June 25, 2011

Boston University's Adam Clendening and Matt Nieto were each selected in the second round

St. Paul, Minn. -- Eight current and future Hockey East players were selected in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft over the weekend at the XCel Energy Center hosted by the NHL's Minnesota Wild, which was headlined by the first-round pick of Northeastern's Jamie Oleksiak (Toronto, Ont.) by the Dallas Stars with the 14th overall pick on Friday night.

• Oleksiak Interview (Video)
• Clendening Interview (Video)
• Nieto Interview (Video)
• Paliotta Interview (Video)

Oleksiak is the highest pick in the history of the Northeastern men's hockey program and was the 33rd first round pick in league history. He was the sixth defenseman to come off the board on Friday. Oleksiak skated in all 38 games in his freshman season, recording 13 points and a +13 plus/minus rating for the Huskies.

The Terriers and the Huskies led the way with three total picks, which included BU freshman defenseman Adam Clendening (Wheatfield, N.Y.) at pick 36 of the second round by the Chicago Blackhawks, followed by teammate Matt Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) 11 selections later by the San Jose Sharks with the 47th selection. Garrett Noonan (Norfolk, Mass.) was the final BU player selected in the fourth round by Nashville with the 112th overall choice. The Terriers enter the 2011-2012 season with a league-high 10 players drafted by NHL clubs. Clendening and Nieto recorded 26 and 23 points, respectively in their freshman seasons, while Noonan registered 15 points for the Terriers.

Northeastern also had three selections with incoming freshman John Gaudreau going to the Calgary Flames with pick No. 104 of the fourth round. Vermont incoming freshman Michael Paliotta was the fifth Hockey East player off the draft board as Chicago took him at pick No. 70 in the third round. Northeastern rounded out its selections with incoming freshman Garrett Haar chosen with the 207th pick in round seven by the Washington Capitals. UMass-Lowell's Scott Wilson, who will be a freshman in the fall, was the final player with league ties as he was picked with the 209th pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh and final frame.

A total of 520 Hockey East student-athletes have been selected in the NHL draft in the 27-year history of the league. It marks the fifth straight season the league has boasted a first-round selection, which includes eight first round choices in the last five NHL Entry Drafts.