With the 15th overall pick, the Kings selected defenseman Derek Forbort of the USA under-18 team. Forbort had been ranked No. 9 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Forbort is a 6-foot-5, 198-pound native of Duluth, Minn. Check out Forbort’s bio by clicking here.

The Kings have acquired the No. 15 pick from the Florida Panthers for the Kings’ No. 19 pick and a second-round pick (No. 59 overall). Not yet announced, but should be momentarily…

With the 14th overall pick, the St. Louis Blues selected center Jaden Schwartz from Tri-City of the USHL. Schwartz had been ranked 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. A segment of the crowd is singing “Happy Birthday” to Schwartz, who turns 18 today.

With the 13th overall pick, the Phoenix Coyotes selected defenseman Brandon Gormley from Moncton of the QMJHL. Gormley had been ranked sixth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

With the 12th overall pick, the Anaheim Ducks selected defenseman Cam Fowler from Windsor of the OHL. Fowler had been ranked fifth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Ducks management arrived on stage to a huge chorus of boos. Maybe it’s just me, but Gary Bettman looked relieved that someone else was the [...]

With the 11th overall pick, the Dallas Stars selected goalie Jack Campbell of the U.S. under-18 team. Campbell became the first goalie selected in the draft.

With the 10th overall pick, the New York Rangers selected defenseman Dylan McIlrath from Moose Jaw of the WHL. McIlrath was just the second defenseman taken among the first 10 picks.

With the ninth overall pick, the Minnesota Wild selected center Mikael Granlund from HIFK of Finland. Granlund is the first European player selected and was rated No. 1 among European skaters.

With the eighth overall pick, the Atlanta Thrashers selected center Alexander Burmistrov from Barrie of the OHL. Seven of the first eight picks have been forwards.

With the seventh overall pick, the Carolina Hurricanes selected winger Jeff Skinner of Kitchener of the OHL. Skinner had been ranked 34th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

With the sixth overall pick, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected winger Brett Connolly from Prince George of the WHL.

With the fifth overall pick, the New York Islanders selected winger Nino Niederreiter from Portland (WHL). Niederreiter was ranked 12th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

With the fourth overall pick, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected center Ryan Johansen from Portland of the WHL. Johansen was ranked No. 10 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

With the fourth overall pick, the Florida Panthers selected defenseman Erik Gudbranson of Kingston (OHL).

After what appeared to be some considerable discussion at their draft table, the Boston Bruins took center Tyler Seguin, a center from Plymouth (OHL) with the second overall pick.

The Edmonton Oilers have selected Taylor Hall, a winger from Windsor (OHL) with the first overall pick…

The arena floor at Staples Center is packed with every NHL executive you can imagine. Right now, they’re doing a roll call of all teams, and the Kings just got a huge ovation from the crowd. Sort of humorous that E.J. McGuire accidentally skipped the Columbus Blue Jackets during the alphabetical roll call. There’s a [...]

Here’s the long-form interview with Dean Lombardi, expanding on the topics covered in the feature story I wrote and posted earlier. One note of clarification, in order to avoid confusion… In the interview, Lombardi tells the story of drafting Andrew Campbell. After some consultation with Mike Futa, I determined that Lombardi is indeed talking about [...]

We see general managers talking, in person or on the phone, and huddling with staff members in front of an endless amount of paperwork, but what really happens at the draft table? It’s a secret world that we see only from afar, but I talked to Dean Lombardi this week to try to get some [...]

Click below to view the stream of the NHL commissioner’s brunch, which is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start. Gary Bettman, Tim Leiweke, Luc Robitaille and Hockey Canada president/CEO Bob Nicholson are scheduled to participate…