Top Two Picks, 10 First-Rounders Hail From U.S.

It was a historical night for American hockey Friday in Columbus, as for the first time, U.S. players were taken with the top two selections overall in the NHL Draft. Buffalo native Patrick Kane was the top pick, going to the Chicago Blackhawks, while Garden State product James vanRiemsyk heads down the Turnpike to Philadelphia.

U.S. players have been taken first overall five previous times in the draft’s history, but this marked the second straight year an American player was taken first overall, on the heels of Erik Johnson being taken No. 1 last year by St. Louis.

In this year's first round, 10 Americans were selected, tying a record number set just two years ago. The second round netted 10 more U.S. players, setting a new standard for picks from the States in the first two rounds, and 30 percent of selections were Americans, another new record.

The draft also saw a Californian get selected in the first round for the first time in history, as Nashville selected Long Beach native Jonathon Blum just weeks after one of the state's NHL teams brought the Stanley Cup to the Golden State.

Last season, 18 Americans were taken in the top two rounds, including a four of the top 10 selections, and with Johnson likely heading to the Blues after spending a year with the University of Minnesota, there is a good chance a U.S. player might take the league’s top rookie award this upcoming season for the first time since Alaska native Scott Gomez won the Calder in 2000.

While hockey certainly lags behind other sports in the United States in terms of participation and exposure, there has been a rapid growth in the grassroots levels of the game across the country in the past decade. While the NHL's expansion efforts may not have paid dividends in terms of franchise success, it has at least raised the profile of the game in certain markets and sparked some interest in the game in non-traditional markets.

Blum, for instance, got his start playing on asphalt instead of a frozen pond, as he began on Rollerblades instead of ice skates to begin his career. In the shadow of the Ducks’ 1993 expansion franchise, Blum then took the ice in Orange County as more rinks were built and new players took up the game in Southern California.

Traditional hockey powerhouse states such as Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota are also seeing emergences of new hotbeds of talent further south as other programs catch up to the high standard set in those states. Three of the top 10 U.S. picks this year hailed from the New York metropolitan area, while the top pick was from another rapidly emerging talent area in Western New York.

The efforts also are reflected in the emergence of American hockey in the younger levels of the world stage, as the U.S. finished third at the Under-20 World Championship in Sweden in January, and narrowly lost to Russia in the Under-18 title game this April in Finland. Once an afterthought internationally, the U.S. is now a consistent gold medal threat at the lower age groups.

While the top level of the sport is taking a beating in the United States, this year’s NHL Draft certainly shows the game is still solid at its grassroots level, as the nation is now producing top-notch hockey talent on the levels of the other great hockey powers.