Oilers Select Nugent-Hopkins at No. 1
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the first pick in this year’s NHL draft, by the Edmonton Oilers.
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The Oilers selected the slick-passing center from the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League on Friday night. The 18-year-old forward led the WHL last season with 75 assists.
Nugent-Hopkins is the first WHL player to be drafted first since 1996.
Left wing Gabriel Landeskog of Sweden went second to the Colorado Avalanche. He had 36 goals in 53 games last season for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.
This is the second straight year the Oilers have picked first. They took left wing Taylor Hall from the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL in 2010, and Nugent-Hopkins could eventually find himself on a line with Hall.