|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
After making history with the top overall selection, the New York Islanders used the fifth pick on high-scoring left wing Raffi Torres. The Isles acquired the fifth pick from Tampa Bay after sending goaltender Kevin Weekes and defenseman Kristian Kudroc, a 1999 first-rounder, to the Lightning. In Torres, New York gets a 5-11 1/2, 207-pound winger who scored 43 goals in 68 games with Brampton of the Ontario junior league. The son of a Mexican father and a Peruvian mother, he was raised in Toronto. Torres made a splash with three assists in the Top Prospects Game and finished the season as the sixth-ranked North American prospect, according to NHL Central Scouting. He was voted best shot and most dangerous around the net and was runner-up as top stickhandler in his conference in a poll of OHL coaches. While a shade under six feet, Torres has the bulk to make it in the NHL. He possesses impressive strength and uses it along the boards and in the corners. He saw time on the penalty-killing unit and was not a surprise to go in the top five. Earlier, the Islanders made Rick DiPietro the first goaltender taken with the top overall pick in the history of the NHL draft.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
