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Thread: Swede selection for Rockets

  1. #1

    Post Swede selection for Rockets

    By Doyle Potenteau

    Kelowna gave up a seventh-round pick in the WHL's 2014 bantam draft and landed the Prince Albert Raiders' second-round selection in the import draft, 62nd overall.

    If Bruce Hamilton gets his way, there'll be three Europeans fighting for two spots on his roster this fall.

    At the CHL's import draft on Wednesday, the Rockets added forward Henrik Nyberg of Sweden to their roster. The six-foot and 183-pound left-winger from Stockholm played last season with Djurgardens, recording 11 points in 30 games as a 17-year-old. NHL Central Scouting graded Nyberg as a B-list player on its futures list of international players.

    Of course, it goes without saying that the Rockets would have loved to land an A-list player, but such is life when your first pick is two selections into the second round.

    However, Hamilton says that Nyberg - Kelowna's only pick on Wednesday, with the team trading its second draft spot, No. 86 overall, to Moose Jaw - could be a steal.

    The team's last two Swedish players - heralded Mikael Backlund and unknown Alex Edler - were pretty good picks.

    "I'm happy with the pick because it's instant help," said Hamilton, Kelowna's president and general manager. "He's going to be here and we're looking forward to seeing what he can do."

    In regards to Kelowna's two other Euros, Filip Vasko and Zemgus Girgensons, the first is a lock to return this September, while it's unknown if the other will ever play for the Rockets.

    A 5-foot-10 right-winger from Slovakia, Vasko had just 12 points, all assists, in 51 games for Kelowna in his rookie season.

    Girgensons, meanwhile, played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL last season, registering 24 goals and 55 points in 49 games. The 6-foot-2 forward from Latvia made a commitment to play U.S. college hockey with Vermont, but, after getting selected 14th overall last Friday by the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL's 2012 entry draft, there's no denying the possibility he could wind up playing one season in Kelowna. The Rockets own his WHL rights.

    "We're excited about Girgensons and we're hoping Buffalo will work with us to get him here," said Hamilton.

    "He's a dynamic, impact player; where he was picked in the (NHL) draft says enough about his skill. If things can fall into place with Girgensons, he's a top 1-2-3 player (in depth-chart terms).

    "With Filip, we'll see what happens. At one time, I was debating on whether we'd bring him back or not, but then I started thinking about how I was kicking myself for a long time over Milan Kytnar.

    "We traded him too early because he turned into a real good player. So I thought patience with Filip was going to be important. We owe him another opportunity."

    By keeping Vasko, the Rockets are in a win-win scenario.

    If Girgensons does report, Vasko and Nyberg will battle for the second import spot. If not, Kelowna's two import spots are still filled.

    Hamilton added that Nyberg will likely be a 5-6-7 player, which should translate into a second-line role.

    Originally, Kelowna had a first-round pick for this year's draft - and a decent one at 26th overall - but traded that spot last year to the Portland Winterhawks. In return, the Rockets got Portland's first-round pick in the CHL's 2011 import draft, which they used on Vasko at 58th overall.

    http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/lo...ets-62812.html

  2. #2

    Post Zemgus Girgensons signs deal with Sabres

    Couple of things of note in the CHL today as far as player movement goes. The major story is that Zemgus Girgensons, Buffalo's No. 14 pick in last month's NHL Entry Draft from the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints, has signed an entry-level contract with the Sabres.

    The likely scenario is that Girgensons, who is now ineligible to play with the University of Vermont Catamounts, will go play with Buffalo's AHL affiliate in Rochester. But Kelowna, who own his CHL rights after drafting him 45th overall in the 2011 CHL import draft, may be able to pitch for Girgensons to join them this upcoming season.

    Girgensons is a highly-touted two-way player from Latvia and, never having played in major junior before, is eligible to play in the AHL. So this all comes down to the Rochester Americans coaching staff. He'll go to both camps. If Rochester don't feel he's ready, the only other place he'd be able to go would be Kelowna if they hold onto his rights.

    http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/jrh...174756966.html

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