July 31, 2005
Ottawa, Ont. – Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.), who signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Notre Dame in the early-signing period last November, was selected in the seventh round of the 2005 National Hockey League Entry Draft, 198th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes. Lawson will defer his letter-of-intent to the 2006-07 season and play next year in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Tri-City Storm.
A 5-11, 192-pound right-handed shot defenseman, Lawson spent last season with the U.S. National Team Development Program where he had three goals and 15 assists for 18 points in 31 games and was a member of the gold-medal winning United States team at last April’s World Under-18 Championship Team. Lawson was one of seven players from the 2004-05 U.S. Under-18 Team selected in this year’s draft. He is one of three defensemen selected by Carolina with ties to the U.S. Development Program as he joins top pick and teammate Jack Johnson (selected third overall) and second pick, Nate Hagemo, a 2003-04 member of the U.S. team currently playing at the University of Minnesota.
Born January 11, 1987, Lawson played for the Honeybaked AAA team in 2003-04 where he had 17 goals and 41 assists for 58 points. His strong play in the U.S. Under-17 Festival earned him a spot on the national team where he was an alternate captain for the U.S. Under-18 Selects that finished fourth in the World Cup in August of 2004. The Tri-City Storm selected the 18-year old defenseman in the first round of the USHL Futures Draft last August. He went this weekend’s draft ranked 188th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.