Hitmen and Beanpots Swap 1st Round Picks

With 10 picks in the 2012 HB draft, Las Vegas was bound to shuffle the deck.  Talks with Boston picked up early Thursday morning and by dinner time a deal had been reached.  The Hitmen sent Edmonton's 1st round pick along with Toronto's 3rd in exchange for Boston's 1st pick in 2013.

Much ado about nothing? 

...not if you've been following the Hitmen this year...

Edmonton's 1st round pick came from the much-debated Sidney Crosby trade from earlier this season.

GM Bobby Brooks commented on the move, "Normally a swap of draft picks isn't very newsworthy, but many eyes were curious to see what would have come of that pick from the Lumberjacks given the circumstances surrounding it.  However, with two other 1st round picks in the upcoming draft we felt it was necessary to balance out the drafts and acquire another top pick for 2013. 

Early scouting reports say next year's rookie crop will be one of the best to come along in quite some time. Boston's pick might not land a superstar name like Kuznetsov, Tarasenko, Granlund, Zibanejad, Yakupov, or Huberdeau, but with a little luck another one of the other high-profile players could fall to that spot.  Blue chip prospects are entering the league at a rate like we've never seen before and there will an increasing premium placed on these high-end draft picks."

In the meantime, Las Vegas continues to battle Detroit for the America West lead with a lineup filled with youngsters.  This turtle race could come down to the very last game...