Nine Minnesotans selected in 2021 NHL Entry Draft
NHL Draft
Nine Minnesotans were selected in the 2021 National Hockey League Draft, led by future Gopher Chaz Lucius – who went to Winnipeg with the 18th overall pick.
The Wild drafted reigning Minnesota Mr. Hockey Jack Peart of Grand Rapids in the 2nd round. He joins Eden Prairie’s Nick Leddy (2009) as the only Mr. Hockey winners to be drafted by the hometown team.
Tristan Broz, Lucius’ future teammate with the Gophers and a Blake School grad, went in the 2nd round to Pittsburgh.
Dodge County’s Brody Lamb, the state’s leading scorer in the 2020-21 high school season, was drafted in the 4th round.
Kyle Kukkonen was one of four alumni of Maple Grove High School taken in the final two rounds.
Minnesotans selected in the 2021 National Hockey League Draft
- Rd 1 / 18th overall – Chaz Lucius, NTDP (Grant) – WPG
- Rd 2 / 54 – Jack Peart, Grand Rapids – MIN
- Rd 2 / 58 – Tristan Broz, Breck (Bloomington) – PIT
- Rd 4 / 104 – Brody Lamb, Dodge County (Byron) – NYR
- Rd 4 / 109 – Jackson Blake, Eden Prairie – CAR
- Rd 6 / 162 – Kyle Kukkonen, Maple Grove – ANA
- Rd 6 / 171 – Cal Thomas, Maple Grove – ARI
- Rd 7 / 195 – Justin Janicke, Maple Grove – SEA
- Rd 7 / 204 – Connor Kelley, Maple Grove – CHI
Scott Morrow, a native of Connecticut who attended Shattuck-St Mary’s in Faribault was drafted by Carolina in the 2nd round – 40th overall.
RELATED: Wild make five selections on day two of NHL Draft
The following notes were provided by the National Hockey League:
A total of 223 players from 14 countries and 38 leagues worldwide were selected in the 2021 NHL Draft, held virtually Friday (Round 1) and Saturday (Rounds 2-7).
Following is a breakdown of draft picks by position, birth country and league:
| Position | # of Picks |
| Defensemen | 81 |
| Centers | 53 |
| Left Wings | 35 |
| Right Wings | 33 |
| Goaltenders | 21 |
| Birth Country | # of Picks |
| Canada | 82 |
| United States | 50 |
| Russia | 29 |
| Sweden | 24 |
| Finland | 14 |
| Czech Republic | 8 |
| Germany, Switzerland | 4 |
| Belarus | 3 |
| Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Norway, Slovakia, Ukraine | 1 |
| League | # of Picks |
| WHL | 32 |
| OHL | 26 |
| QMJHL | 24 |
| USHL | 19 |
| RUSSIA-JR | 16 |
| NTDP | 14 |
| SWEDEN-JR | 12 |
| FINLAND-JR | 10 |
| SWEDEN | 9 |
| RUSSIA | 8 |
| FINLAND, HIGH-MN | 6 |
| AJHL, BIG10, CZREP, CZREP-2, RUSSIA-2 | 3 |
| GERMANY, GOJHL, HIGH-RI, SWEDEN-2, USPHL-NCDC | 2 |
| BCHL, BELARUS, BELARUS-2, FIN-JR U18, GERMANY-JR, H-EAST HIGH-NH, MHL, NAHL, NCHC, NORWAY, OJHL, SLOVAKIA-2, SWISS, SWISS-JR, UKRAINE | 1 |
NHL CONNECTIONS ON DAY 2 OF THE DRAFT
Josh Doan (No. 37 overall, Arizona): His father, Shane, was a first-round pick by the original Jets in 1995 (No. 7 overall) and spent his entire 21-season career with Jets/Coyotes franchise (402-570-972 in 1,540 GP) where he served as captain from 2003-04 to 2016-17. His grandfather, Bernie, was a sixth-round pick by the Blues in 1971 (80th overall).
Scott Morrow (No. 40 overall, Carolina): His father, Steve, was a 10th-round pick by the Flyers in 1987 (209th overall) who played for the AHL’s Hershey Bears and CHL’s Fort Worth Fire. His uncle, Scott, was a fifth-round pick by the Hartford Whalers in 1988 (95th overall) and appeared in four games with the Flames in 1994-95.
Aatu Raty (No. 52 overall, NY Islanders): His brother, Aku, was a fifth-round pick by the Coyotes in the 2019 NHL Draft (151st overall) who skated for Karpat in the Finnish Elite League in 2020-21 (4-3—7 in 36 GP).
Samuel Helenius (No. 59 overall, Los Angeles): His father, Sami, was a fifth-round pick by the Flames in 1992 (102nd overall) who appeared in 155 career NHL regular-season games with the Flames, Lightning, Avalanche, Stars and Blackhawks from 1996-97 to 2002-03.
Colton Dach (No. 62 overall, Chicago): His brother, Kirby, was a first-round selection by the Blackhawks in 2019 (No. 3 overall) and recorded 2-8—10 in 18 games with Chicago in 2020-21.
Oliver Kapanen (No. 64 overall, Montreal): His uncle, Sami, was a fourth-round pick by the Whalers in 1995 who recorded 189-269—458 in 831 career NHL regular-season games with the Whalers, Hurricanes and Flyers. His cousin, Kasperi, was a first-round pick by the Penguins in 2014 and recorded 11-19—30 in 40 regular-season games with Pittsburgh in 2020-21.