Oilers Draft Taylor Hall at No. 1, Citing his 'Winning Element'

When the Edmonton Oilers finally announced that winger Taylor Hall was the No. 1 draft choice, they conceded that the Taylor vs. Tyler debate was a no-contest.

"When you listen to scouts, it was pretty much unanimous," Edmonton Oilers director of hockey operations Kevin Lowe said.

The choice of Hall or Tyler Seguin was considered a tossup because both were considered franchise-style players, though Hall is more electrifying.

Seguin outscored Hall 48-40 in the Ontario Hockey League this season, but the Oilers were impressed by Hall's contributions to the Windsor Spitfires' back-to-back Memorial Cup championships.

"It was the winning element, winning all of the time," Lowe said. "He is really focused."

The Hall selection was the highlight of a draft that was short on trades to spice up the event. There were only two trades, and only one involved veteran players. The Florida Panthers traded shutdown defenseman Keith Ballard and Victor Oreshkovich to the Vancouver Canucks for Michael Grabner, Steve Bernier and their first-round pick (No. 25). The Panthers used that pick to select Quinton Howden.

In the other deal, the Ottawa Senators traded their first-round pick (No. 16) to St. Louis for Swedish defenseman David Rundblad. GM Bryan Murray said Rundblad, would play next season in Sweden and then he expects him to step into Ottawa's lineup in 2011-12. The Blues used that pick to select Russian Vladimir Tarasenko, who has the potential to be a difference-maker.

After the first round ended, the Pittsburgh Penguins sent a third-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers to land the rights to defenseman Dan Hamhuis.

Seguin, a center, was chosen No. 2 by the Boston Bruins, and both he and Hall likely will play in the NHL next season.

The Oilers didn't tell Hall he would be No. 1.

"I was shocked," Hall said. "I was shaking in my seat. I got up to the podium and I was shaking so much I couldn't even put my jersey on."