The 2012 NHL Draft Will Be in Pittsburgh
October 27, 2011 1 Comment
NEW YORK (October 27, 2011) – The Pittsburgh Penguins® have used
Draft Day expertise to build two generations of championship teams, one of
the NHL’s most passionate fan bases and one of North America’s most robust
youth hockey communities. In June, all those elements will be on display
when the Penguins and the City of Pittsburgh host the 2012 NHL Draft™ at
the CONSOL Energy Center.
The 2012 NHL Draft will be held over two days. Round One, on Friday,
June 22, will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET, and Rounds 2-7 will be conducted on
Saturday, June 23, starting at 10:00 a.m. ET.
“The NHL is extremely pleased to be able to host this outstanding
event in an outstanding city and venue — CONSOL Energy Center,” said NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman. “The Penguins and the City of Pittsburgh have
hosted many terrific NHL events, including last year’s Bridgestone NHL
Winter Classic®, and I have no doubt this will be another exciting
endeavor. Young players seem better-prepared than ever to take prominent
roles on their new teams, and the Draft offers the opportunity for our fans
everywhere to watch our prospects take the next dramatic step toward their
NHL careers.”
The 2012 NHL Draft will be the first held in Pittsburgh since 1997
and the first League event at CONSOL Energy Center — the state-of-the-art
building that opened in 2010 and is one of the most luxurious arenas in the
NHL. The 1997 NHL Draft saw forward Joe Thornton selected first overall,
followed by his current San Jose teammate Patrick Marleau second overall.
Olli Jokinen, Roberto Luongo and Eric Brewer rounded out the top five
selections in 1997.
“On behalf of the City of Pittsburgh and the hockey fans of Western
Pennsylvania, we’re excited to be hosting the 2012 NHL Draft at CONSOL
Energy Center,” said David Morehouse, CEO of the Penguins. “Pittsburgh
again will become the center of the hockey universe for one of the most
important weekends on the NHL calendar, as our teams select the next
generation of NHL stars. Much as we did with the 2011 Bridgestone NHL
Winter Classic®, we look forward to turning the week leading up to the
draft into a celebration of hockey – especially youth hockey here in
Pittsburgh.”
The Pittsburgh Penguins, Stanley Cup® Champions in 2009 and perennial
Eastern Conference contenders, have a strong nucleus of players selected
high in previous NHL Drafts. They have six first-round draft picks on their
current roster – including captain Sidney Crosby (first overall, 2005),
Marc-Andre Fleury (first overall, 2003), Evgeni Malkin (second overall,
2004), Matt Niskanen (28th overall, 2005), Brooks Orpik (18th overall,
2000) and Jordan Staal (second overall, 2006).
The impact of the Penguins’ success — both in winning consecutive
Stanley Cup Championships in 1991 and 1992 and the club’s on-ice
resurgence, which started in 2006 — has spurred enormous growth of the
game at the grass roots level in Pittsburgh. Since Mario Lemieux was
drafted by the Penguins in 1984, the number of indoor ice arenas has
quadrupled, while minor hockey participation among 5- to 8-year-olds has
increased by 61 percent since 2006.
At the 2011 Draft, four players from the Pittsburgh area were
selected in the first 64 selections. Forward J.T. Miller became the
highest-drafted Pittsburgh amateur hockey player in NHL Draft history when
the New York Rangers made him the 15th overall selection of the 2011 Draft.
He was followed by goaltender John Gibson (Pittsburgh, PA, 39th by
Anaheim), forward Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, PA, 43rd by Chicago) and forward
Vincent Trocheck (Pittsburgh, PA, 64th by Florida). Prior to moving on to
junior hockey, Miller, Gibson and Saad all competed for the Pittsburgh
Hornets organization.
The NHL Draft offers the opportunity for hockey fans to get a glimpse
of the next wave of NHL stars. Recent overall No. 1 picks currently
starring in the League include Alex Ovechkin (Washington, 2004), Sidney
Crosby (Pittsburgh, 2005), Erik Johnson (St. Louis, 2006), Patrick Kane
(Chicago, 2007), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay, 2008), John Tavares (NY
Islanders, 2009), Taylor Hall (Edmonton, 2010) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
(Edmonton, 2011).
For more historical information and past draft selections, visit
www.nhl.com/draft. Ticket distribution plans and other details pertaining
to the 2012 NHL Draft will be announced at a later date.
About stevelepore
Quick question for Steve (unrelated to the draft):
Directv is about to pull Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Midwest, and other FSN regional sports networks as part of a dispute over fees.
If I’m a Directv customer in Detroit and my FSN-Detroit disappears, will I then become eligible to get the Red Wings games on my NHL Center Ice package? Or will blackout restrictions prevent me from getting the game on an out-of-market network because there is an in-market network showing the game, albeit not one offered by my provider?
Thanks in advance.