CALGARY, June 24 -- New York Islanders general manager Mike Milbury made good on his promise to be busy at the NHL draft Saturday and he made some history as well.
Milbury completed three trades before the first round was over and made Rick DiPietro the first goaltender taken with the top overall pick in the history of the draft.
The Islanders unloaded two goalies to make room for DiPietro, the top-ranked goaltending prospect in North America who already has drawn comparisons to Martin Brodeur for his puckhandling skills.
Shipped to Florida was Roberto Luongo, who only three years ago was taken with the fourth overall pick and figured to be the Isles goalie for years to come. Milbury packaged Luongo and center Olli Jokinen, a 1997 first-rounder, to the Panthers for wingers Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.
Earlier, New York traded its other incumbent goalie, Kevin Weekes, to the Tampa Bay Lightning with the rights to defenseman Kristian Kudroc and a 2001 second-round pick for the fifth overall selection and two later-round picks.
"We're hanging a lot of our reputations on this kid," Milbury said of DiPietro. "It's gutsy, it may be crazy, but at least we have the courage of our convictions. We have every intention of giving Rick a chance to play for the New York Islanders in the fall."
With the fifth pick, the Islanders took left wing Raffi Torres, the son of a Mexican father and Peruvian mother who scored 43 goals in 68 games with Brampton of the Ontario junior league.
Milbury then traded defenseman Eric Brewer, another former first-rounder, left wing Josh Green and a second-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers for former All-Star defenseman Roman Hamrlik.
For the second year in a row, the Atlanta Thrashers ended up with the top-rated North American prospect aftertaking left wing Dany Heatley with the second overall pick. Born in Germany and raised in Calgary, the 6-1, 200-pounder won WCHA Rookie of the Year honors following a 27-goal season for the University of Wisconsin.
The NHL's two expansion teams had the third and fourth picks. The Minnesota Wild selected Slovakian left wing Marian Gaborik while the Columbus Blue Jackets opted for Rostislav Klesla of the Czech Republic, who was considered the best available two-way defenseman.
After Torres went to the Islanders, the Nashville Predators took center Scott Hartnell with the sixth pick. The Boston Bruins used both of their first-round choices on Swedes, grabbing defenseman Lars Jonsson at No. 7 and winger Martin Samuelsson at No. 27.
The Lightning selected Russian right wing Nikita Alexeev at No. 8, while the Calgary Flames took goalie Brent Krahn, who played junior hockey in Calgary.
The Chicago Blackhawks had the next two picks and chose center Mikhail Yakubov and right wing Pavel Vorobiev. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim continued the European trend by taking left wing Alexei Smirnov with the 12th pick.
The Montreal Canadiens also had a pair of first-rounders and selected defenseman Ron Hainsey at No. 13 and center Marcel Hossa, the younger brother of Ottawa Senators sniper Marian Hossa, at No. 16.
In between, the Colorado Avalanche traded All-Star defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh to the Carolina Hurricanes for the 14th pick and used it on Czech center Vaclav Nedorost. Russian center Artem Kriukov went to the Buffalo Sabres at No. 15.
Another Russian, winger Alexei Mikhnov, went to the Edmonton Oilers with the 17th pick. Defenseman Brooks Orpik, who was named after former Pittsburgh Penguins' coach Herb Brooks, went to the Steel City at No. 18 and Boston College teammate Krystofer Kolanos was taken by the Phoenix Coyotes with the 19th selection.
Russian left wing Alexander Frolov was chosen next by the Los Angeles Kings and the Senators used the 21st pick on Russian defenseman Anton Volchenkov.
The Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils went for another defenseman, opting for David Hale at No. 22. Center Nathan Smith went to the Vancouver Canucks, with the Toronto Maple Leafs taking center Brad Boyes with the 24th pick.
Pesky center Steve Ott was selected by the Dallas Stars and was followed by center Brian Sutherby, who went to the Washington Capitals.
The final three picks of the first round were right wing Justin Williams to the Philadelphia Flyers, Swedish defenseman Niklas Kronvall to the Detroit Red Wings and center Jeff Taffe to the St. Louis Blues.
The first round had a decided offensive feel with only two goalies and seven defensemen taken. Unlike recent years, the 2000 draft was scheduled for two days, with the final six rounds slated for Sunday.
