Who came first?

While the 2009 NHL entry draft may not have been as explosive as some would have liked, there were definitely some teams that made waves. Trade rumors always abound before the draft, but this year we heard the names of guys like Tomas Kaberle, Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester, Vincent Lecavalier, Dany Heatley, Phil Kessel, Alexander Frolov, Mike Cammalleri, Martin Havlat and Jean. -Sebastien Giguere. In the end, only Pronger and (the rights to) Bouwmeester moved.

Philadelphia acquired Chris Pronger and Ryan Dingle from Anaheim in exchange for Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, Anaheim’s first-round picks in 2009 and 2010, and a conditional third-round pick. This gives Philadelphia one of the strongest defensive corps in the league, with Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Matt Carle and Randy Jones. Also a team with a lot of offensive talent, the Flyers will be one of the clubs fighting for the top spot in the East.

For their part, the Ducks got a disciplined 20-goal right back at Lupul. It will be interesting to see who he plays with, though, as the Ducks now have four solid guys at the RW position in Lupul, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Teemu Selanne.

The Calgary Flames acquired the rights to Jay Bouwmeester from the Florida Panthers for Jordan Leopold and a third-round pick. While a contract has yet to be drafted, Calgary general manager Daryl Sutter expressed his belief that Bouwmeester will be signed before he opens free agency on Wednesday, July 1. I don’t doubt it, and with Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf and Robyn Regehr running the blue line, the Flames, like the Flyers, will have a body of defense to rival.

But trades aside, which teams drafted bets? The New York Islanders did well, taking not only John Tavares (first overall) but also stealing Mikko Koskinen with the 31st pick. Koskinen was the first goaltender picked in the draft, and with good reason. He is 6’7” and 192lbs, and has pretty much conquered the Finnish elite league. The Islanders have Rick Dipietro locked up for the next 13 years, but they’re all susceptible to injuries and cold snaps — Koskinen will make sure the Isles have reliable guys in between the pipes for years to come.

The Atlanta Thrashers also did very well in the draft. They landed the explosive Evander Kane (4th overall) who should end up a perfect fit with Ilya Kovalchuk and Brain Little. They also stole a hard-working power forward, Carl Klingberg, with the 34th pick, and goalie Edward Pasquale, with the 117th. Pasquale himself is a great 6’2”, 218-pound goaltender with a great skill set. and a disciplined approach. Kane, Klingberg and Pasquale should figure prominently in the Thrasher’s rebuilding plans.

The Colorado Avalanche had the third pick in the draft and selected Matt Duchene from the Brampton Battalion. Duchene has been compared to Steve Yzerman, and many thought he had a chance to replace both Tavares and Sweden defender Victor Hedman with the top pick. But the Avalanche also managed to steal a steal, grabbing defenseman Stefan Elliott with the 49th pick in the draft. Elliott plays a complete game on defense, excellent positionally and still capable of providing timely offensive contributions. Drafting both Duchene and Elliott helped cover most of the bases for the Avalanche. Now, if only they could find a reliable doorman…

The Tampa Bay Lightning nabbed huge d-man Victor Hedman with the second pick, and yet he also managed to walk away with a steal. They landed a hard-working, versatile forward with the 29th pick when they drafted Carter Ashton. The Lightning have some management issues to iron out, but they have a great mix of players (Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, Vaclav Prospal, Ryan Malone, etc.) and now, with Hedman and Ashton, some promising youngsters. talent in the fold. They should become a team to rival again soon.

The Islanders, Thrashers, Avalanche and Lightning were expected to do well as they had the top four picks, but each managed to pull off a few steals along the way and exceeded expectations. However, the team that surprised me the most? The Detroit Red Wings. It’s not natural for a team that finished so well and picked second from last to walk away from a draft like it did. They got both Landon Ferraro (32nd overall) and Tomas Tatar (60th overall). These two are fast, high-scoring forwards and the only reason they were picked so low is because of their size. I like how Detroit takes risks both in the draft and with smaller players. It has served them well in the past, and 2009 will be no exception!