NHL Draft: Owen Power goes No. 1 overall and Habs stun everyone!

The Buffalo Sabres kicked things off at the NHL Draft on Friday and with the No. 1 selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Sabres selected right-shot defenceman Owen Power. 

"If you had to go out and acquire a player like this on the market, it would cost you a fortune," Sam Cosentino says as Power put up the Sabres' jersey surrounded by his family. 

This is just the beginning of a big night for the University of Michigan, especially when the Seattle Kraken's selection came next. With the second overall pick, general manager Ron Francis selected Power's teammate, center Matthew Beniers. A great pick for the Seattle who went thin on centres in the expansion draft. 

To wrap up the 2021 NHL Top 3 podium of picks, the Anaheim selected forward Mason McTavish third overall. 

NHL DRAFT 2021

This is the entire Draft order for the 2021 edition: 

1. Buffalo Sabres - D Owen Power

2. Seattle Kraken - F Matthew Beniers

3. Anaheim Ducks - F - Mason McTavish

4. New Jersey Devils - D Luke Hughes 

5. Columbus Blue Jackets - F Kent Johnson

6. Detroit Red Wings - D Simon Edvinsson

7. San Jose Sharks - F William Eklund

8. Los Angeles Kings - D Brandt Clarke

9. Arizona Coyotes (from Vancouver Canucks) - F Dylan Guenther 

10. Ottawa Senators - F Tyler Boucher

11. The Arizona Coyotes forfeited their pick for violating the NHL's Combine Testing policy during the 2019-20 season.

12. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Chicago Blackhawks) - F Cole Sillinger

13. Calgary Flames - F Matthew Coronato

14. Buffalo Sabres (from Philadelphia Flyers) - F Isak Rosen 

TRADE : The Red Wings traded their 23rd pick, along with picks 48 and 138 for Dallas’ 15th and select goalie Sebastian Cossa.

16. New York Rangers - F Brennan Othmann

17. St. Louis Blues - F Zachary Bolduc 

18. Winnipeg Jets - F Chaz Lucius

19. Nashville Predators - F Fedor Svechkov

TRADE : The Minnesota Wild trades its 22nd pick and pick 90 for the Edmonton Oilers' 20th to select goalie Jesper Wallstedt.

21. Boston Bruins - F Fabian Lysell

22. Edmonton Oilers - F Xavier Bourgault

23. Dallas Stars - F Wyatt Johnston

24. Florida Panthers - F Mackie Samoskevich 

25. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Toronto Maple Leafs) - D Corson Ceulemans

26. Minnesota Wild (from Pittsburgh Penguins) - D Carson Lambos

The Carolina Hurricanes trade send pick #27 to Nashville Predators in return for pick 40 and 51. The Preds therefore select forward Zachary L'Heureux.

28. Colorado Avalanche - F Oskar Olausson  

29. New Jersey Devils (from New York Islanders) - F Chase Stillman 

30. Vegas Golden Knights - F Zach Dean 

31. Montreal Canadiens - D Logan Mailloux 

The Habs had no issue picking the tall defenseman, despite that he had renounced himself from the NHL Draft after being fined in Sweden for taking and distributing a woman's photo without her consent after a sexual encounter while playing their this season.

32. Chicago Blackhawks (from Columbus Blue Jackets) - D Nolan Allan