Ulf Samuelsson's Son Among 3 Drafted By Penguins
Posted: 7:42 pm EDT June 27, 2009Updated: 7:34 am EDT June 29, 2009
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins celebrated Father's Day a weekend late by drafting three players with NHL lineage.On the second day of the NHL draft Saturday, the Stanley Cup champions chose Philip Samuelsson, the son of former defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, and Andy Bathgate, the grandson of Hall of Famer Andy Bathgate Sr. -- one of the original Penguins players in 1967. They also chose high school defenseman Alex Velischek, the son of Randy Velischek, who played 509 NHL games for Minnesota, New Jersey and Quebec from 1982-92.Philip Samuelsson went in the second round with the No. 61 overall pick. The 17-year-old played last season for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League, getting 22 assists in 54 games. He has committed to Boston College.Ulf Samuelsson played for the Penguins' 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup championship teams and remains one of the most popular players in team history.Bathgate, 18, went in the fifth round with a pick the Penguins acquired by trading the rights to goaltender Chad Johnson to the New York Rangers. Bathgate had shoulder surgery last season, but had four goals and 17 points in 49 games over two seasons with Belleville (Ontario Hockey League).Alex Velischek, who played on two-time state champion Delbarton High School in New Jersey, also went in the fifth round. He will play at Providence next season.The Penguins made three other picks on Saturday, including forward Ben Hanowski, an 18-year-old high school player from Little Falls, Minn., who had 196 goals and 209 assists in his scholastic career. He will play at St. Cloud State next season. The Penguins, pushed to the bottom of the draft by winning their first Stanley Cup in 17 years, also took forward Nicholas Petersen from Shawinigan (Quebec Major Junior) in the fourth round and defenseman Viktor Ekbom from Oskarshamn of the Swedish Elite League in the sixth round.Petersen had 37 goals in 68 games. Ekbom played for silver medalist Sweden in the world junior championships and had one goal and six points in 15 international games last season. The Penguins traded their seventh pick to Montreal for a sixth-round selection next year. On Friday night, the Penguins used the last pick in the first round on defenseman Simon Despres of the Saint John Sea Dogs. Despres had two goals and 30 assists in 66 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season. None of the Penguins' second-day picks is older than 20.
Copyright 2009 by WPXI.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.













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