2008 NHL Entry Draft: DUB-Style

The 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft was held at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario. With the first overall pick, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected forward Steven Stamkos.

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.

2008 NHL Entry Draft – Round 1
				NHL
OVERALL	PLAYER	WHL	NHL	GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS
5	Luke Schenn*	Kelowna	Toronto	747	115	31
11	Kyle Beach	Everett	Chicago
12	Tyler Myers*	Kelowna	Buffalo	669	197	75
13	Colton Teubert	Regina	Los Angeles	24	1	0
14	Zach Boychuk	Lethbridge	Carolina	127	18	12
18	Chet Pickard	Tri City	Nashville
19	Luca Sbisa*	Lethbridge	Philadelphia	525	89	20
22	Jordan Eberle*	Regina	Edmonton	687	278	212
26	Tyler Ennis*	Medicine Hat	Buffalo	577	168	125
NOTABLE
53	Travis Hamonic	Moose Jaw	NY Islanders	616	147	36

Active*

Based solely on games played since 2008, this first-round draft class has proven to be a successful group, demonstrating persistence, production and durability.

Among defenceman, Luke Schenn of the Kelowna Rockets led the way, chosen by Toronto. History might confirm the Maple Leafs rushed the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native into the NHL as he battled inconsistency early in his professional career. Schenn is now in the twilight of his NHL career.

On the other hand, Kelowna teammate Tyler Myers flourished early in his pro career before the injury bug became a concern.

Myers signed a lucrative deal with the Vancouver Canucks prior to the 2019-20 campaign.

As a youngster, Myers won a WHL Championship (Kelowna Rockets) and a World Junior Championship with Team Canada in 2009.

Swiss import Luca Sbisa wound up his WHL career with the Portland Winterhawks and has enjoyed a few different addresses in the NHL, proving to be a proficient depth blueliner.

Among forwards, Jordan Eberle and Tyler Ennis have been productive. Eberle appears to have found a home on Long Island after some tumultuous years with the Edmonton Oilers on a star-studded young roster that achieved little team success.

Ennis has bounced around the NHL but continues to find ways to deliver offence.

Zach Boychuk had a brief NHL career while forward Kyle Beach and defenceman Colton Teubert had little impact as NHLers.

Netminder Chet Pickard, who toiled in the WHL for the Tri-City Americans, never did play in the NHL, but he did earn a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship while sharing the goaltending duties with fellow U.S. Division keeper Dustin Tokarski of the Spokane Chiefs. Eberle, Teubert, Ennis, Boychuk and Myers were also part of the winning team.

Of note at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, defenceman Travis Hamonic was selected by the New York Islanders in the second round and has flourished as an NHL rearguard.

Now a member of the Calgary Flames, Hamonic is well-known for his off-ice work with youngsters who have lost a parent early on in their lives.

There was tremendous WHL depth through the entire 2008 NHL Draft with the likes of Michael Stone, Zach Smith, Brayden Holtby, Dale Weise, Matt Calvert and Jared Spurgeon enjoying lengthy NHL careers.

2008 NHL ENTRY DRAFT: Rounds 2-7
					NHL
Round	Overall	Player	WHL	NHL	Games	Goals	Assists
2	26	Tyler Ennis*	Medicine Hat	Buffalo	578	125	168
	46	Colby Robak	Brandon	Florida	47	0	4
	48	Mitch Wahl	Spokane	Calgary
	53	Travis Hamonic*	Moose Jaw	New York I	617	36	147
3	57	Eric Mestery	Tri-City	Washington
	69	Michael Stone*	Calgary	Phoenix	457	30	90
	72	Jyri Niemi	Saskatoon	New York I
	78	Lance Bouma	Vancouver	Calgary	357	30	46
	79	Zack Smith*	Swift Current	Ottawa	640	95	103
	84	Jacob DeSerres	Seattle	Philadelphia
	85	Brandon McMillan	Kelowna	Anaheim	171	14	22
	87	Ian Schultz	Calgary	St. Louis
4	88	Geordie Wudrick	Swift Current	LA
	93	Braden Holtby*	Saskatoon	Washington	445
	99	Colin Long	Kelowna	Phoenix
	111	Dale Weise	Swift Current	New York R	490	54	66
	112	Matt Delahey	Regina	New Jersey
5	117	James Wright	Vancouver	Tampa Bay	146	4	8
	122	Dustin Tokarski	Spokane	Tampa Bay	34
	127	Matt Calvert*	Brandon	Columbus	525	89	103
	131	Prab Rai	Seattle	Vancouver
	132	Teigan Zahn	Saskatoon	Chicago
	137	Brent Regner	Saskatoon	Columbus	7	0	0
6	144	Joel Broda	Moose Jaw	Washington
	156	Jared Spurgeon*	Spokane	New York I	619	73	191
	168	Ryley Grantham	Moose Jaw	Calgary
7	176	Matt Tassone	Swift Current	Dallas
	191	Morgan Clark	Red Deer	Vancouver
	193	Jordan Bendfeld	Medicine Hat	Edmonton

Active*

2006 NHL Entry Draft: DUB-Style

2007 NHL Entry Draft: DUB-Style

(Paul Figler of DUBNetwork contributed to this article)