With their seventh and final draft pick of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the New Jersey Devils selected defenseman Patrick Daly at 189th overall.
Like most of the other prospects taken today, Daly is an American-born prospect who will go to the NCAA in the near future to continue his development. Daly is a defenseman from Benilde-St. Margeret's a prep school in Minnesota. He isn't all that big or all that small at 6'0" and 181 pounds. Like Reece Scarlett, the Devils' sixth round pick, Daly can stand to bulk up quite a bit. From Elite Prospects, here are his stats from last season:
He committed to Wisconsin as part of their 2011 class back in January, according to this post by Chuck Schwartz at Wisconsin hockey blog Sixty Minutes, No Alibis. The post also includes this quote which points out something to like about Daly.
Benilde-St. Margaret's head coach loves the way his senior captain gets up and down the ice. "Anyone who sees his game always comments on his skating," Head coach Ken Pauly said. "He has such high-end skating ability that he really is a great prospect for the future."
While that may be the case, there's no rank for Daly from Central Scouting Services or even a prospect page at NHL.com. You could say this is an off-the-boards pick, which I suppose is all right in the seventh round. If there's a time to take a long shot, then it's definitely at the end; even though there was considerable other talent available like Matt Killian, Zac Larraza, Gustav Bjorklund, and Jeremy Boyce-Rotevall. That being said, this is the seventh round, I don't think there's much reason to gripe too much. Daly's going to college and will develop at his own pace, just like most of the other prospects available.
Anyway, what is your opinion about this selection? Do you like or dislike the pick - and why? Have you found out any other information about Patrick Daly that would be of interest? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about this pick in the comments. I'll update this post with more information as it comes and as time permits. Thanks for reading.
Video
Patrick Daly was on hand at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. The Devils' Youtube account has video of him talking to the press shortly after his selection.
One additional tidbit: Daly was named one of the 10 finalists for the Mr. Hockey Award, which is given to the top senior high school hockey player in Minnesota, according to this article at MN Hockey Hub. Daly didn't win it, but being named as a finalist in a hockey-mad state like Minnesota is praise enough.
Back in January, Chris Dilks of Western College Hockey Blog had this short take on Daly as a potential finalist:
3. Patrick Daly, Defense, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Wisconsin Commit
Daly has always been a fantastic skater, but never quite put the rest of his game together enough for me to include him in my first top ten list. But earning a commitment to play for Wisconsin, a school renowned for producing defenseman, should be enough to turn some heads and get people to take a closer look at Daly's abilities.