The Calgary Flames chose Jeremie Poirier with the 72nd overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, nabbing the blue-liner who was widely projected to be a late first-round selection.

Jeremie Poirier

Position: Defense
Height: 6-feet
Weight: 192 lbs
Age: 18
Club: Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
Nationality: Canadian

(Stats source: EliteProspects.com)

A tantalizing offensive defenseman, Poirier led all QMJHL defensemen in goals this past season and ranked second in points. He's a strong skater and confident with the puck. However, he'll need to improve in the defensive zone to gain trust under NHL coaches, though that's hardly a knock on a talented blue-liner in the early stages of his professional development.

What they're saying

"He's effortless with the puck, he's a crisp three-zone passer, he can run a power play, he's calm under pressure, he's aggressive when the play calls for it, he can play in transition, he's strong, he's athletic, and he can escape pressure with his feet in the defensive zone," The Athletic's Scott Wheeler said in November.

Highlights

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded goaltender Matt Murray to the Ottawa Senators for the 52nd overall pick in the 2020 draft and forward Jonathan Gruden, the team announced Wednesday.

More to come.

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The Winnipeg Jets signed defenseman Dylan DeMelo to a four-year, $12-million extension, the team announced Wednesday.

DeMelo, 27, was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.

Winnipeg acquired DeMelo from the Ottawa Senators ahead of the trade deadline in February. The 6-foot-1 blue-liner recorded 10 assists while averaging 20:09 of ice time over 59 games with the Senators and Jets in 2019-20.

DeMelo boasted favorable possession numbers last season, as well, owning a Corsi For of 53.1% and an expected goals of 53.9%, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Extending DeMelo is a big step for a Jets team that lost the majority of its blue-line talent last offseason. Winnipeg has just over $11 million in projected cap space for 2020-21 but currently has just 15 players on its roster, according to CapFriendly.

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Shane Wright's never accepted losing. Not even as a toddler.

"Shane has this other edge," his mother, Tanya, told theScore. "When he was young I had to discipline him for it. It was embarrassing. It would be like three-year-old 'sportball,' and he would be losing his mind at three-year-olds who weren’t doing it right or trying hard enough."

Wright's competitiveness extends beyond sports, even boiling over into family game nights.

"There’s been the odd board that has ended upside down before it's over," his father, Simon, said.

Wright admitted his intensity always shows up, regardless of what's at stake.

"Everything I do, I want to win," he said. "I'm also kind of a perfectionist. I hold myself to high standards. I want to win in whatever I do. Whether it's a board game or a sport or whatever it is, I'm competitive and I want to win it."

That competitive nature and that will to win, while sometimes embarrassing for his parents when he was growing up, has helped Wright blossom into a potential generational hockey player. Even though he's only 16 years old and not NHL draft eligible until 2022, he's already drawn comparisons to Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and John Tavares - the next ones that came before him.

Wright was granted exceptional status into the OHL last year as a 15-year-old, and scored 39 goals and finished with 66 points in 58 games with the Kingston Frontenacs. His point total matched McDavid's from his age-15 season, but Wright played five fewer games. Of the five players before Wright to be granted exceptional status into the CHL (Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, McDavid, Sean Day, and Joe Veleno), only Tavares had more points in his rookie season (77 in 65 games).

The talent's obvious. Already listed at 6-feet and 183 pounds - and still growing - Wright's a strong skater with a heavy shot and elite hockey IQ. Talent only takes a player so far, though. Intangibles are what make Wright special enough to be mentioned in the same conversations as McDavid, Crosby, and Tavares.

"I think what Shane brings is that quiet, unassuming leadership with his drive and determination," NHL director of central scouting Dan Marr said. "When other players on a team see that the best player is out there as the hardest worker, and wanting to win every battle, wanting to be on every puck, wanting to make things happen out there, that's infectious."

Marr has a wide lens on the game's top prospects and even though his primary focus is generally on the immediate draft class, he still watched Wright in person "about a half dozen times" this season.

Frontenacs assistant coach Luca Caputi, meanwhile, had a front-row seat to observe Wright on a daily basis during his Rookie of the Year season in the OHL. He was equally impressed by his work ethic, maturity, and leadership.

"Every young player that comes through our organization for the next two years will look up to him, just because of the way he does it right every day," Caputi - who spent parts of three seasons in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs - said.

"When you have those intangibles - and I was lucky enough to play with Crosby - when you're the best player and you work the hardest and you have the right goals and you're a good person off the ice, people follow you. People you want around are going to follow you."

Wright became the youngest player in CHL history to get a letter on his jersey when he was named assistant captain in December. Caputi thinks he could "100%" be an NHL captain someday.

"I talk a lot about being like Crosby, and that's not fair, and a lot of pressure to put on a kid, but I see some of those similarities just in the way he goes about his business," Caputi added.

Crosby and Wright possess different on-ice strengths - the former's more of a playmaker and the latter more of a goal-scorer - but there are some similarities in how each grew up.

Remember that famous dryer in Crosby's basement that was littered with puck marks from all the errant shots it absorbed? Well, the Wright family's garage door in Burlington, Ontario, took a similar beating. Ripping pucks on the net in his driveway as a kid, any shot Wright missed found the garage door. And as he got older and started gaining velocity, pucks went right through.

"I think it was pretty embarrassing for my parents when people walked by and saw all the holes in our garage," Wright said jokingly.

"So embarrassed," Tanya acknowledged with a laugh. "I know we brought the value of the whole neighborhood down."

Simon added about the door: "I'm surprised it actually still went up and down."

All those reps on the driveway helped Wright develop a lethal shot on the ice - one that impressed Caputi immediately.

"I think his first goal in the league, I believe his third or fourth game, was an eye-popping goal," Caputi recalled. "He just caught it on his off wing on the dot in the offensive zone and he went back bar. I think it hit every bar in the net and you said, 'Oh! There it is.'"

Even though his release was already a strength, Caputi said Wright missed the net a lot early in the season. And so the teenager put in the necessary work to hone his accuracy.

"We do it every day after practice," Caputi said. "From his one spot on the power play, he might've had 5,000 (shots) this year. That's how committed he is to his craft."

The work eventually paid off. After starting with six goals in his first 17 games, Wright ended the season scoring 33 times in his final 41 contests. Despite his individual success, though, Kingston finished the season with only 19 wins in 62 games - the third-lowest total in the 20-team league.

"We didn't win a heck of a lot of games this year, so when you face adversity you see people's true character and he really cares," Caputi said. "I'd say the winning aspect, even some of the games when he thought he could play better, that's when you see that he really cares. Extra reps the next day, staying late to watch video. That's somebody you want to build your identity and your core around."

At the end of the day, it's simple: Wright's commitment to winning stems from his hatred of losing, which he's known he's detested since he began walking. It's cost him at times - when he "literally exploded with anger" during a centipede ski race his family was losing at a summer cottage, according to Tanya, and when he was slide tackling as a six-year-old during soccer games. But Wright's matured and learned to harness his competitiveness; in fact, it's become his biggest strength.

"He hates losing," Simon reiterated. "He competes to win every single time."

Wright, it seems, has that fire inside him, that sets the elite of the elite apart, that is required to be the best, and to be "the next one."

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The NHL is holding its annual entry draft midweek for the first time since 1994. The opening round, conducted virtually on Tuesday night because of the COVID-19 pandemic, went smoothly - a big win for everybody involved.

Here's what we learned from Day 1 and what to watch Wednesday as the 2020 draft continues with Rounds 2-7 starting at 11 a.m. ET.

Preds go bold

Maybe we should have seen it coming.

Nashville Predators assistant general manager Jeff Kealty was asked last week about the idea of drafting Yaroslav Askarov, and he didn't exactly distance the organization from the tantalizing Russian goalie who was projected to go early on in the draft. In hindsight, Kealty kind of flirted with the notion.

"We would certainly consider it. He's a high-end talent," Kealty said. "Like a lot of these things, some of it is just dictated by who gets taken before you. But there's no question he's a top-end goaltending prospect."

The comment went largely unnoticed outside of Tennessee in part because Nashville - with an endless need for scoring and an abundance of NHL-caliber netminding in Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros - seemed like an unlikely destination for Askarov. Yet there was Preds GM David Poile on Tuesday, calling out Askarov's name at 11th overall despite a number of qualified forwards and defensemen still on the board. It was refreshing to see an NHL team unapologetically pick the best player available - especially when the player in question plays a position that GMs historically scoff at during the opening round.

Yes, Nashville left Tuesday's proceedings a huge winner for the simple reason that the club was bold but not too bold. (See: the jaw-dropper that was Yegor Chinakhov to the Columbus Blue Jackets at 21st overall.) In Askarov, the goalie-rich Preds have another franchise puck-stopper coming down the pike in two or three years, goalie controversies and drafting traditions be damned.

For the uninitiated: Askarov, a rare right-catching netminder, is supremely athletic for a guy standing at 6-foot-3. He processes the game at a high level and has already shown that, at just 18 years old, he can dominate in the KHL, the second-best league in the world. The scouting community says Askarov is the top goalie prospect since Carey Price, who went fifth overall to the Montreal Canadiens in 2005 and has strung together a mighty fine career.

The Preds' laudable pick came on the heels of the Buffalo Sabres taking a bit of a gamble on Ottawa 67's right-winger Jack Quinn at eighth overall. It was a head-scratching selection from new Sabres GM Kevyn Adams - whose hockey operations department is a shell of its former self after ownership fired 20-plus people in June - not because Quinn isn't worthy of the No. 8 slot, but because two players with arguably greater potential were still available.

NHL-ready center Marco Rossi, Quinn's OHL teammate, was widely believed to be the better option; he slipped to the Minnesota Wild a pick later. Meanwhile, ultra-smart Saginaw Spirit center Cole Perfetti - whom many prognosticators had pegged as a top-five pick coming into Tuesday - fell all the way to the Winnipeg Jets at 10th. Perfetti could be the steal of the draft.

Askarov may have been the biggest wild card heading into Tuesday night, but not far behind in intrigue was the theater surrounding which high-end defenseman would go off the board first. Jake Sanderson, a well-rounded, smooth-skating American, ultimately went fifth overall to the Senators, one pick ahead of dynamic Canadian Jamie Drysdale, whom the Anaheim Ducks scooped up. The fact that they went back-to-back indicates just how small of a gap there is right now between the two promising blue-liners.

We'll have to wait a few years to find out if Ottawa made the right choice. Either way, GM Pierre Dorion cleaned up in the first round. Patrick Kane clone Tim Stuetzle was a tap-in at third overall, Sanderson could be a top-pairing rearguard down the road, and agitating and skilled center Ridly Greig was an appropriate wrap-up pick at 28th overall. Ottawa could have traded down during Day 1, but it decided to stay the course, a smart call considering how far its rebuild is from completion. Dorion is stockpiling talent and has nine picks on Day 2, including four second-rounders.

Circling back on the defensemen topic for a moment: It was interesting to see only six blue-liners go in the first round, and none between Drysdale at sixth and Kaiden Guhle at 16th. The 2020 class isn't brimming with studs on the back end, but oftentimes NHL teams will reach in the early teens of the first round to fill a positional need. For context, 10 defensemen were chosen in Round 1 in 2019, 14 were picked in 2018, and nine were selected in 2017.

Players to watch on Day 2

Since the first round featured a number of selections that could be characterized as "reaches" - at least to the public scouting community - there's plenty of fascinating players itching to get picked up early on Day 2.

Tristen Robins, a right-winger who quietly put up 72 points in 63 WHL games for the Saskatoon Blades last season, certainly fits the description, according to one independent scouting service. HockeyProspect.com had Robins ranked 13th overall on its final 2020 draft rankings, though several competitors slotted the Manitoba native in the 50s or 60s on their final lists.

The staff at HockeyProspect.com see Robins as a Brendan Gallagher or Viktor Arvidsson kind of player. He's a feisty forward with plenty of skill and the ability to impact all three zones on the ice. He also possesses that "it" factor.

"Robins is a high-octane, instinctive, line-driving forward who overwhelms his opponents with a combination of determination and skill," reads a glowing scouting report in HockeyProspect.com's "Black Book."

"His build (5-foot-10 and 176 pounds) is a bit thick and at first glance, you wouldn’t think of him as someone with a lot of agility or explosiveness. His frame can be deceptive, though, as he’s not only an explosive and sound technical skater, but has a tremendous amount of agility on the ice. We were left watching sequences where we thought Robbins had skated himself into a dead play, only to be shocked as he effortlessly side-stepped an incoming opponent. His edges and pivoting ability make him very elusive in tight spaces and it really pronounces his puck protection game."

Ryan O'Rourke is a name that seems to have gained steam during the COVID-19 hiatus. He's a versatile defenseman whom NHL scouts and managers have clearly grown to appreciate after sifting through additional video and conducting extra background work. The 6-foot, 178-pounder was considered a potential first-rounder but didn't get the call Tuesday. There's a belief he could go off the board early in Round 2.

NHL Central Scouting ranked O'Rourke 27th among North American skaters, comparing him to the Winnipeg Jets' Josh Morrissey. He's been a stalwart on the Soo Greyhounds blue line since breaking into the OHL in 2018-19.

"Very intelligent. Ultra-competitive player that can only play one way and that is what drives him," Greyhounds GM Kyle Raftis said of O'Rourke, who racked up 37 points in 54 OHL games last season. "He's great in transition with a first pass and can add layers to offense in his ability to jump into the attack."

Just 17 at the time, O'Rourke was named captain of the Greyhounds for the 2019-20 season. "Leads by example," Raftis said, "always pushing others through his competitiveness, whether in practice or in the gym."

Everybody loves bloodlines at the NHL draft, and Tuesday did not disappoint. We saw Geoff Sanderson's son, Jake, go to the Senators at fifth overall, Robert Reichel's nephew, Lukas, go to the Blackhawks at 17th, and Yanic Perreault's son, Jacob, go to the Ducks at 27th. On Day 2, how about Alex Tuch's brother?

That's right, Luke Tuch, who is six years Alex's junior, is available heading into the second round. Luke, the 40th-ranked North American skater, collected 15 goals and 15 assists in 47 games for the U.S. National Team Development Program last season. Bound for Boston University, the 6-foot-2, 202-pound left-winger is currently waiting for the NCAA season to start.

Luke is described as a complete, 200-foot player with a physical edge. He's a powerful skater who can mix in some playmaking ability and scoring. NHL Central Scouting uses Jamie Benn for a big-league comparable.

For what it's worth, the Vegas Golden Knights - Alex's team for the past three years after the Minnesota Wild drafted him 18th overall in 2014 - own the 68th, 94th, 181st, and 215th picks. Lots of opportunities to tap the younger Tuch and add another layer to the bloodlines plot. Just saying.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Russian forward Rodion Amirov with the 15th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Rodion Amirov

Position: Left wing
Height: 6-feet
Weight: 168 lbs
Age: 19
Club: Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)
Nationality: Russian

Amirov barely produced in the KHL during the 2019-20 season, but he did rack up 10 goals and 22 points in 17 games at the junior level with Tolpar Ufa of Russia's MHL.

The promising forward played in three different leagues during that campaign, and he's already split time between the KHL and VHL - also known as the Supreme League, Russia's second-highest level of pro hockey - in 2020-21.

Despite that lack of continuity, Amirov has looked more comfortable early during the new season. He's posting better offensive numbers, particularly in the KHL, where he's notched three goals and two assists in 10 contests.

NHL Central Scouting ranked him fifth among European skaters on its final list in April, pegging him as the highest-ranked Russian.

What they're saying

"Amirov is easy to spot on the ice when he has the puck because he’s very quick and skilled. He has quick-twitch hands and can inside-out defenders while skating at full speed. He can set up and finish plays well," The Athletic's Corey Pronman wrote. "... Amirov has a slight frame, which led to struggles versus men who could knock him off pucks, but he does work hard and when he puts on muscle I could see him (getting) inside easier."

"Hard-working, skilled player who understands how to play both ends effectively," wrote Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino, who slotted Amirov in at 17th overall in his June mock draft.

Highlights

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