Nathan Mackinnon taken first in NHL draft

Canadian Nathan MacKinnon was the first pick of the NHL draft, following in the footsteps of another ice hockey star from his home town in Nova Scotia - Sidney Crosby.

The Colorado Avalanche won the draft lottery for the first time in team history and selected MacKinnon, 17, a solid two-way presence with strong hands and stick-handling and skating skills. He is considered a natural scorer and a superb puck distributor.

He was the first player drafted No 1 overall out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Crosby in 2005.

MacKinnon and Crosby are both from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

"I love Sid. He's my favourite player," MacKinnon said. "I guess he's still my favourite player. I don't really know what to say now since I'm going to be in the same league as him. I don't know if I should dislike him or not."

The Florida Panthers made centre Aleksander Barkov, the top-ranked European skater, the second overall pick.

Barkov, born in Finland to Russian parents, has a strong sporting pedigree. His father, Alexander Barkov, played professionally in Russia, Italy and Finland. His mother, Olga, played on the Russian national basketball team.

Barkov had an operation on his shoulder in March and may not be fully healthy when NHL training camp starts.

"It was a tough decision, but we needed to be strong up the middle," Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said.

"I like big, strong centremen who are smart playmakers and we went back and forth a few days on this one."

The Tampa Bay Lightning took Canadian forward Jonathan Drouin with the third overall pick, while the Nashville Predators opted for defenceman Seth Jones with the fourth pick.

Jones, the son of former NBA forward Popeye Jones, was widely considered the top prospect. He was the top player on the NHL central scouting's final list of North American skaters.

The New Jersey Devils traded the ninth pick to Vancouver for goaltender Cory Schneider, who is the likely eventual successor to Martin Brodeur, 41, in the Devils' net.

Brodeur personally added another back-up when he made the announcement that the Devils had also drafted his son, Anthony, 18.

The Devils made a late trade for the 208th overall pick and one of the final ones in the seventh round. Brodeur took the microphone and announced Anthony's name, then waited at the team's draft table to present his son, also a goaltender, with a jersey.

"I'm trying to create my own name," Anthony Brodeur said, "not on being Martin Brodeur's son."

It may be a while yet before either Schneider or the young Brodeur takes over, however, as Martin Brodeur is signed for the 2013-14 season and hasn't said anything about retiring.