Current, future Cedar Rapids RoughRiders taken Saturday in National Hockey League Draft

CEDAR RAPIDS – The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders had a current and future player selected Saturday in the National Hockey League Draft.

The Ottawa Senators took defenseman Gabriel Eliasson in the second round, with the 37 th overall pick. Eliasson is a 6-foot-7 defenseman from Sweden whom the Riders selected in the first round of the 2024 United States Hockey League Draft, Phase II.

A University of Michigan commit, he is expected to play this coming season in Cedar Rapids.

“I would say that I’m a defensive defenseman,” Eliasson told reporters at the draft. “I have my strengths in my physical play. I’ll do everything for the team to win. I want to put my team first and support my teammates.”

Defenseman Elliott Groenewold was taken in the fourth round by the Boston Bruins. He played this past season with the RoughRiders, scoring five goals and adding 11 assists in 57 games.

He will play college hockey this coming season for Quinnipiac University.

Boston made a trade with Minnesota that included moving up from the 122nd pick overall to 110th. It used that pick on Groenewold.

“Being selected by [Boston] is a dream come true,” Groenewold told The Hockey News. “Obviously when I saw that trade happen, I had an idea that I might come, but I wasn’t sure. And then when my name was called, I just got a big adrenaline rush and felt amazing.”

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com