The celebrating continued for Portland Winterhawks players on Saturday, as the National Hockey League completed its 2010 draft.
Six Winterhawks were selected on Saturday, giving the Western Hockey League team a total of eight players selected in the annual seven-round draft.
Forwards Brad Ross, Luke Walker and Riley Boychuck, defensemen Taylor Aronson and Troy Rutkowski, and goalie Mac Carruth had their names called as the NHL held rounds 2-7 of its draft in Los Angeles.
Those selections came after Winterhawks forwards Ryan Johansen (No. 4 to Columbus) and Nino Niederreiter (No. 5 to the New York Islanders) were prominent during Friday’s first round. The eight selections matches the Winterhawks franchise record for one draft, accomplished three times previously.
Ross was selected 43rd overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his second full WHL season, Ross was third on the Winterhawks in points with 27 goals and 41 assists. He led the WHL in penalty minutes with 203.
Aronson went in the third round, with the 78th pick, to Nashville. He had 30 points in his first WHL regular season, then led Portland defensemen with nine points in 11 playoff games.
The Colorado Avalanche selected Winterhawks two picks apart in the fifth round, taking Rutkowski at No. 137 and Walker at 139.
Rutkowski, in his second season in Portland, led Winterhawks defensemen with 43 points during the regular season. Walker has spent three seasons with Portland, totaling 65 goals and 65 assists in 202 games.
The Chicago Blackhawks picked Carruth with the 191st pick. Carruth had a goals-against average of 3.41 in 24 games for Portland in the 2009-10 regular season. He started all seven games of the team’s first-round playoff series against Spokane.
Boychuck went to Buffalo with one of the final picks in the draft, No. 208. Boychuk had 14 goals and 16 assists in 66 games as a second-year Winterhawk last season.
NHL teams are allowed to draft North American players ages 18-20 and foreign players of any age.
Ben Gallacher, the son of Winterhawks owner Bill Gallacher, was taken in the fourth round, 93rd overall by the Florida Panthers. Jason Clark, a player on the Winterhawks’ protected list, was taken in the third round, 82nd overall by the New York Islanders.
