ECAC Hockey Student-Athletes Selected in 2011 NHL Entry Draft

ALBANY, N.Y. -- ECAC Hockey was once again well represented in the annual NHL Entry Draft with the selection of 12 future student-athletes and two current players on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota hosted by the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Harvard led the way with four future student-athletes selected, followed by Cornell’s three future players, while Quinnipiac, Rensselaer, and Yale had two players selected each.

Born in Jacksonville, FL forward Brian Ferlin was selected in the fourth round (121st overall) by the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. Ferlin, who heads to Cornell in the Fall, skated in his second season in Indiana (USHL) and finished third in the league in points (73) and second in power-play goals (12).

Four incoming ECAC Hockey student-athletes were selected in round five. Cornell bound forwards Joel Lowry and Philippe Hudon were selected by Los Angeles and Detroit respectively at 140th and 145th overall. Lowry from Victoria of the BCHL, had 24 goals and 43 assists in 42 games in the BCHL last season. He is the son of Dave Lowry, former NHL player and current assistant coach. Hudon helped Choate to a 15-9-1 record in 2010-11, recording 20 points (10g-10a-20pts) in 22 games as one of 13 seniors on the roster.

The other two players selected in the fifth round were defensemen Patrick Koudys and Rob O’Gara. As a freshman at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2010-11, Koudys was one of the youngest players in the NCAA. O’Gara, Yale-bound, has been named team captain for the 2011–2012 season at Milton Academy for his senior season.

Incoming freshmen at Harvard goaltender Stephen Michalek and forward Petr Placek were chosen in the sixth round by the host Minnesota Wild and the Philadelphia Flyers, respectively. Michalek was chosen with the 10th pick of the sixth round and the 161st overall. He stopped more than 1,000 shots with a .918 save percentage at Loomis Chaffee last season. Michalek led the United States to a silver medal with an outstanding performance at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka tournament. Placek was the 25th selection of the sixth round and the 176th pick overall. Placek is a 6-4, 210-pound forward from Slany, Czech Republic. He comes to Harvard from The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, where he tallied 16 goals in 24 games in 2009-10 before missing much of last season with an injury.

Winnipeg's new NHL franchise made Portage Terriers netminder Jason Kasdorf (Rensselaer, 2012) its sixth-round selection, 157th overall. Kasdorf played 34 games for the Terriers last season, posting a 2.53 goals-against average. He was the 10th ranked North-American goalie heading into the draft.

A pair of Quinnipiac recruits were also selected Saturday. Josh Manson (160th), a defenseman for Salmon Arm of the British Columbia Hockey League, went to Anaheim in the sixth round. Matt Peca (201st), a forward for Pembroke of the Central Canada Junior Hockey League, was taken by Tampa Bay in the seventh round.

Dennis Robertson was selected in the round number six (173rd overall) by Toronto. The 6-foot, 195-pounder was a revelation as a freshman, scoring 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 29 games. He was Brown’s top defenseman and earned a spot on the ECAC all-rookie team.

The last three ECAC Hockey selections were taken in the seventh round. Colin Blackwell, a 5-9, 164-pound forward from North Andover, Mass., was chosen 13th in the seventh round, 194th overall. Blackwell set a St. John’s Prep single-season scoring record with 66 points in 25 games last season, earning the Robbie Ftorek Award as the Massachusetts High School Hockey Coaches Association’s player of the year. Milford’s Colin Sullivan (Yale, 2012), who’ll be a senior defenseman at Avon Old Farms this Fall, was selected by the Montreal Canadiens at 198th overall. Lastly, Max Everson, the brother of Harvard junior forward Marshall Everson, was picked 22nd in the seventh round, 203rd overall. He helped Edina High School reach four straight Minnesota high school state tournaments, winning the state title in 2010, and was a finalist for Minnesota’s prestigious Mr. Hockey award as a senior.

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