The 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft was held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. With the first overall pick, the Chicago Blackhawks selected forward Patrick Kane.
At DUBNetwork, we’ll supply one of these features from now until Christmas Day, culminating with the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Here’s a look at the Western Hockey League players chosen in the first round, along with a few statistics.
| 2007 NHL Entry Draft – Round 1 | ||||||
| NHL | ||||||
| OVERALL | PLAYER | WHL | NHL | GAMES | Goals | Assists |
| 4 | Thomas Hickey | Seattle | Los Angeles | 449 | 22 | 93 |
| 5 | Karl Alzner | Calgary | Washington | 682 | 20 | 110 |
| 8 | Zach Hammill | Everett | Boston | 20 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Keaton Ellerby | Kamloops | Florida | 212 | 4 | 23 |
| 11 | Brandon Sutter* | Red Deer | Carolina | 704 | 140 | 128 |
| 15 | Alex Plante | Calgary | Edmonton | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | Colton Gillies | Saskatoon | Minnestota | 154 | 6 | 12 |
| 23 | Jonathan Blum | Vancouver | Nashville | 110 | 7 | 17 |
| 30 | Nick Ross | Regina | Phoenix | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NOTABLES | ||||||
| 52 | Oscar Moller | Chilliwack | Los Angeles | 87 | 12 | 14 |
| 129 | Jamie Benn* | Victoria (BCHL) | Dallas | 288 | 377 | 780 |
Active*
A total of six defenceman from the WHL were selected in the first round, but Thomas Hickey was considered a surprise pick at #4 when the Kings called his name.
While a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds, it became apparent Hickey’s strong suit was his skating ability, but he was an under-sized defenceman and was unable to make an immediate impact in the NHL. His most productive years came as a member of the New York Islanders.
Among the rearguards, Karl Alzner had the most productive career. His best hockey came as a member of the Washington Capitals. After nine seasons with the Caps, he fell a year short of hoisting the Stanley Cup with Washington as he had signed for $23.125 million over five years with the Montreal Canadiens.
Keaton Ellerby, Alex Plante, Jon Blum and Nick Ross had limited impact in the NHL. Ellerby, the Strathmore, Alberta, native is the most recent member of the Kamloops Blazers to be selected in the first round.
Among the forwards chosen, Brandon Sutter, the son of Red Deer Rebels owner Brent Sutter, has proved longevity continues to run in his hockey family. While the youngster has battled the injury bug during his career, he seems to have found a home with the Vancouver Canucks.
Gillies was in-and-out with the Minnesota Wild, while Zach Hammill had a very brief stay in the NHL.
Of note at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Oscar Moller became the first member of the Chilliwack Bruins selected by an NHL team. He was named to the WHL’s 2008 Western Conference all-star team.
Jamie Benn has to be considered a tremendous value as a fifth-round pick, chosen while a member of the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL.
When the Kelowna Rockets were able to convince the burly forward to give the WHL a try, Benn became an integral part of the 2009 WHL Championship team that ultimately lost in the Memorial Cup final to the Windsor Spitfires.
| 2007 NHL ENTRY DRAFT: Rounds 2-7 | |||||||
| NHL | |||||||
| ROUND | OVERALL | PLAYER | WHL | NHL | GAMES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
| 2 | 33 | Taylor Ellington | Everett | Vancouver | |||
| 40 | Michal Repik | Vancouver | Florida | 72 | 9 | 11 | |
| 47 | Dana Tyrell | Prince George | Tampa Bay | 135 | 7 | 17 | |
| 52 | Oscar Moller | Chilliwack | LA | 87 | 12 | 14 | |
| 3 | 66 | Garrett Klotz | Saskatoon | Philadelphia | |||
| 67 | Spencer Macacek | Vancouver | Atlanta | 25 | 2 | 7 | |
| 70 | John Negrin | Kootenay | Calgary | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 72 | Drayson Bowman | Spokane | Carolina | 180 | 15 | 18 | |
| 85 | Brett Sonne | Calgary | St. Louis | ||||
| 91 | Tyson Sexsmith | Vancouver | San Jose | ||||
| 4 | 102 | Justin McCrae | Saskatoon | Carolina | |||
| 107 | Mitch Fadden | Lethbridge | Tampa Bay | ||||
| 109 | Dwight King | Lethbridge | LA | 365 | 53 | 56 | |
| 112 | Colton Sceviour* | Portland | Dallas | 418 | 55 | 78 | |
| 116 | Keith Aulie | Brandon | Calgary | 167 | 4 | 10 | |
| 119 | Mark Santorelli | Chilliwack | Nashville | ||||
| 5 | 124 | Linden Rowat | Regina | LA | |||
| 125 | Brett Leffler | Regina | Washington | ||||
| 136 | Ondrej Roman | Spokane | Dallas | ||||
| 140 | Cody Almond | Kelowna | Minnesota | 25 | 2 | 0 | |
| 7 | 183 | Torrie Jung | Kelowna | Tampa Bay | |||
| 189 | Jordan Knackstedt | Moose Jaw | Boston | ||||
| 200 | Carson McMillan | Calgary | Minnesota | 16 | 2 | 3 | |
| 203 | Frazer McLaren | Portland | San Jose | 102 | 4 | 7 | |
| 205 | Paul Postma | Swift Current | Nashville | 204 | 9 | 25 | |
| 206 | Dan Gendur | Everett | Vancouver | ||||
| 207 | Ryan Molle | Swift Current | New Jersey | ||||
Active*
2006 NHL Entry Draft: DUB-Style
(Paul Figler of DUBNetwork contributed to this article)
