Draft Day 2011

Blue prints at the ready, the thirty General Mangers of the NHL's member teams are set to put forward their plan for the 2011-12 season, the first step of which will be the start of the two day amateur draft process, round number one set for tonight.

For some the draft is to lay the foundation for a brand new start, for others it's but the cause of making sure that the talent coming up is at the same level of ability as that which is currently in place.

And while a good amount of research and review takes place prior to the draft, outside of the first few picks who usually are guaranteed a long and prosperous NHL career, the bulk of the draft plays out in the rounds beyond one and two, a name perhaps unknown today, one day destined to be the key component of a Stanley Cup run.

Below we'll provide some links to make your Draft weekend viewing easier to follow, from draft pick reviews to links to live content and commentary.

The draft is the second to last event of the hockey season, (the final being the Free agency declaration day of July 1st), it provides a look at some of the long term thinking of the NHL's teams, combined with decisions that could turn middle of the pack teams into contenders with a trade or two along the way.

NHL.com


TSN Draft centre tracker
Rogers Sportsnet Draft tracker
Globe and Mail draft tracker
Toronto Star Draft blog
Toronto Sun Live Draft blog

National Post Mock Draft 2011
Rogers Sportsnet Mock Draft 2011
TSN Mock Draft 2011
NHL.com Mock Drafts 2011

NHL Entry Draft page
TSN Draft centre
Rogers Sports Net Draft page
CBC Sports Draft page


Items of Interest:

Globe and Mail-- Oilers, Sens have a lot riding on draft
Globe and Mail-- Panthers angling to move up to No. 1
Globe and Mail-- Small (with talent) is the new big at NHL draft
National Post-- The future starts now
Toronto Star-- Leafs get Liles from Colorado for 2012 second round pick
Toronto Star-- Draft schmaft: Study says NHL teams should flip a coin instead
Toronto Star-- Ex-Thrashers GM Dudley joins Leafs front office
Toronto Sun-- Leafs acquire John-Michael Liles from Avs
Toronto Sun-- Stanley Cup better than No. 1
Toronto Sun-- Diamonds in draft rough
Toronto Sun-- Five guys Leafs covet
Toronto Sun-- Leafs No. 1 pick least a year away
Ottawa Sun-- A look back at Sens' drafts
Ottawa Sun-- Ridiculous Sens trade offers!
Ottawa Sun-- Sens turn to OHL to fill coaching roster
Ottawa Sun-- Senators eye Super Six
Winnipeg Sun-- Team to be called Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Sun-- Winnipeg looking for high character in draft
Winnipeg Sun-- Noel named Winnipeg's head coach
Winnipeg Sun-- True North rolls dice
Winnipeg Sun-- Waiting to be drafted 'torture'