The Wild selected Jason Zucker in the second round of the NHL Draft, making him the first person ever drafted from Las Vegas. "I might be the first, but I won't be the last," Zucker said. Americans were in remarkable demand during the weekend, starting with a record 11 U.S. citizens chosen in the first round. The 30 teams drafted 59 Americans, according to the NHL's measures of nationality, just shy of the 62 U.S. players chosen in 2007. "Hockey has really started changing," said forward Andrew Yogan, the NHL's first Florida born-and-trained draftee, chosen early in the fourth round by the New York Rangers. "I'm just excited to be the first one, and hopefully I'll open up a couple of doors for the guys after me. There's a lot of hockey talent in South Florida, and people don't know it yet."

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli insists that he isn't trading the second pick in this week's NHL Draft. Chiarelli said he was keeping the pick and will select either Tyler Seguin or Taylor Hall, depending which player Edmonton takes at No. 1. "I've had a couple of interesting e-mails, but I'm not trading that pick," said Chiarelli. "I'm taking that pick and selecting one of those forwards."

The Blues have added a number of young defenseman as of late, leading many to believe they'll draft a forward with the 14th overall pick. Four of the team's last seven first-round picks play on the blue line. The 2010 NHL Draft will begin Friday night in Los Angeles.

It's hard to predict how the NHL Draft will play out, but there is a good chance the Sabres will stick with a North American selection. In each of the last three drafts, Buffalo has selected either an American or a Canadian with each of their 22 picks.