2017 NHL Draft: Carolina Hurricanes pick Martin Necas 12th overall

National Hockey League, NHL.com

CHICAGO, ILL. – The Carolina Hurricanes selected center Martin Necas as their first-round pick (12th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft at the United Center on Friday.

The 18-year-old Necas spent the 2016-17 season with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga, the Czech Republic’s top professional league.

He tallied seven goals and eight assists (15 points) in 41 regular-season games, and ranked third on the team with three power-play goals.

Video: Carolina Hurricanes – YouTube

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Necas, a Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic native scored four goals in 10 playoff games as Brno won the league championship.

In international play, the six-foot-one-inch, 178-pounder represented the Czech Republic at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship, posting three points (1g, 2a) in five games.

He captained his home country’s team to its first gold medal at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup in August 2016, scoring two goals and earning four assists in four tournament games, and subsequently earned three assists in the 2017 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

The 2017 NHL Draft will continue on Saturday with selections for rounds two through seven taking place beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern.

2017 NHL Draft Tracker – Carolina Hurricanes

NOTES: Necas was one of two first-round selections hailing from the Czech Republic while the other 30 picks hailed from Canada (11), Finland (6), United States (6), Sweden (4), Russia (1) and Switzerland (1)…First-round selections represented 14 different leagues including the WHL (7), OHL (5), SWEDEN (4), CZREP, FINLAND, QMJHL, USHL (2), AJHL, H-EAST, HIGH-MN, NCHC, NTDP, RUSSIA, SWEDEN-2 (1).