BUFFALO, N.Y. — A record 12 Americans were selected in the first round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft here tonight at First Niagara Center.
Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the first overall pick, making him the seventh American all-time selected first overall.
The Calgary Flames chose Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) with the sixth overall pick, followed by the Arizona Coyotes taking Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill./U.S. National Under-18 Team) with the following selection.
Logan Brown (Raleigh, N.C.) was the next American chosen when the Ottawa Senators took him with the 11th pick. Three consecutive Americans were taken off the board when Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y./Boston University) went to the Boston Bruins at 15th overall, the Minnesota Wild took Luke Kunin (Chesterfield, Mo./University of Wisconsin) with the 16th pick, and Jakob Chychrun (Boca Raton, Fla.) was taken by the Arizona Coyotes with the 17th pick, marking the first time six Americans were selected among the top 15 draft picks.
The New York Islanders made Kieffer Bellows (Edina, Minn./U.S. National Under-18 Team) the 19th overall pick. Three more Americans were taken consecutively, starting with Max Jones (Rochester, Mich.) being selected 24th by the Anaheim Ducks, Riley Tufte (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine High School) to the Dallas Stars and Tage Thompson (Oyster Bay, N.Y./University of Connecticut) to the St. Louis Blues. Trent Frederic (St. Louis, Mo./U.S. National Under-18 Team) was the record-setting 12th American taken in the first round when the Boston Bruins selected him with the 29th overall pick.
A record nine alumni (Bellows, Frederic, Jones, Keller, Kunin, Matthews, McAvoy, Thompson, Tkachuk) of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program were drafted in the first round.
The 2016 NHL Draft will continue with rounds 2-7 at 10 a.m. ET. tomorrow (July 25). For continued coverage of the NHL Entry Draft, visit usahockey.com/2016nhldraft. For historical records of Americans in the NHL Draft, visit usahockey.com/nhldraft.
NOTES: Matthews was the seventh American selected first overall. Others include Patrick Kane (2007), Erik Johnson (2006), Rick DiPiertro (2000), Bryan Berard (1995), Mike Modano (1988) and Brian Lawton (1983) … A record 10 of the drafted Americans have ties to the United States Hockey League, the only Tier I junior league in the United States … Seven players are currently playing or are committed to play NCAA Division college hockey … Ten players previously competed at the 2015 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game.
