Flyers Draft Defenseman Travis Sanheim With First Pick
By Joseph Santoliquito
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The chants came on early—as the NHL began its role call for its annual draft at the Wells Fargo Center Friday night. After "Let's go Flyers, let's go Flyers," Flyers' fans endeared themselves to the rest of the NHL by yelling "sucks" after each team was announced.
Some teams were greeted with greater wrath than the others—like the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's introduction was even drowned out by a throaty, raining chorus of boos.
By the time the Flyers were selecting at 17, the rambunctious crowd still had a great amount of energy and greeted the newest Flyer, 6-3, 181-pound defenseman Travis Sanheim with raging cheers.
Sanheim is supposed to be a good puck-carrying defenseman who has good skating ability, a strong shot and good passing ability.
There was one local selected in the first round, Anthony DeAngelo, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defenseman originally out of Sewell, New Jersey, was taken by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the 19th overall pick.
Three picks later, the Pittsburgh Penguins took Kasperi Kapanen, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward who lived in Shamong, N.J., between the ages of 7 and 12 when his father, Sami, played for the Flyers.
Flyers' fans tossed any connection Kasperi Kapanen had with the Flyers, once again drowning the stage with boos.
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