On a day when Carlos Zambrano had a classic meltdown and Edwin Jackson threw a no-hitter, it was easy to overlook that the first round of the NHL Draft took place. The draft was significant for U.S. hockey because a record 11 Americans were selected in the first round. The Tyler/Taylor debate was settled when the Oilers chose Taylor Hall first and the Bruins went with Tyler Seguin second. Despite the record 11 Americans being selected in the first round, both Hall and Seguin are Canadian. Same thing goes for Red Wings first round pick, Riley Sheahan, who played collegiately for Notre Dame. As LBS contributor SpinMax emails in, Sheahan is quite skilled as a puck handler. Check out this sweet video of Riley Sheahan handling a puck at his finest:
If that video hasn’t already gained some attention around Detroit I’m sure it will before very long. While Sheahan’s numbers at Notre Dame don’t jump off the page (17 points in 37 games), the style they played was defensive and Sheahan was extremely young most of the year. As you can see why, there’s going to be a lot of excitement over this pick in Hockeytown, USA.
