Grimaldi Takes Talents to South Beach

#158998636 / gettyimages.com

Ok, I know I am a day late on this on, but I needed to figure out how I wanted to word this post. As it was announced yesterday, UND Junior forward, Rocco Grimaldi signed with the Florida Panthers yesterday. The California native would sign a three year entry level deal worth around $3.2 million. Rocco was drafted 32nd overall, which is the second pick of the second round, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul, Minnesota.

I myself have some memories in the two full seasons I was able to see him skate at UND, but my favorite memory is probably when he scored his first goal against Minnesota back in November of 2011. It was a game I was fortunate to be attending while back home for a weekend my freshman year, but what made it most memorable was his celebration. Replicating his idol, Tim Tebow, it possibly was the best celebration in college hockey that season. However, Rocco would miss most of this season due to a knee injury, and was forced to take a medical red shirt for the remainder of the 2011-2012 season.

Rocco was by far the fan favorite in his time at North Dakota, and with good reason. He was fast, and would dazzle the crowd with his great hands. However, his likeness to pull the flashy moves would cost UND at times where taking the shot would be the better option. However, when they did work they were all highlight reel goals that would leave the entire crowd speechless.

Grimaldi would lead UND in points this year with 37 and would make a statement in the NCAA tournament as well. His presence was well felt on the ice greatest in the Wisconsin game when he would earn his first collegiate hat trick, leading UND to a 5-2 victory.

It is hard for me to say if Rocco will have success in the NHL, or even make it into the NHL, but we wish him the best of the luck in whatever his career has in store for him.

Slovakia's Richard Buri hits Canada's Dougie Hamilton

In one of the odd plays of the day, Slovakia's defenseman Richard Buri hits Canada's defensema Dougie Hamilton. Buri was only given a two minute minor on the play. Team Canada scored on the ensuing power play with a goal by Morgan Rielly assisting on the goal were Mark Schiefele and Oliers star Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Hamilton is a Boston Bruins first round draft choice who was picked ninth overall during the 2011 NHL entry draft. Hamilton plays for the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League.

Ryan Strome shootout goal.

Check out this sick goal by New York Islanders prospect Ryan Strome, who was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. The video was taken at the New York Islanders development camp at the Nassau Coliseum over the weekend. Ryan Strome is known for highlight goals [click to view].

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• NHL: Predicting How Well the Top 10 NHL Draft Picks of 2011 Will Do (bleacherreport.com)
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Rocco Grimaldi post draft interview...

I am excited that Rocco Grimaldi is going to be a member of the Fighting Sioux to start the 2011-2012 season. I think this highly skilled forward is going to be a great addition to the Fighting Sioux because Grimaldi is going to add much needed speed and skill to the Fighting Sioux line up... I predict that Grimaldi will be a top 6 forward that will play on the first or second line. I also like the fact that Rocco is going to have something to prove when he steps out on the ice as well. It will be nice to see a player like him on the Fighting Sioux side of the ice instead of watching a player of his skill dancing through our defenses scoring goals, Nathan Gerbe is a player that comes to mind.

Corey Hanlon; NESN ---- Rocco Grimaldi, selected by the Florida Panthers with the third pick in the second round of the 2011 NHL draft, stands at 5-foot-6 -- roughly the size of Zdeno Chara's leg. In a rebuilding franchise, Grimaldi could be making a big difference on the ice sooner rather than later and earn the title of shortest player in the league.

"It’s kind of annoying after a while, but it’s also kind of exciting to sit there not knowing what’s going to happen next," Grimaldi told Yahoo. "I still have to go out and prove people wrong, which I’ve done my whole life and I’m going to continue to do."

Grimaldi scored 34 goals in 50 games last season with the U.S. National Development team. He has committed to the University of North Dakota next year.

Redwing77's Draft Roundup and perhaps other stuff

UND's Draftees:

JT Miller - 1st Round (15th Overall) - NY Rangers
Rocco Grimaldi - 2nd Round (33rd Overall) - Florida Panthers
Dillon Simpson - 4th Round (92nd Overall) - Edmonton Oilers

Not Drafted but Eligible:
Colton St. Clair

WCHA Draft Standings:

Minnesota - 5
UW - 4
DU - 4
UND - 3
UNO - 3
CC - 1
MTU -1

Draft Grades:

It's hard not to give Minnesota, UW, and DU high marks on the draft. They beat the field with numbers. Minnesota leads all NCAA schools with 5. UW and DU are tied with Miami and, incredibly, Harvard for second most.

Most of the drafted players in this year's NCAA crop were drafted in the 5th to 7th rounds, though it is only a slight majority. 28 NCAA players went in rounds 1-4 while 33 went in the 5th to 7th Rounds. The school that got the most top 3 round draft picks is Miami, with 3 of their 4 drafted players going in these rounds (2 were first rounders).

Overall, 75% of UND's draft eligible players (not counting the overagers, of which UND has 3) got drafted and all of them before the 5th round. Not bad. I thought Simpson would have gone higher, though. Perhaps Anaheim or even Winnipeg would've used their 3rd round picks on Dillon.

In any case, Colton St. Clair had a disappointing weekend, but that's alright. I hope he uses it as incentive to work hard. I'm sure he'll get invited to a prospect camp somewhere, maybe Winnipeg or Minnesota would give a regional player a look-see.

Miller's Status

It's widely published that JT Miller hasn't cast aside the Major Junior route (Plymouth of the OHL owns his rights). I would say there is a higher than average chance that Miller reports. The chance would be higher if the trifecta of evil (Moncton of the QMJHL, Red Deer of the WHL, or London of the OHL) owned Miller's rights. It's hard to say what Rangers GM Glen Sather will want JT to do. I don't know which camp he sits in, be it Pro-NCAA (such as Lamoriello of the Devils) or Pro-MJ (Yzerman of TB Lightning... or if any of the Sutters are still GMing), but here's my prediction:

I predict Miller attends UND in the fall. After his freshman season, however, all bets are off. He has stated that he wants to give UND a shot for a year and reevaluate after his freshman season. Because of the financial freedom the OHL has over the NCAA, it's going to be hard to ignore. We're just lucky Miller's rights aren't owned by a more aggressive OHL team.

NHL Draft Coverage --- Live chat

I am just watching the Draft on TV come join me if you want. Comments are welcome from all...

Here the pick-by-pick break down of the first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

1  EDM Ryan Nugent-Hopkins C CA 6' 0" 171 WHL Red Deer
2 COL Gabriel Landeskog LW SE 6' 1" 204 OHL Kitchener 
3 FLA Jonathan Huberdeau C CA 6' 1" 171 QMJHL Saint John 
4 NJD Adam Larsson D SE 6' 3" 197 SWEDEN Skelleftea 
5 NYI Ryan Strome C CA 6' 0" 177 OHL Niagara 
6 OTT Mika Zibanejad C SE 6' 2" 195 SWEDEN Djurgarden 
7 WPG Mark Scheifele C CA 6' 2" 184 OHL Barrie
8 PHI Sean Couturier C US 6' 3" 197 QMJHL Drummondville 
9 BOS Dougie Hamilton D CA 6' 5" 193 OHL Niagara
10 MIN Jonas Brodin D SE 6' 1" 166 SWEDEN Farjestad 
11 COL Duncan Siemens D CA 6' 3" 196 WHL Saskatoon 
12 CAR Ryan Murphy D CA 5' 11" 170 OHL Kitchener 
13 CGY Sven Baertschi LW CH 5' 10" 181 WHL Portland 
14 DAL Jamieson Oleksiak D CA/US  6' 7" 241 Northeastern University
15 NYR Jonathan Miller C US 6' 1" 189 USHL USA U-18/UND
16 BUF Joel Armia RW FI 6' 3" 192 FINLAND Assat 
17 MTL Nathan Beulieu D CA 6' 1" 179 QMJHL Saint John
18 CHI Mark McNeill C CA 6' 1" 211 WHL Prince Albert 
19 EDM Oscar Klefdom D SE 6' 3" 204 SWEDEN Farjestad 
20 PHX Connor Murphy D US 6' 3" 190 USHL USA U-18
21 OTT Stefan Noesen RW US 6' 0" 187 OHL Plymouth 
22 TOR Tyler Biggs BIGGS RW US 6' 2" 205 USHL USA U-18
23 PIT Joesph Morrow D CA 6' 0" 199 WHL Portland 
24 OTT Matt Puempel LW CA 6' 0" 198 OHL Peterborough 
25 TOR Stuart Percy D CA 6' 1" 187 OHL Mississauga St. Michael's 
26 CHI Phillip Danault LW CA 6' 0" 181 QMJHL Victoriaville 
27 TBL Vladislav Namestnikov C RU 5' 11" 171 OHL London 
28 MIN Zack Phillips S C CA 6' 0" 175 QMJHL Saint John
29 VAN Nicklas Jensen LW/RW DK 6' 2" 202 OHL Oshawa 
30 ANA Rickard Rakell RW SE 6' 0" 199 OHL Plymouth

There were two major trades tonight...

The Minnesota Wild traded their top defenseman Brent Burns and second-round pick next year to the San Jose Sharks for Devin Setoguchi and the 2010 first-round pick Charlie Coyle and their first-round pick this year (No. 28).

Also, the Washington Capitals acquired forward Troy Brouwer via trade from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a first-round pick.