CHICAGO – The 2017 NHL Draft weekend in Chicago has come to an end. There were some stunning trades. There were some interesting picks in a tricky draft. There were winners and there were losers, at least in a hasty first glance.

Let’s start with the obvious: The New Jersey Devils won the lottery, and hence are an automatic winner in selecting Nico Hischier at No. 1, for he loves to hockey.

But what about the rest of the weekend in the Windy City? Here’s how Puck Daddy saw the winners and losers:

WINNER: Gary Bettman

The commissioner has basically become a wrestling heel at the NHL Draft, knowing his very presence will draw heat from the crowd. But Bettman took it to another level in Chicago: At one point, with the boos during his opening remarks present but tepid, Bettman told the crowd “c’mon, you can do better than that.” And the floodgates of jeers opened. He’s become self-aware! This is dangerous!

LOSER: Fun In General

Holy [expletive] was that tedious. Brief, but tedious. The big Chicago moves happened hours before the draft. There weren’t rumors flying on Day One, of the “OMG THOSE GMs ARE TALKING!” variety. Little drama, even less intrigue. The most exciting thing that happened in the first round was when Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane showed up on stage for the Blackhawks. Yes, the most exciting thing involved Jonathan Toews. That’s all you need to know.

WINNER: Cales and Coles

Big weekend for Cales. You have Cale Makar, going to the Colorado Avalanche at No. 4. And Cale Fleury, gong at No. 87 to the Montreal Canadiens. Then you had Kale Howarth going at No. 148 to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and that kid better have some sick salad in the NHL.

Oh, but let’s not sleep on Coles! There was Cole Fraser at No. 131 to the Detroit Red Wings and Cole Hults at No. 134 to the Los Angeles Kings and Cole Guttman to the Tampa Bay Lightning at No. 180. Big weekend for Coles, too.

LOSER: D’Artagnans

Alas, D’artagnan Joly, taken at No. 171 by the Calgary Flames, was in fact the only D’artagnan elected in the 2017 NHL Draft. Try harder, parents of Canada.

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WINNER: Finland Blue

Finland had an impressive draft, continuing to trend upward as a hockey power. The Finns had 14 players selected, including No. 2 overall pick Patrik Laine. In 2017, they had 23 players selected, including six in the first round and six in the second, which was a record for Finland. Somewhere, Teemu smiles.

LOSER: The Green Room

Eh, sometimes you try something new and it doesn’t click. The NHL went with a Green Room for the draft like the NBA, keeping some of the top prospects there instead of in the stands. The previous format produced better moments and nothing close to the cringe moment that was Klim Kostin being stuck in that room to the bitter end:

Klim Kostin there's a tech guy in the back wrapping up cables. don't do this stupid green room idea again @NHL lol pic.twitter.com/EC256MLoA5 — kms davis (@blueorangesign) June 24, 2017





He would go at No. 31 to the St. Louis Blues.

Speaking of which …

WINNER: St. Louis Blues

The Blues wanted Jori Lehtera and his two years at $4.7 million annually the heck off their cap. Vegas didn’t take him. So they went the trade route, and pulled off a coup: Dealing him to the Philadelphia Flyers with the No. 27 overall pick and a conditional first-round pick for Brayden Schenn.

Then they traded Ryan Reaves, a fourth line enforcer, to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with the No. 51 pick for Oskar Sundqvist and the No. 31 pick, which they used on Kostin, the No. 1-rated skater among European players by the NHL’s Central Scouting who slid down the draft board due to an injury.

Meanwhile, they snagged Robert Thomas, a playmaking center from OHL London, at No. 20, and had a strong draft after that.

Story continues