Tips select Vladimir Dolnik (updated with Dominik Bittner)
Published 9:12 am Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Everett decided to go for a forward with its first-round pick in the CHL import draft, nabbing Slovakian left wing Vladimir Dolnik with the 21st pick overall.
Dolnik is a 1993-born player, so he’s entering his 18-year-old season. He’s listed at 6-foot-2 and 187 pounds. He was ranked 109th amo
ng international skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau for this year’s NHL draft, but went unselected.
Dolnik split time last season between HC Banska Bystrica’s U-18 and U-20 teams. For the U-18 team he had 21 goals, 24 assists and 75 penalty minutes in 34 games. For the U-20 team he had seven goals, four assists and eight penalty minutes in nine games. He also played for Slovakia’s team at the U-18 World Championships in April, tallying two goals and one assist in six games and being named one of Slovakia’s top’s three players.
I’ll find out what type of player Dolnik is and whether he’s committed to coming to Everett later today. Now we wait until this afternoon to see if the Tips decide to make a second-round selection.
— UPDATE, 2 p.m.
Everett traded for Kootenay’s pick at No. 51 (no details of the trade yet) to make a second selection at the import draft. With this pick the Tips grabbed German defenseman Dominik Bittner. Bittner is a 92, so he’ll be a 19-year-old in the upcoming season. He’s listed at 6-foot, 185 pounds. He’s the first German ever drafted by the Tips.
Bittner played professionally in Germany’s second division last season. In 40 games on loan with Heilbronner Falken he had no goals, two assists and 34 penalty minutes. He also played for Germany at the World Junior Hockey Championships, notching one assist and six penalty minutes in six games. Like Dolnik at the U-18s, Bittner was selected as one of Germany’s top three players at World Juniors.
Bittner was ranked 78th among European skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s rankings for 2010, but went undrafted. He was not listed for 2011.
More to come …
