Kevin Estrada may have heard his name called in the NHL Entry Draft this weekend, but he still plans on playing hockey in East Lansing next season.
In the third round of Saturday’s 2001 NHL Entry Draft in Sunrise, Fla., the Carolina Hurricanes selected the speedy left wing with the 91st overall pick.
But that won’t stop the 5-foot-11, 185-pound 19-year-old from playing in Munn Ice Arena next season.
“The (Hurricanes) want me to go to school and develop,” Estrada said Sunday from Florida. “And I guess we’ll see what happens after that.”
Estrada played last season with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League, amassing 34 goals and dishing out 84 assists for 118 points in 59 games.
For the Surrey, British Columbia, native, the choice to go to MSU was one of destiny. Numerous Chiefs have followed the path from Chilliwack to East Lansing, including former center and captain Shawn Horcoff, former defenseman Brad Hodgins, former center Jeremy Jackson and junior left wing Brian Maloney - a good friend of Estrada.
“It’s a graduating from Chilliwack,” Estrada said. “I wanted to keep the tradition going.”
But following in the other players’ footsteps wasn’t the only deciding factor in Estrada’s choice to be a Spartan.
“I’m really excited,” he said of the chance to play for MSU. “I’ve always wanted to go to State.”
Estrada said putting the NHL on hold right now is his best option at the moment. He knows before entering the NHL, he’ll need to work on his strength and MSU head coach Ron Mason will mold him into a professional hockey player.
“Coach Mason has been known as a defensive coach,” he said. “So I’m sure I’ll work on my defense (at MSU).”
Around the NHL
Draft weekend was a busy time for a variety of squads around the NHL as teams unloaded disgruntled stars in exchange for young talent. Here’s a rundown of some of the major draft-day moves:
New York received right wing Mikael Samuelsson and defenseman Christian Gosselin, both of whom played for the Sharks’ AHL affiliate in Kentucky last season. The Rangers also will pay a large portion of Graves’ $4 million salary next season.
Peca, who sat out all of last season after failing to negotiate a deal with the Sabres, was dealt for young forwards Taylor Pyatt and Tim Connolly.
Ottawa also received forward Bill Muckalt and defenseman Zdeno Chara.
They traded center Rob Niedermayer and a second-round pick to Calgary for wingers Valeri Bure and Jason Wiemer. The move unites the Bure brothers, Valeri and Pavel, for the first time in their NHL careers.
Igor Grigorenko was picked with the team’s 62nd selection overall in the second round. Not afraid to play an abrasive style, Grigorenko was rated 15th overall by Detroit.
Grigorenko, 18, had 10 goals and 10 assists in 39 games with Togliatti last season with 88 penalty minutes. He is from the same hometown as current Wings forward Yuri Butsayev.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
