Keppen Selected by Vancouver Canucks Fourth Round, 122nd Overall
June 22, 2019 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL) - Flint Firebirds News Release
Vancouver, B.C. - The Vancouver Canucks selected Flint Firebirds forward Ethan Keppen in the fourth-round, 122nd overall, of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft Saturday, making him the seventh Flint Firebird to drafted in the of the National Hockey League in just four years.
Firebirds' NHL Draft Central
Keppen, a 6-foot-2, 212-pound forward, played in all 68 games with the Firebirds this season, finishing tied for second on the team in points (59). He tripled his goal production (30) and more than tripled both his assists (29) and points in one season. Keppen earned the 'Blue Collar Worker,' 'Combined Academic & Athletics Excellence Award,' and 'Most Improved Player' awards at the end-of-year Firebirds' player awards banquet. The Whitby, Ont., native was Flint's first-round draft pick, 10th overall, in the 2017 OHL Draft.
Since the Flint Firebirds' inception four season ago in 2015, the club has now had 17 drafted or NHL signed players on its roster consisting of Will Bitten (Montreal), Dennis Busby (Arizona), Nick Caamano (Dallas), Connor Chatham (New Jersey), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas) Fedor Gordeev (Toronto), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver), Kyle Keyser (Boston Bruins), Vladislav Kolyachonok (Florida), Nick Mattinen (Toronto), Brent Moran (Dallas), Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina), Alex Peters (Dallas), Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), Jalen Smereck (Arizona) and Josh Wesley (Carolina).
For the past five seasons, the OHL has sent more players to the NHL than any other league in the world. The OHL is first in the world in total players selected in the NHL Draft (197), first and second round selections combined (76), defenseman (80) and forwards (122). On NHL opening day rosters in October, one-in-four players (26.4%) competing in the NHL were alums of the OHL, which is also the highest percentage in the world.
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