NHL Draft: Six under the radar moves from day one

Here are six happenings on the first day of the NHL draft that may have flown under the radar:

Red Wings drafted a giant:  Owning the earliest draft pick the Red Wings have known in 27 years, they selected 6-foot-6 center Michael Rasmussen with the ninth pick. He weighs 221 pounds and skates impressively for a big man. Red Line report chief scout Kyle Woodlief, owner of the independent scouting service, said Rasmussen has as much potential as anyone in the draft. He scored 32 goals in 52 games for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League.

Backlash over Penguins’ and Blackhawks’ deals:  Fan bases in both Pittsburgh and Chicago expressed disappointment over trades their teams made on the opening day of the draft.

Some fans in Pittsburgh didn’t appreciate Jim Rutherford giving up a first-round pick and younger center Oskar Sundqvist for St. Louis 225-pound tough guy Ryan Reaves. Likewise, Chicago fans used social media to express their dismay over GM Stan Bowman’s decision to trade Niklas Hjalmarsson and Artemi Panarin.

Rutherford said that he was tired of his team getting beat up. Clearly, the Penguins are trying to protect Sidney Crosby.

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Bowman was trying to freshen up his roster.

Considering that Rutherford has won back-to-back Stanley Cups, and Bowman owns three Cups, the fan bases would have unwavering trust that these two guys know what they are doing.

Power of the Troll: Josh Norris, a center on the U.S. National Team Development Program, brought his team’s Dustin the Troll good luck charm to the draft with the hope of having a good day.

It worked. Norris was ranked 34th in North America by the NHL’s Central Scouting, and was projected to be a second round pick by most services. Instead, the San Jose Sharks drafted him with the 19th pick.

Norris did have 61 points in 61 games this season, and wowed scouts at the combine with his physical testing. He’s a superb skater.

Steal of the draft?:  The Blues took Russian Klim Kostin with the first round pick they received from the Penguins for Reaves. That was the last pick of the first round. Some scouts see Kostin as having top 10 talent. He is a gifted offensive player who lost much of the season to a shoulder surgery.

Blues GM Doug Armstrong had an exceptional day, also landing veteran Brayden Schenn from Philadelphia,

Best Foote forward: The Tampa Bay Lightning selected defenseman Cal Foote with the No. 14 pick. He is the son of former Colorado Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote. Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman knew Foote well because he played for the Red Wings when the Avalanche were their No. 1 rival. 

It’s fair to say that Foote went out of his way to pound Yzerman at every opportunity when they played against other. Now he controls his son's NHL fate.

Young Foote doesn’t play as mean as his father did, and he’s considered a better offensive contributor than his father. But Yzerman told reporters at the draft that he sees similarities in their games.