Wolverines in the National Hockey League

Four Incoming Freshman Selected in NHL Entry Draft

	Printer-Friendly Format E-mail this article Brandon Burlon was drafted by the New Jersey Devils

July 7, 2008

All four of U-M's incoming scholarship freshmen were chosen in last weekend's NHL Entry Draft. Defenseman Brandon Burlon and forward David Wohlberg could be teammates longer than the next four years as each was drafted by the New Jersey Devils -- Burlon in the second round, Wohlberg in the sixth round. The Devils website, www.newjerseydevils.com, contains an audio interview with Burlon, who attended the draft in Ottawa.

A third round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, forward Robbie Czarnik also attended the draft and was interviewed by www.LAkings.com shortly after his selection. Greg Pateryn was chosen by the Toronto Maple Leafs in round five.

Perhaps the biggest U-M-related news of the weekend was the draft-day trade of Mike Cammalleri from the L.A. Kings to the Calgary Flames on Friday night. In addition to a standard press release announcing the deal, the Flames' website has an extended audio interview with the new Flame. Among the many questions Cammalleri answered, he noted how excited he is to be rejoining fellow U-M alumni Eric Nystrom and David Moss, with whom he played during the 2001-02 season in Ann Arbor. The Calgary Herald also talked to Cammalleri about his affinity for playing for a Canadian club. NHL.com posted a Q and A with Cammalleri on June 27 and NHL Live had another audio interview with the new Flame on June 25.

Do you miss Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik yet? If so, you can check up on how they're doing at the Phoenix Coyotes Rookie Camp, which runs June 24-28. The Coyotes website has video interviews with Porter and Kolarik at camp.

NHL free agency officially begins on July 1. Andrew Ebbett, U-M's captain from 2005-06, inked a two-year deal with Anaheim on June 11. Ebbett made his NHL debut with the Ducks in 2007-08. Defenseman Aaron Ward re-signed with the Boston Bruins before the playoffs even ended. Eric Nystrom re-upped with the Calgary Flames on June 27, avoiding free agency.

Brendan Morrison is the most notable free agent among U-M's alumni. The 1997 Hobey Baker Award winner has spent seven-plus seasons with the Vancouver Canucks but is recovering from knee and wrist surgery. An update on Morrison's possible future with the Canucks comes from The Province on June 26. The other potential unrestricted free agents are Jeff Jillson (Colorado) and Josh Langfeld (Nashville). U-M's restricted free agent list includes: Danny Richmond (Chicago), Jason Ryznar (New Jersey) Jeff Tambellini (New York Islanders), Al Montoya (Phoenix) and Mike Brown (Vancouver).

According to a study conducted by Let's Play Hockey Magazine, which is based in Minneapolis, the University of Michigan had more alumni play in the NHL in 2007-08 than any other college program. Twenty-two former Wolverines played in at least one NHL regular season contest in the 2007-08 campaign. The story includes a list of all 252 NHL players this season who previously skated for NCAA programs.

Michigan in the National Hockey League