LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Four players eligible for the 2011 NHL entry draft went to Lake Placid (most famous in the hockey world for this moment) for the U.S. under-20 evaluation camp last week.
Two of these players -- defenseman Adam Clendening (Boston University) and forward Brandon Saad (Saginaw) -- survived the first cut, and both are potential top-10 picks come the June 2011 NHL draft. They will stick around for the midsummer minitournament against the Swedes and the Finns in the next few days.
Fourteen other invitees were sent home Monday, including the two other 2011 eligibles: forwards Matt Nieto (also from BU) and Nick Shore (Denver University). That's not so bad, though, when it comes to their draft stock. After all, two first-rounders (D Jarred Tinordi and F Jarred Tinordi) and three second-rounders (D Mark Alt, F Phil Lane, F Tyler Pitlick) from the 2010 draft class were sent home last year.
For the full report on Lake Placid, including an understanding of what it means and why it's important, you must be an ESPN Insider.
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Grant Sonier
Grant Sonier has scouted for six NHL organizations over the past 13 years, most recently for the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2010-11 season. He is a special contributor to ESPN Insider.
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Victoria Matiash
Victoria Matiash has served as a Fantasy Hockey columnist for ESPN.com since 2007, and contributor to NHL Rumor Central since 2010. She lives in Toronto.
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