The primary spherical of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft is behind us and it was an eventful evening. As anticipated, the New York Rangers took Alexis Lafreniere with the primary total choose, however after that there have been some large surprises.

The largest shocker was the Columbus Blue Jackets taking Yegor Chinakhov with the 21st total choose. Later within the first spherical is when groups are inclined to get bolder with their alternatives, however some lists of 2020 prospects did not even embody Chinakhov of their top-100. That stated, Chinakhov has been taking part in within the KHL in 2020-21 and he is gotten off to a strong begin with 5 targets and 7 factors in 12 video games. You need to marvel how a lot that current play influenced the Blue Jackets.

The Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils additionally had large nights. Each of them had three alternatives, with Ottawa being the extra noteworthy of the 2, commanding the third, fifth, and 28th total alternatives. Ottawa shocked some folks with the fifth total choose, taking Jake Sanderson over fellow defenseman Jamie Drysdale. Lots of people had the order of these two blueliners flipped, however Drysdale as a substitute went to the Anaheim Geese with the sixth choose. Each have brilliant futures forward of them, however it will likely be fascinating to see which proves to be higher.

Sanderson and Drysdale ended up being two of simply 5 defensemen chosen within the first spherical. On prime of that just one goaltender – Yaroslav Askarov, who went 11th total to Nashville – was chosen. In the event you wanted assist up entrance, this was the draft for you.

This draft additionally did not characteristic many gamers from america. The one two drafted had been Sanderson and Brendan Brisson, who was chosen with the 29th total choose by Vegas. That is in stark distinction to 2019 when Jack Hughes went first total and 9 Individuals had been taken within the first spherical.

Canada was nicely represented with 19 of the primary 31 picks being from the nation. After that, the nation that produced essentially the most 2020 first rounders was Russia. Marco Rossi, who’s Austrian, was taken with the ninth total choose.

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On the commerce entrance, no gamers had been moved in the course of the draft itself. Calgary did find yourself buying and selling down twice, going from the 19th total to 24th and choosing up the 72nd and 80th alternatives alongside the best way.

If you would like a extra detailed breakdown of what occurred, I did a stay weblog of the draft. In the event you’re involved in simply shortly glancing over the primary spherical alternatives, right here they’re:

1. Alexis Lafreniere (LW) – New York Rangers

2. Quinton Byfield (C) – Los Angeles Kings

3. Tim Stutzle (LW) – Ottawa Senators

4. Lucas Raymond (LW) – Detroit Crimson Wings

5. Jake Sanderson (D) – Ottawa Senators

6. Jamie Drysdale (D) – Anaheim Geese

7. Alexander Holtz (RW) – New Jersey Devils

8. Jack Quinn (RW) – Buffalo Sabres

9. Marco Rossi (C) – Minnesota Wild

10. Cole Perfetti (C) – Winnipeg Jets

11. Yaroslav Askarov (G) – Nashville Predators

12. Anton Lundell (C) – Florida Panthers

13. Seth Jarvis (C) – Carolina Hurricanes

14. Dylan Holloway (C) – Edmonton Oilers

15. Rodion Amirov (C) – Toronto Maple Leafs

16. Kaiden Guhle (D) – Montreal Canadiens

17. Lukas Reichel (LW) – Chicago Blackhawks

18. Dawson Mercer (C) – New Jersey Devils

19. Braden Schneider (D) – New York Rangers

20. Shakir Mukhamadullin (D) – New Jersey Devils

21. Yegor Chinakhov (RW) – Columbus Blue Jackets

22. Hendrix Lapierre (C) – Washington Capitals

23. Tyson Foerster (RW) – Philadelphia Flyers

24. Connor Zary (C) – Calgary Flames

25. Justin Barron (D) – Colorado Avalanche

26. Jake Neighbours (LW) – St. Louis Blues

27. Jacob Perreault (RW) – Anaheim Geese

28. Ridly Greig (C) – Ottawa Senators

29. Brendan Brisson (C) – Vegas Golden Knights

30. Mavrik Bourque (C) – Dallas Stars

31. Ozzy Wiesblatt (RW) – San Jose Sharks