Sandis Ozoliņš, commonly spelled Sandis Ozolinsh in North America, is a Latvian former professional ice hockey player and coach. During his career in North America, Ozoliņš was a seven-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup champion, and Norris Trophy finalist. He is also the all-time leader for goals, assists, points and games played by a Latvian in the NHL and holds several Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks franchise records. Ozoliņš also was the highest paid sportsman in Latvian history, before NBA basketball player Andris Biedriņš succeeded him in 2008. He became the head coach of Dinamo in 2017.
A draft is a process used in some countries and sports to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selects a player, the team receives exclusive rights to sign that player to a contract, and no other team in the league may sign the player.
The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements. The NHL Entry Draft is held once every year, generally within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous season. During the draft, teams take turns selecting amateur players from junior or collegiate leagues and professional players from European leagues.
Hockey Club Lokomotiv, also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a Russian professional ice hockey team, based in the city of Yaroslavl, playing in the top level Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The name of the team is derived from its owner, Russian Railways, the national railroad operator.
The 1962 NBA draft was the 16th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 26, 1962, before the 1962–63 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. In each round, the teams selected in reverse order of their won–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick, then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena as their territorial pick. The Chicago Packers, who finished last in the previous season, were renamed the Chicago Zephyrs. The Philadelphia Warriors relocated to San Francisco and became the San Francisco Warriors prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 16 rounds, comprising 102 players selected.
Jori Jonatan Lehterä is a Finnish professional ice hockey player currently playing for SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). A centreman, he was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the third round, 65th overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He won a bronze medal with Finland at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
A territorial pick was a type of special draft choice used in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) draft in 1949 and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft after the 1950 season, the year in which the BAA was renamed the NBA. In the draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. Territorial picks were eliminated when the draft system was revamped in 1966.
Nikita Vasilyevich Filatov is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Prior to 2012, Filatov played in North America for the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Belarus (1), China (1), Finland (1), Latvia (1), Kazakhstan (1) and Russia (19) for a total of 24. It is widely considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in Europe and Asia, and second in the world behind the National Hockey League. KHL has the third-highest average attendance in Europe with 6,121 spectators per game in the regular season, and the highest total attendance in Europe with 5.32 million spectators in the regular season.
A disaster draft or contingency draft is a disaster recovery plan developed by professional sports leagues to rebuild a team's roster if many players are disabled or killed.
The 2009 KHL Junior Draft was the first entry draft held by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), taking place on June 1, 2009. Twenty-three teams would take part in the draft, selecting ice hockey players from around the world aged between 17 and 21 years of age. The draft acted as a means to disperse junior players among Russia, as well as create parity for recruiting from non-KHL affiliated hockey schools.
The 2010 KHL Junior Draft was the second entry draft held by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), taking place on June 4, 2010. Ice hockey players from around the world aged between 17 and 21 years of age were selected. Players eligible to take part in the draft were required to not have an active contract with a KHL, MHL or VHL team. A total of 690 players participated in the draft, 490 of these playing in Russia, 100 in Europe and 100 in North America.
Nail Railovich Yakupov is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with SKA Saint Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, and also played with the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. Yakupov grew up within the HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk junior program and moved to North America in 2010 to further his career. He joined the Sarnia Sting, a major junior team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he played for two years before being selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Yakupov played for the Russian national junior team, winning medals in all three tournaments he participated in.
The KHL Junior Draft was an annual meeting in which every franchise of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) systematically selected the rights to available amateur ice hockey players who met draft eligibility requirements. The KHL Junior Draft was held once every year, generally within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous season. During the draft, teams took turns selecting amateur players from junior, collegiate, or European leagues.
The 2012 KHL Junior Draft was the fourth entry draft held by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), taking place on 25–26 May 2012 in Traktor Sport Palace. Ice hockey players from around the world aged between 17 and 21 years of age were selected. Players eligible to take part in the draft were required to not have an active contract with a KHL, MHL or VHL team. A total of 998 players participated in the draft, 778 of these playing in Russia, 110 in Europe and 110 in North America.
The 2013 KHL Junior Draft was the fifth entry draft held by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), taking place on 25–26 May 2013 in Druzhba Arena. Ice hockey players from around the world aged between 17 and 21 years of age were selected. Players eligible to take part in the draft were required to not have an active contract with a KHL, MHL or VHL team.
The 2014 KHL Junior Draft was the sixth entry draft held by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It took place on May 8, 2014. Ice hockey players from around the world aged between 17 and 21 years of age were selected. Players eligible to take part in the draft were required to not have an active contract with a KHL, MHL or VHL team.
The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It was televised nationally by ESPN. State Farm was the presenting sponsor of the NBA draft for the seventh consecutive year. This draft was the last to use the original weighted lottery system that gave teams near the bottom of the NBA draft better odds at the top three picks of the draft while teams higher up had worse odds in the process; the rule was agreed upon by the NBA on September 28, 2017, but would not be implemented until the 2019 draft. It was also considered the final year where undrafted college underclassmen were forced to begin their professional careers early; on August 8, 2018, the NCAA announced that players who declared for the NBA draft and were not selected would have the opportunity to return to their school for at least another year. With the last year of what was, at the time, the most recent lottery system, the Phoenix Suns won the first overall pick on May 15, 2018, with the Sacramento Kings at the second overall pick and the Atlanta Hawks at third overall pick. The Suns' selection was their first No. 1 overall selection in franchise history. They used the selection on the Bahamian center Deandre Ayton from the nearby University of Arizona.
The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It was televised nationally on ESPN. State Farm was the presenting sponsor of the NBA draft for the eighth consecutive year. This draft was the first to feature a new weighted lottery system in which the three worst teams each had a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery; these teams were the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Phoenix Suns. The lottery took place on May 14, during the NBA playoffs. Three of the four teams who held the top four picks of the draft this year rose up from at least six spots in the lottery, including the New Orleans Pelicans, who won the first pick with 6 percent odds.
