June 24, 2006

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Incoming 2007-08 DU hockey recruits Keith Seabrook (Delta, British Columbia) and Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) were chosen in the first four rounds on the 2006 NHL Entry Draft held tonight at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. Seabrook, a star defenseman for Burnaby of the British Columbia Hockey League, was picked in the second round (52nd overall) by the Washington Capitals. Rakhshani, a talented forward from the United States National Developmental Team Program, was selected in the fourth round (100th overall) by the New York Islanders.

Seabrook is the brother of current Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook. Keith Seabrook extends the Pioneers' streak to four consecutive years with at least one second-round NHL draft pick. He helped the Express to the 2006 Canada Junior "A" Championship by tallying 34 points on 10 goals and 24 assists in 57 games.

Rakhshani tallied the game-tying score in Team USA's 3-1 win over Finland in the gold-medal game. In the 2005-06 regular season, Rakhshani tallied 49 points on 24 goals and 25 assists in 59 games for the USNTDP Under-18 Team.

Other Pioneer recruits expected to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft are forward Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.), goaltender Marc Cheverie (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia) and forward Jesse Martin (Edmonton, Alberta).

The Pioneers will open the 2006-07 campaign at the Ice Breaker Tounrament against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Oct. 6.