COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Getaway day at the NHL draft ended up being the highlight of Akim "The Dream" Aliu's young life.

Born in Nigeria, raised in Ukraine, moved to Canada when he was 11, and then shuttled to Sudbury, Ontario, to play juniors a year ago, Aliu was picked by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round on the second day of the NHL draft on Saturday.

Long after history was made in Friday night's first round when Patrick Kane (Chicago) and James vanRiemsdyk (Philadelphia) became the first Americans to be picked 1-2, Aliu finally heard his name mentioned before a thinning crowd at Nationwide Arena.

"My dad didn't see a hockey rink until he was 40 years old," said Aliu, who wants to become just the second Nigerian to play in the NHL. "My mom grew up in Russia, but hockey wasn't really part of her life, her culture. They're happy about what I'm doing right now. I'm happy for what I'm doing too."

Rounds two through seven of the 211-player draft rolled by, with most of the picks drawing little more than polite applause from family members. Teams didn't take the later rounds lightly, however



http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=ap-nhldraft&prov=ap&type=lgns

Congrats, Im not a big hockey fan, but im going to be looking out for this kid. Let's see if he can be as good as fellow half-Nigerian Jerome Iginla

Goodluck mate, crack a skull