Men’s Hockey: Buckeyes and the NHL Draft – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio Led by second-round selection Zac Dalpe, three incoming Ohio State men’s hockey players were drafted in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft Saturday in Ottawa, Ontario. The Carolina Hurricanes drafted Dalpe, a forward from Paris, Ontario, with the 45th pick, making him the second second-round selection in Buckeye history. Forward Taylor Stefishen was chosen by Nashville in the fifth round (No. 136) and defenseman Matt Bartkowski was selected by Florida in the seventh round (No. 190). The trio all signed NCAA National Letters of Intent with Ohio State in November 2007.
In one of many trades during the first round Friday night, former Buckeye All-American R.J. Umberger was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Jackets’ 19th and 67th picks in the 2008 draft. Umberger, the 2001 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Rookie of the Year, was a three-year letterwinnner for the Buckeyes (2001-03) and was the fifth Buckeye to earn All-America honors when he was named to the second team in 2003, when he also was a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist. He is the highest NHL draft pick in Ohio State history, as he was selected in the first round, 16th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in 2001. Umberger has played for the Flyers in the NHL the last four years and has seen action in 228 regular-season games, posting 49 goals and 67 assists for 116 points. He had a career-best 37 assists and 50 points last season and during the Flyers’ run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Umberger had 10 goals and 15 points in 17 games.
Dalpe, 6-foot and 170-pounds, is the second player with Buckeye ties to be drafted in the second round, joining Tom Fritsche (2005-08), who was drafted 47th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2005. A member of the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Dalpe tied for fifth among league rookies with 63 points (27g, 36a) in 46 games during the regular season. He helped lead the Vees to the BCHL Championship and had 17 points in 15 playoff games. He scored a hat trick as Canada West won the gold medal at the 2007 World Junior “A” Challenge.
Stefishen, a native of North Vancouver, British Columbia, is a 5-11, 170-pound left wing. He spent 2007-08 with the Langley Chiefs in the BCHL, tallying 81 points, on 33 goals and 48 assists, in 57 games. He also played for the Chiefs in 2006-07, posting 56 points, including 25 goals and 31 assists, in 59 games.
Bartkowski, a 6-1, 203-pound left-shot defenseman from Pittsburgh, Pa., played for the Lincoln Stars in the USHL in 2007-08. In his second year with the team, he had 41 points, including a team-best 37 assists, in 60 regular-season games to rank fourth on his team in scoring.
The trio selected Saturday join four current Buckeye NHL draft picks – goalie Joseph Palmer (Chicago 2006), sophomore defenseman Shane Sims (New York Islanders 2006) and sophomore forwards John Albert (Atlanta 2007) and C.J. Severyn (Calgary 2007).
