The SB Nation NHL Mock Draft 2016 Is Underway

On Wednesday, the SB Nation NHL Mock Draft 2016 got started.  Our network of blogs will continue making three picks a day, at 10, 12, and 2 (not weekends), until the entire first round has been completed.

As usual, Canes Country will be making the picks for the Hurricanes.  The 13th overall pick will be announced at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14 and the 21st overall will be posted at 2 p.m. on Thursday.

So far there have been no surprises.  Pension Plan Puppets, (Toronto) chose Auston Matthews, Arctic Ice Hockey, (Winnipeg) took Patrik Laine, and The Cannon, (Columbus) picked Jesse Puljujarvi.

You can follow along at the main draft page -NHL Mock Draft 2016, or wait for us to give a daily review at the end of the day.

I will soon post another article talking a bit about some of the players who may drop to the Canes at 13 and at 21.  Next week I will take a look at what might happen in the second round.

On Thursday at noon, Ron Francis and Tony MacDonald will meet with the media to answer questions about the draft.  We will have an article to discuss that later in the day.

-----

In other news, Chip Alexander spoke with Gary Bettman on Wednesday and asked the commissioner about some of the wild rumors floating around concerning the Carolina franchise and Peter Karmanos.

Chip got the following quotes and more-

"I don’t see the Hurricanes relocating, period," Bettman said in an interview. "I think the Triangle is a terrific market. A good fan base has developed around the Hurricanes and I see the opportunity for continued growth for this franchise in the future.

"Peter Karmanos is a terrific owner. This franchise has never missed a beat and he has been there to support it, financially and emotionally. All this speculation is unfair to the franchise and its fans. It’s completely unfounded."

Bettman disputed a recent media report the Hurricanes had borrowed more than $300 million from the league, calling the report ridiculous and absurd.

To read the rest of the article, click here.  Needless to say, take anything you see around the league about the Hurricanes with a grain of salt.