Two first-rounders land on waivers on Friday!

Only three players have landed on waivers on Friday, but there are surprising names seeing that two forwards were selected in the first round of the respective draft year.

The Utah Hockey Club has placed forward Kailer Yamamoto on waivers, while the Boston Bruins did the same with forward Riley Tufte.

As for the Minnesota Wild, they placed winger Pavel Novak on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination.

Yamamoto was selected in the first round, 22nd overall by the Edmonton Oilers back in 2017. He’s moved around since after he was traded from Edmonton to the Detroit Red Wings in June 2023. He then signed as a free agent with the Seattle Kraken, and then managed to crack the roster in Utah after getting a shot at a professional tryout agreement.

He’s played just three games with the Hockey Club, but failed to record a point. Utah is hoping to assign down to the minor.

As for Rufte, he was selected a year earlier than Yamamoto, in the first round, 25th overall by the Dallas Stars. This past July, he signed as a free agent in Boston, but played just two contests in the Bruins’ uniform. He too has yet to record a point this season in NHL.

In Minnesota, Novak hasn’t played a game in the NHL yet after he was selected in the fifth round, 156th back in 2020 by the Wild. He could be looking to head back home to Czechia.