foligno won the puck-toss, so they got the first pick. So with that, the draft went.
With the conclusion of Round 11, the four rookies were split into two groups and then picked for the Skills Challenge. Since Team Toews lost the puck-flip, they got the first pick. The rookie groups were Jonathan Drouin with Jiri Sekac and Mike Hoffman with Johnny Gaudreau. Toews took Hoffman and Gaudreau, while Foligno got Drouin and Sekac.
In arguably the best moment of the night (in a night filled with plenty), the first All-Star Trade went down, and it was a hit among fans. “It’s worked out for both teams in the past,” so in a revisit of a historic trade, Phil Kessel was traded for Tyler Seguin (Kessel was traded from the Bruins to the Maple Leafs for a 2010 1st round pick, 2010 2nd round pick, and 2011 1st round pick on September 18, 2009).
Now, back to the remaining 15 picks.
So that’s how the draft went. To recap, here’s how the teams are.
Next: Team Foligno