NHL Draft: No Surprises at the Top

The opening round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft unfolded more or less as expected on Saturday.

To begin the day, the Washington Capitals squashed all trade rumors by calling the name of Russian forward Alexander Ovechkin. Despite much media speculation, it's hard to believe the Capitals ever considered dealing the top pick. No team would pass on a chance at Ovechkin, widely believed to be a player for the ages.

Selecting second, the Pittsburgh Penguins took another Russian forward, Evgeni Malkin. Chicago followed by picking Canadian defenseman Cam Barker, and the Carolina Hurricanes moved up in the draft to select another western Canadian, forward Andrew Ladd. None of these moves surprised anyone.

The first genuine surprise of the draft came when the Phoenix Coyotes used the number-five spot to take Blake Wheeler, a high school player from Minneapolis. On most lists, Wheeler was ranked as a second-round or late first-round pick.

Here are complete results from Rounds one, two and three.