The 2021 Expansion Draft has hit its midpoint, with 15 picks in the books for each of Clarington and Hershey.
Both teams grabbed goalies early, with Clarington picking veteran Jacob Markstrom from recent cup finalist West Virginia and Hershey selecting relatively inexperienced Chris Driedger from Vancouver, but after that the picks were dominated by forwards. Notables include now-former El Dorado wingers Mats Zuccarello (to Clarington) and Dustin Brown (to Hershey), along with Jeff Carter (from Salem to Clarington) and Paul Stastny (from Farmington to Clarington).
Both teams took big swings at injured Baltimore skaters, as Clarington made Vladimir Tarasenko an early pick while Hershey added defenseman Hampus Lindholm.
To date, both West Virginia and Winnipeg have had three players chosen and the rest of their rosters are now safe. Meanwhile, neither Great Lakes nor Portland have had a single player chosen.
Gump Worsley Memorial Hockey League 