Canes get lucky in second round

The Hurricanes had a player in mind for their second-round pick when they went to bed Friday night. And they were right: That player — figure Jared Staal — was available when the 45th overall slot came around.

But so was Zac Dalpe, who was on the Hurricanes' list if they had traded down in the first round. They couldn't believe their good fortune.

"Where we were, we didn’t think we had a shot at him at all," Carolina amateur scouting director Tony MacDonald said. "We’re delighted he got through to us."

Dalpe grew up in Ontario but was passed over by the OHL and headed west to prepare for NCAA hockey in the BCHL. He's committed to Ohio State for next season, although Peter Karmanos' Plymouth Whalers own his OHL rights.

He shot up six inches in the last year while catching scouts' eyes with his hustle, work ethic and scoring touch. Many mock drafts had him going in the first round, which left Dalpe a little disappointed Friday night. But he knew he wouldn't last long today.

"I was a little bit down, but the sun rose this morning and I got up," Dalpe said. "I was telling the guys in the room that when Carolina came up 45th I had a pretty good idea I was going to go there."

I asked Dalpe if he'd grown at all since Central Scouting measured him at 6-0 1/2, and he admitted it was a possibility.

"I’m not sure about that," Dalpe said. "Right now, I don’t think I’m done growing. I've been growing like a bad habit the last couple years."

Taking Dalpe meant passing up a chance to unite two of the Staal brothers. Jared Staal went four picks later to the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Canes don't pick again until the fourth round, 106th overall, which gives them plenty of time to drag up another Zac/Zach after taking Zach Boychuk with the 14th overall pick Friday.

"We’re all out of Zachs now," MacDonald said. "No Zachs left."