Top draft pick dealt

A huge trade was made today in Europe. It might end up being the top headline of the entire season. At 10:10 a.m. EST, Milan sent shockwaves through the league with a two-word subject line: “Landeskog Available.” An hour and 28 minutes later, the first overall pick in the EURO draft was westbound for Madrid. Milan GM Jeff Kelly explained he was heading in a direction that didn’t seem to be a good fit for Landeskog. Instead, veteran Dustin Brown and two draft picks became part of those plans. With Madrid’s 10th rounder, Milan took Trevor Daley. The final piece of the trade should be known Friday, when Madrid’s 11th pick, now owned by Milan, comes up. Landeskog’s quick departure is almost as shocking as the subject line. The young Swede must have rubbed someone in Milan the wrong way. In Madrid, he will join some veterans and four other young studs – centers Ryan Johansen and Sean Couturier, and defensemen Erik Karlsson and Slava Voynov.

An Irish six-pack of picks
The trade overshadowed an interesting day on the Emerald Isle. Belfast seems to have 2017 on the mind. The Giants already had a trophy case full of young talent when the day started: Crosby, Nash, Duchene, Schneider, Subban, Hodgson, Faulk, Larsson and Hedman. Chris Patton, who had 3 picks coming in the 10th round, picked another young goalie, Devan Dubnyk and then went off the draft board to select a pair of promising prospects in Vladimir Tarasenko and Mikael Granlund. Belfast might take its lumps for a couple of years, but, as redundant as this sounds, the Giants have a big future.
Over in Dublin, the Fighting Irish also had three picks in the 10th round, but they opted for guys who are a little older. The 226th player taken in the draft became Jaromir Jagr, age 39. Dublin then took 35-year-old Petr Sykora to give them three Czech right wingers along with Milan Michalek. And finally, tough defenseman James Wisniewski, a youngster by comparison at age 27, was selected.