BUFFALO, N.Y. — Fifty-five Americans were selected in this weekend’s 2016 NHL Entry Draft at First Niagara Center, including a record 12 Americans in the first round.
Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the first overall pick, making him the seventh American all-time selected first overall.
The Calgary Flames chose Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) with the sixth overall pick, followed by the Arizona Coyotes taking Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill./U.S. National Under-18 Team) with the following selection. Logan Brown (Raleigh, N.C.) was the next American chosen when the Ottawa Senators took him with the 11th pick. Three consecutive Americans were taken off the board when Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y./Boston University) went to the Boston Bruins at 15th overall, the Minnesota Wild took Luke Kunin (Chesterfield, Mo./University of Wisconsin) with the 16th pick, and Jakob Chychrun (Boca Raton, Fla.) was taken by the Arizona Coyotes with the 17th pick, marking the first time six Americans were selected among the top 15 draft picks.
The New York Islanders made Kieffer Bellows (Edina, Minn./U.S. National Under-18 Team) the 19th overall pick. Three more Americans were taken consecutively, starting with Max Jones (Rochester, Mich.) being selected 24th by the Anaheim Ducks, Riley Tufte (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine High School) to the Dallas Stars and Tage Thompson (Oyster Bay, N.Y./University of Connecticut) to the St. Louis Blues. Trent Frederic (St. Louis, Mo./U.S. National Under-18 Team) was the record-setting 12th American taken in the first round when the Boston Bruins selected him with the 29th overall pick.
Six more Americans were taken in the second round, 10 in the third, six in the fourth, eight in both the fifth and sixth rounds, and seven in the seventh and final round to account for the 55 total drafted Americans.
For a complete list of Americans who were selected in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, click here.
NOTES: Auston Matthews was the seventh American selected first overall. Others include Patrick Kane (2007), Erik Johnson (2006), Rick DiPiertro (2000), Bryan Berard (1995), Mike Modano (1988) and Brian Lawton (1983) … The 28 American players taken in the first three rounds ties the 2010 NHL Entry Draft for second-most all-time. The record (29) was set at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft … USA Hockey’s junior ranks had another strong showing at this year’s NHL Entry Draft. Overall, 41 Americans with ties to the United States Hockey League were selected, including 27 players who skated in the USHL during 2015-16 … Twenty-five players who skated at least one game with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program were chosen, including a record nine full-time alumni (Bellows, Frederic, Jones, Keller, Kunin, Matthews, McAvoy, Thompson, Tkachuk) in the first round … Three Americans who skated in the North American Hockey League were chosen this weekend. Overall, four American players with ties to the NAHL were selected in the draft … Eleven players who previously spent time in a USA Hockey Tier III league were also drafted … A total 35 players are currently playing or are committed to play NCAA hockey … Six players who skated for high school or prep schools in 2015-16 were selected … Twenty-two players have represented the U.S. at an International Ice Hockey Federation event, including one at the 2016 IIHF Men’s World Championship, five at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship (bronze), one at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, 14 at the 2016 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship (bronze), nine at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship (gold) and two at the 2014 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship (gold) … Twenty-two of the drafted players are invited to the 2016 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp in July-August, while four were at the camp last year … Twenty-eight players previously competed at a CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game … Players drafted represented 19 states, including Arizona (2), Colorado (2), Connecticut (2), Florida (5), Illinois (2), Indiana (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (3), Michigan (8), Minnesota (11), Missouri (4), New Jersey (4), New York (5), North Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), Vermont (1) and Washington (1) … Twenty-eight of the 30 NHL teams selected at least one American player. The Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs led all teams with four …
