Minnesota Nice

Have to give a shout out to MINNESOTA HOCKEY - three of the first 10 picks in today's NHL draft were native Minnesotans. Bloomington native Erik Johnson became just the fifth American chosen first overall when the St. Louis Blues selected him Saturday, and fellow Minnesota natives Kyle Okposo and Peter Mueller followed Johnson in the top 10 with Okposo going to the Islanders and Mueller to the Coyotes, according to the AP story. Also, Phil Kessel, who defected from Madison, Wisconsin, to play for the Minnesota Gophers in 2005-06, was drafted in the first round by the Boston Bruins.
The only negative here is our beloved Gophers will likely lose Johnson, Mueller and Kessel to the NHL long before their collegiate careers would be over (or even start!). Still, so proud today to be a Minnesotan, especially since I grew up here playing hockey and love the game more than any other.

A great, great, great day for Minnesota hockey fans everywhere. Our state has long been a hockey hotbed, and it's great to see so much talent flooding into the NHL at once.

And then the local NHL team, the Minnesota Wild, makes a huge draft-day trade to get high-scoring forward Pavol Demitra from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 17th pick and top prospect Patrick O Sullivan.

Wow what a great day. It makes me long for winter and outdoor hockey! (But just for a minute. I haven't had enough summer yet!)