Published Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 10:47 a.m.
Updated Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 1:38 p.m.
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The Golden Knights came away with a haul of players today in the second day of the NHL Entry Draft.
After taking three players in the first round on Friday, Vegas entered the day with 10 picks in the second through seventh rounds.
They used the first pick today — No. 34 overall in the second round — on Nicolas Hague, a bruising 18-year-old defenseman from the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League. At 6-foot-5, 207-pounds he is the biggest of Vegas’ draft picks.
Hague, a two-way defenseman, registered 18 goals and 28 assists for the Steelheads this season and played for the under-18 Canadian national team.
“We were happy to get Hague because we thought he was a first round pick,” Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee said. “Every once in awhile somebody slides for unknown reasons.”
While he was disappointed with falling into the second round, Hague said he landed in a good spot with the Golden Knights.
"Yeah, obviously that’s where I wanted to go for myself and you know, that didn't happen, but I’m fortunate now," he said of sliding out of the first round. "I think I ended up in a real good spot. It’s a team with lots of opportunity, and I’m going to make the most of it. I’ll take those emotions that I had last night and just use them as motivation."
The Golden Knights took American Jake Leschyshyn with the 62nd overall pick. The center dropped down the prospect rankings after tearing his ACL in February. Prior to the injury he had 17 goals and 23 assists in only 47 games in the Western Hockey League.
The Golden Knights traded their third pick of the second round to the Columbus Blue Jackets for 2015 draft choice Keegan Kolesar. The 20-year-old winger was a third round pick two years ago for Columbus, and has racked up 121 points over the last two seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL.
"It’s exciting. You’re part of making history here in the National Hockey League," Kolesar said. "Cody (Glass) is their first-ever pick, Reid Duke first-ever signed player to Vegas. It’s exciting to see all of this happening and it’s even more exciting to be a part of it. I think the whole hockey world is watching what Vegas is doing and everyone is taking note of the moves their making and I’m happy to be a part of it.
Vegas selected Swedish winger Jonas Rondbjerg in the third round and Russian goaltender Maksim Zhukov in the fourth.
Zhukov had four shutouts in 31 games with the Green Bay Gamblers in 2016-17 and finished with a .913 save percentage.
In the fifth round the Golden Knights picked up Swedish forward Lucas Elvenes and American winger Jack Dugan, and in the sixth they added center Nick Campoli and another goaltender in Jiri Patera.
The final Vegas selection was Canadian center Ben Jones out of the Niagara IceDogs in Ontario.
All of the Golden Knights’ draft picks will be in Las Vegas for their inaugural rookie development camp, which kicks off Tuesday at the Las Vegas Ice Center.
That's when the young players start building toward future successes with the NHL's newest franchise.
"It's a real young future, a real great future here that we’re building in Vegas and it’s something that I’m excited to be a part of," Hague said.
Coaches from the Golden Knights, Chicago Wolves and Quad City Mallards Tuesday will be in town for the five-day camp concluding next Saturday.
“We took a lot of skill in the first round with highly intelligent skilled players,” McPhee said. “We weren’t intentionally trying to balance it out but it happened that way getting the big guy in Hague… and adding some size and some muscle.”
Golden Knights 2017 Draft Picks
1st round (6) Cody Glass
Position: Center
Age: 18
Height, Weight: 6-foot-1, 178 pounds
Team: Portland Winterhawks (Western Hockey League)
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
1st round (13) Nick Suzuki
Position: Center
Age: 17
Height, Weight: 5-foot-11, 183 pounds
Team: Owen Sound Attack (Ontario Hockey League)
Hometown: London, Ontario
1st round (15) Erik Brannstrom
Position: Defense
Age: 17
Height, Weight: 5-foot-9, 179 pounds
Team: HV71 (Swedish Hockey League)
Hometown: Eksjo, Sweden
2nd round (34) Nicolas Hague
Position: Defense
Age: 18
Height, Weight: 6-foot-5, 207 pounds
Team: Mississauga Steelheads (Ontario Hockey League)
Hometown: Kitchener, Ontario
2nd round (62) Jake Leschyshyn
Position: Center
Age: 18
Height, Weight: 5-foot-10, 189 pounds
Team: Regina Pats (Western Hockey League)
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
3rd round (65) Jonas Rondbjerg
Position: Right Wing
Age: 18
Height, Weight: 6-foot-1, 194 pounds
Team: Vaxjo Jr. Lakers (Swedish Hockey League)
Hometown: Horsholm, Denmark
4th round (96) Maksim Zhukov
Position: Goaltender
Age: 17
Height, Weight: 6-foot-2, 194 pounds
Team: Green Bay Gamblers (United States Hockey League)
Hometown: Kaliningrad, Russia
5th round (127) Lucas Elvenes
Position: Forward
Age: 17
Height, Weight: 6-foot, 172 pounds
Team: Rogle Jr. (Sweden Junior Hockey League)
Hometown: Angelholm, Sweden
5th round (142) Jonathan Dugan
Position: Left Wing
Age: 19
Height, Weight: 6-foot-2, 185 pounds
Team: Northwood High School (United States High School)
Hometown: Pittsford, New York
6th round (158) Nick Campoli
Position: Center
Age: 18
Height, Weight: 5-foot-11, 190 pounds
Team: North York Rangers (Ontario Junior Hockey League)
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
6th round (161) Jiri Patera
Position: Goaltender
Age: 18
Height, Weight: 6-foot-1, 209 pounds
Team: HC Ceske Budejovice (Czech Hockey League)
Hometown: Praha, Czech Republic
7th round (189) Ben Jones
Position: Center
Age: 18
Height, Weight: 6-foot, 187 pounds
Team: Niagara IceDogs (Ontario Hockey League)
Hometown: Waterloo, Ontario
Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.
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