Clayton Keller was selected 7th overall last Friday in the first round of the NHL Draft by Arizona–what could turn out to be a home run pick for the Coyotes. But before Keller heads to the desert, he’ll face a tough decision on where he’ll play first.
Swansea native Clayton Keller made history Friday by being the first metro-east player ever selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, going seventh overall to the Arizona Coyotes at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
The dreams were so much simpler then, Matthew Tkachuk recalls. Back then, he, Logan Brown, Clayton Keller and Luke Kunin were four kids playing youth hockey for the AAA Blues at Hardee’s Iceplex in Chesterfield.
The last 17-year-old pure offensive talent that I can remember dominating in the same way Clayton Keller did this past year was Patrick Kane. Both were tiny wizards with the puck. Both set NTDP scoring records.
It was around the time Matthew Tkachuk turned 8 when a prospect from the St. Louis Blues, Lee Stempniak, moved into the family household. Stempniak was from Buffalo, had played college hockey at Dartmouth College, and Tkachuk’s father, Keith, wanted to help the first-year player make the transition to professional hockey.
When the draft begins Friday night in Buffalo, get ready to hear a lot about players from St. Louis with at least four potential first-rounders from here in Matthew Tkachuk, Swansea’s Clayton Keller, Logan Brown and Luke Kunin.
This time around the target is playmaking center Clayton Keller, rather than Charlie McAvoy, Dante Fabbro or Kieffer Bellows, and the chances are that this creative, skilled and dangerous playmaker will be long gone by Boston’s pick in the middle of the first round.
But now Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis may get a second chance to land a less-hyped but nonetheless comparable forward to Marner with his top first-round pick in 2016: 5’10”, 170-pound center Clayton Keller.
While everyone focuses on NTDP-alumni and possible top pick Auston Matthews, undersized and speedy center Clayton Keller is constantly moving up the pre-draft rankings. He was the top scorer of the U.S. U18 team and is meanwhile considered a top 15 pick at least.
Windsor Spitfires centre Logan Brown and prospect Clayton Keller helped the United States win the bronze medal Sunday at the World Under-18 Hockey Championship in North Dakota with a 10-3 win over Canada.
