With the first pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks selected American Patrick Kane of the London Knights.

The Blackhawks had fielded some trade nibbles, but elected to hold their pick and go with Kane, a dynamic right winger who was ranked number one in TSN's draft rankings.

Kane scored 62 goals and 83 assists for 145 points in 58 games with the Knights last season. He also dominated at the World Junior Championship.

Picking second, the Philadelphia Flyers took James van Riemsdyk of the U.S. development program. It was the first time in draft history that Americans were taken first and second overall.

Wayne Gretzky announced the Phoenix Coyotes pick at number three to a long ovation. He called on Kyle Turris of Burnaby in the BCHL. Turris scored 66 goals in 53 games.

"You take the best player available," Gretzky said.

The Los Angeles Kings made the first surprising pick, taking Seattle defenceman Thomas Hickey fourth overall. Hickey was rated 13th by TSN. Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said the Kings tried to move down, but didn't want to miss on the player they wanted, so they just made the selection.

Karl Alzner of the Calgary Hitmen, who was the top-rated defenceman in TSN's rankings, went fifth to the Washington Capitals.

The Edmonton Oilers used the first of their three first round picks on Sam Gagner of the London Knights. Gagner is the son of former NHL Dave Gagner. Playing with Kane last season, Gagner scored 118 points.

"This is a new beginning for us," said Oilers GM Kevin Lowe.

The Oilers later followed up by selecting defenceman Alex Plante from the Calgary Hitmen with the 15 overall pick.

Gagner admitted he was hoping to get picked by a Canadian team and said he was "ecstatic" to be going to Edmonton."

The host Columbus Blue Jackets picked seventh and took the first European in Halifax centre Jakob Vorcek.

With the eighth pick, the Buins had Cam Neely announce their selection of Zach Hamill, the WHL scoring leader last season.

The St. Louis BLues traded the ninth pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a package that included the Toronto Maple Leafs' pick at 13 they had acquired in the Vesa Toskala deal. The Sharks used the ninth selection on Logan Couture of the Ottawa 67s.

At ten, the Florida Panthers grabbed Kamloops defenceman Keaton Ellerby.

A familiar name went 11th, as the Carolina Huuricanes selected Brandon Sutter of Red Deer. He is the son of former NHL Brent Sutter, who was also his coach with the Rebels.

The Montreal Canadiens had the 12th pick and local star Angeleo Esposito was still available, but the Habs elected to take American high school defenceman Ryan McDonagh instead. McDonagh was Mr. Hockey in Minnesota last season.

The St. Louis Blues were in the 13 hole after the trade with San Jose. They made history by selecting a Danish player, Lars Eller, who played for Frolunda in the Swedish league last season.

At 14, the Colorado Avalanche took Kevin Shattenkirk, a mobile defenceman who was the captain of the U.S. Under-18 Team.

After the Oilers took Plante at 15, there was a trade. The Minnesota Wild traded up from number 19 to get the 16th pick from the Anaheim Ducks.

At 17, the Rangers selected Russian star Alexei Cherepanov. He was rated as a top four talent, but slipped in part due to the lack of a transfer agreement between the Russian hockey federation and the NHL, plus a perceived poor work ethic.

Cherepanov was, though, the top scorer at the world junior championship.