Lightning strike first with Stamkos

OTTAWA, Canada, June 21, 2008 (AFP) - Steven Stamkos led a charge by Ontario Hockey League prospects becoming the first overall pick in the National Hockey League´s entry draft on Friday.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made Canada´s Stamkos the top pick and the third player drafted first overall in franchise history.

"This is a great situation to be in with a guy like Vincent Lecavalier, who was drafted first overall," said Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting major junior club. "I can learn so much from him and players like (Martin) St. Louis and (Dan) Boyle. What better stars of the NHL for an 18-year-old coming into the league to learn from?"

The 2008 draft was anything but predictable as teams came together to complete 13 trades during the first day of the two-day event at the Scotiabank Place arena.

Stamkos is the third player drafted first overall by Tampa. They picked defenseman Roman Hamrlik first in 1992 and selected Lecavalier with the top pick in 1998.

An 18-year-old centre, Stamkos has long been considered the top prospect in this year´s draft. The native of Scarborough, Ontario recorded 105 points in 61 games with Sarnia, finishing second in the league with 58 goals.

Stamkos saw some familiar company, as the next three picks also came from the Ontario Hockey League.

Defenceman Drew Doughty of the Guelph Storm was selected second by the Los Angeles Kings, followed by fellow blue-liners Zach Bogosian of the Petersborough Petes and Alex Pietrangelo of the Niagara IceDogs.

Bogosian was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers, while Pietrangelo went to the St. Louis Blues.

All three all are considered to be two-way defencemen - blueliners who are solid at both ends of the ice.

However, the 18-year-old Doughty is believed to be the player most ready to play in the NHL among the trio.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, who moved up from the seventh pick via a trade with the New York Islanders, selected defenceman Luke Schenn from the Western Hockey League´s Kelowna Rockets fifth overall. The Columbus Blue Jackets grabbed left wing Nikita Filatov of the Russian Junior League´s CSKA 2 with the sixth pick.

In an emotional moment, the Vancouver Canucks selected centre Cody Hodgson of the OHL´s Brampton Battalion with the 10th overall pick.

Prior to making the selection, the Canucks honoured the memory of Luc Bourdon, who was killed in a motorcycle accident last month. Bourdon was their 10th overall selection in 2005.

A run on WHL prospects followed. With the 11th pick, the Chicago Blackhawks selected controversial centre Kyle Beach of the Everett Silvertips.

The Philadelphia Flyers chose Swiss-born defenceman Luca Sbisa of Lethbridge with the 19th overall pick.

Moments before the beginning of the draft, the Coyotes acquired centre Olli Jokinen from the Florida Panthers for defencemen Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton along with a second-round pick.

The Montreal Canadiens acquired left wing Alex Tanguay from the Flames for their first-round pick and a second-rounder in 2009.

The Flames acquired centre Michael Cammalleri from the Kings in a three-team trade.