One final trade to be made during the first round: the Blackhawks traded the final pick in the round to the New York Islanders for the 35th pick and the 58th picks later in the draft.
With the 30th pick, the Islanders selected center Brock Nelson from Warroad High School in Minnesota. Western College Hockey Blog profiled him prior to the draft.
Coming from the small hockey hockey hotbed of Warroad, Minnesota, in the northwest corner of the state, Brock Nelson seems to have the bloodlines that make him destined for big things in hockey. His uncle Dave Christian played with the 1980 Miracle on Ice gold-medal winning team, while his grandfather, Bill Christian, and great uncle, Roger Christian, pulled perhaps an even bigger upset in helping the 1960 US Olympic team to a gold medal.
Bloodlines aside, Nelson is a fine hockey player in his own right. He combines the size of a power forward with soft hands and an excellent shot. With rival Roseau opting to play up in Class AA, Warroad has been able to dominate the smaller schools in Class A. The Warriors made the state tournament in every season Nelson played with them, including this past year, when they fell in the state semifinals to a powerhouse Breck team. Nelson finished the season with 73 points, though given some of his competition, he could have easily had more, and was a finalist for the Mr. Hockey Award. Though not officially announced, it was pretty much a given that Nelson was a close runner-up to Nick Bjugstad.
And that does it for picks in the first round. Bright and early tomorrow for rounds two through seven.
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