Once the New York Rangers had selected Kakko second overall, the only question was whether Jeff Gorton had another trade up his sleeve. It was not to be as it was a quiet night for trades.
The only deal of the night was when Arizona sent their first round pick (#14) and a second round pick (#45) to the Flyers in exchange for Philadelphia’s 11th overall pick. They used it to grab Swedish defenseman Victor Soderstrom, ranked the best European defenseman by Central Scouting.
The rest of the first round was slightly unpredictable. A draft that was rich in forwards saw a number of European defensemen move up.