NHL Notebook: Tyler Ennis is looking to land on a PTO and Minnesota wins inaugural PWHL draft lottery
By Zach Laing
19 days agoFormer Edmonton Oilers forward Tyler Ennis is looking to land with an NHL club on a professional tryout, Postmedia’s Jim Matheson reported Friday.
According to Matheson, Ennis is hoping to do so with a team based out west.
Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 26th overall in 2008, the 33-year-old Edmonton native has spent 13 seasons in the NHL scoring 144 goals and 346 points. Ennis spent a year and a half with the Oilers after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators for a mid-round pick late in the 2020-21 season.
Ennis re-signed with the club for the 2020-21 season and over his 39 games, he scored five goals and 13 points. The journeyman who has spent time with the Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs and Senators played last season with SC Bern in the Swiss National League.
There, he had a great season scoring 13 goals and 33 points in 37 games chipping in another three points in five games.
Ennis isn’t far removed from being a solid depth player in the NHL in Edmonton and Ottawa.
THE NHL NOTEBOOK IS PRESENTED BY BETWAY
PWHL Minnesota lands first pick
Minnesota’s Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise has won the league’s first-ever draft lottery and the chance to draft first overall in the inaugural draft.
The PWHL draft will work differently than what most hockey fans are used to with the NHL’s draft. Wherein the NHL selects junior-aged players from around the world, the PWHL’s draft will cover the existing pool of professional players.
This includes women who played in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), showcases for the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), and international competitions (including the Winter Olympics).
The 15-round draft will see 90 players selected.
Here’s more from Daily Faceoff’s Mike Gould:
Minnesota will have the first crack at that group of players in the draft, which is scheduled to take place on September 18 — a week after the end of the free agency period. Players have until September 3 to declare for the draft.Toronto, Boston, New York, Ottawa, and Montreal will respectively select second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in the 2023 PWHL Draft. As the draft follows a snake format, Montreal will then pick seventh and Ottawa will pick eighth (and so on), with Minnesota finally returning to the podium at 12th overall.The PWHL previously announced its six general managers on Friday morning: Danielle Marmer (Boston), Natalie Darwitz (Minnesota), Daniele Sauvageau (Montreal), Pascal Daoust (New York), Michael Hirshfeld (Ottawa), and Gina Kingsbury (Toronto).
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
Recent articles from Zach Laing
