The Americans are starting to really take hold in the NHL, as we see more and more American players drafted every year. This year we thought we had seen a record 11 American players drafted in the first round, but officially it’s just a tie with the record of 10.
From the NHL:
There were a record-tying 10 U.S.-born players selected in the first round, matching the total of the 2006 and 2007 drafts.
2006: Erik Johnson (St. Louis/1st), Phil Kessel (Boston/5th), Kyle Okposo (NY Islanders/7th), Peter Mueller (Phoenix/8th), Trevor Lewis (Los Angeles/17th), Mark Mitera (Anaheim/19th), David Fischer (Montreal/20th), Bobby Sanguinetti (NY Rangers/21st), Nick Foligno (Ottawa/28th), Chris Summers (Phoenix/29th).
2007: Patrick Kane (Chicago/1st), James Van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia/2nd), Ryan McDonagh (Montreal/12th), Kevin Shattenkirk (Colorado/14th), Ian Cole (St. Louis/18th), Max Pacioretty (Montreal/22nd), Jonathon Blum (Nashville/23rd), Patrick White (Vancouver/25th), Nick Petrecki (San Jose/28th), James O’Brien (Ottawa/29th)
2010: Jack Campbell (Dallas/11th), Derek Forbert (Los Angeles/15th), Austin Watson (Nashville/18th), Nick Bjugstad (Florida/19th), Beau Bennett (Pittsburgh/20th), Jarred Tinordi (Montreal/22nd), Kevin Hayes (Chicago/24th), Charlie Coyle (San Jose/28th), Emerson Etem (Anaheim/29th), Brock Nelson (NY Islanders/30th).