NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – History was made this past Saturday when Brahmas defensemen Cam Clarke was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Drafted 136th overall by the Boston Bruins, the Massachusetts organization now holds the rights to the defensemen for the next four seasons while the prospect plays his collegiate hockey at Ferris State. But what does the past say about those selected with the 136th pick?
Since the NHL Draft expanded to 136 picks (and beyond) in 1972, there have been 11 players selected at #136 to make it to the NHL.
1981: Bruce Holloway
1983: Sean Toomey
1989: Scott Daniels
1990: Eric Lacroix
1991: Andreas Johansson
1992: Grigorijis Pantelejevs
1993: Rick Mrozik
1996: Andreas Dackell
1997: Mike York
2001: Billy Thompson
2004: Nikita Nikitin
Of the 11, Andreas Dackell went on to have the most storied NHL career, totaling 613 games and 250 points with stints on the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.
More specifically, on defense, since the league expanded to 30 teams in 2000, there have been 33 defensemen drafted in the 5th round to make it to the NHL. The players have been:
2000: Petteri Nummelin, Mike Stuart, David Koci, Greg Zanon
2001: Cole Jarrett, Jussi Timonen, Kevin Bieksa
2002: James Wisniewski
2003: Tyson Strachan, Lasse Kukkonen
2004: Nikita Nikitin, Bryan Young, Janne Niskala
2005: Brian Salcido, Derek Joslin, Mark Fayne
2006: Shane Sims, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Alex Biega, Olivier Magnan
2007: Jake Muzzin
2008: Greg Pateryn, Brent Regner, Mark Borowiecki, Phillip Larsen
2009: Anton Klementyev
2010: John Klingberg, Kevin Gravel
2011: Fredrik Claesson, Darren Dietz, Nikita Nesterov, Frank Corrado
2012: Connor Carrick
Normally revered as a round where players are selected and need a few additional years to blossom their game, Clarke fits the description to a tee.
Other notable all-time fifth round draft selections include Olympic Gold Medalist Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, and Stanley Cup Champion Andrew Shaw of the Montreal Canadiens.
For more information on Clarke, stay tuned to “Lone Star Brahmas” on Facebook and “@LoneStarBrahmas” on Twitter. To inquire about season tickets, call 817-336-4ICE.