TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning selected defenseman Slater Koekkoek (Coo-coo) with the 10th overall pick at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania tonight, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced.
Koekkoek, 18, played in 26 games with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League, collecting five goals and 18 points to go along with 17 penalty minutes. He missed the final 42 games due to an injury suffered during the regular season. Despite only skating in 26 games, Koekkoek ranked third on the Petes in scoring amongst defensemen with 18 points.
The Mountain, Ontario native has played in 91 career games with the Petes, recording 12 goals and 41 points to go along with 84 penalty minutes. He ranked second amongst defensemen on Peterborough during the 2010-11 regular season in both points (23) and goals (seven).
The 6-foot-2, 183-pound defenseman won a Gold Medal with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2011 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament in the Czech Republic/Slovakia.
Koekkoek is the first player in Tampa Bay franchise history to be chosen with the 10th overall selection.
