The Ottawa Senators created the first surprise of the NHL entry draft when they took the son of an Iranian father and Finnish mother who grew up just outside of Stockholm and was first pushed toward tennis as his main sport.
Oh, and Mika Zibanejad speaks at least four languages, too - "English, Finnish, Swedish, Farsi and a bit of French," he said shortly after Senators general manager Bryan Murray made him the sixth overall pick of the draft. This was a bit of a surprise, since another centre, Sean Couturier of the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was available and ranked ahead of Zibanejad going into the draft.
Up until then, the draft went as expected, with centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins going first overall to the Edmonton Oilers. The Colorado Avalanche followed by taking left winger Gabriel Landeskog second, then the Florida Panthers took centre Jonathan Huberdeau third. Swedish defenceman Adam Larsson went fourth, to the New Jersey Devils, and centre Ryan Strome rounded out the top five when he was selected by the New York Islanders.
The Montreal Canadiens had the 17th overall pick and took defenceman Nathan Beaulieu of the Memorial Cup champion Saint John Seadogs.
For the first 15 picks of the first round, there were none of the anticipated trades. But that changed over the second half, with several deals, which saw Murray get three first-round picks. He sent two picks to the Detroit Red Wings for their 24th overall pick and took right winger Stefan Noesen of the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League. Just before that, the Senators got left winger Matt Puempl of the OHL's Peterborough Petes 21st overall.
In another trade, the Chicago Blackhawks sent Troy Brouwer to the Washington Capitals for their 26th overall pick. The Blackhawks took left winger Phillip Danault from Victoriaville of the QMJHL.
The Blackhawks were busy, as they completed another deal that sent defenceman Brian Campbell to the Florida Panthers in exchange for left-winger Rostislav Olesz.
It was not immediately known what Panthers GM Dale Tallon gave up for Campbell, but he did not mind adding his $7.1-million (all currency U.S.) salary because the Panthers have to add $30-million to their payroll just to hit next season's salary-cap floor of $48.3-million.
Zibanejad, 18, said at first he was surprised himself to be picked by Ottawa and then was reminded the Senators flew him into Ottawa recently for an interview.
"Obviously, when you are brought to Ottawa you get a feeling," he said. "I'll do everything I can to work hard and make it."
Since the Senators have several Swedes on their roster, most notably captain Daniel Alfredsson, Zibanejad's adjustment to the NHL from the Swedish Elite League, where he played for Djurgarden, will be easier. Then again, Zibanejad is used to taking a slightly different path.
His father Mehrdad emigrated to Sweden when he was 23 years old, in the midst of the revolution that toppled the Shah of Iran, while his mother Ritva moved to Sweden from Finland. She met Mehrdad after her first marriage ended.
Mika was steered toward tennis at first by his father but discovered hockey thanks to his older half-brother, Monir Kalgoum, who now plays in the division below the Swedish Elite League.
"He's been a big inspiration for me," Mika said of Kalgoum. "I actually started to play tennis. That was what my dad wanted. But then I got stuck into hockey after the first time on ice. I love tennis but obviously I love hockey [more]so I switched," Mika Zibanejad said.
Despite his eclectic background, Zibanejad always had his eye on playing in the NHL. That's why he began studying French, he said, "maybe with the thought of playing in the NHL for a French-speaking team."
The scouts say he is a skilled player who has a mean streak and Zibanejad, who made the jump to the Elite League last season at the age of 17, describes himself as a North American player.
"I play pretty physical," he said. "I try to use my speed. I try to use my skills, too so I'm an all-around player."
Huberdeau said being taken third overall by the Panthers was a great way to end his 2010-11 hockey season after winning the Memorial Cup with the Seadogs.
"You can't ask for anything more," the native of St. Jerome, Que., said. "It's a dream since you were young and now you have a foot in the door."
Huberdeau, who had 105 points for Saint John in the QMJHL, improved as the season went on, advancing through the scouts' rankings. With a strong performance in the Memorial Cup, he moved ahead of Couturier, who wound up going eighth overall to the Philadelphia Flyers.
"I want to go there and make the team," Huberdeau said. "I will work very hard this summer."
The other top 10 picks were Dougie Hamilton of Toronto, ninth overall to the Boston Bruins, and Swedish defenceman Jonas Brodin, 10th overall, to the Minnesota Wild.
Larsson, who had been projected as high as first overall and in the top three most of the time, said he was not disappointed about going fourth because it was to the Devils.
"They always have great teams and that makes things easier for me at the start," he said. "I'm going to need to be stronger in the body and improve my shot. I'm working on it every day back home."