Thrashers fans gasped Friday night when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stepped to the microphone and said, "We have a trade to announce."

Their team was scheduled to pick next. Surely general manager Don Waddell hadn't traded away the defenseman of the future.

AP (ENLARGE)

Third overall pick Zach Bogosian, who led the Ontario Hockey League's Peterborough Petes in scoring last season as a defenseman, worked with Hall of Famer Ray Bourque at Cushing Academy.

The trade, it turned out, involved other teams. Waddell chose Zach Bogosian with the third overall pick. And the fans at the Thrashers' draft party cheered. Maybe, just maybe, their team's run of bad moves and bad luck was at an end.

The hiring of John Anderson announced Friday afternoon gave them a coach with a championship background, albeit at the minor-league level. And the selection of Bogosian on Friday night gave them a player who might immediately boost a defense that allowed more shots last season than any other NHL team and tied for last in the league at 3.24 goals allowed per game.

Could Thrashers fans dare to be optimistic?

"I'd like to try to be," said Barry Silsbee of Conyers, who applauded both the hiring and the draft choice.

"It's a new day, a new era for our franchise," Waddell said.

Bogosian, a 6-foot-2, 197-pounder who turns 18 next month, hopes to play for the Thrashers right away. Waddell said he might.

"He's a man," Waddell said. "He's a very physical guy. When you shake his hand, you know."

Bogosian led the Ontario Hockey League's Peterborough Petes in scoring last season but describes himself as a two-way player who takes care of defense first.

Some scouts compare him to Rob Blake. Others see the influence of Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, an assistant coach on the Cushing Academy team Bogosian played for in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

"I like to compare myself to Chris Chelios, the way he competes," Bogosian said. "He plays with a mean streak, and I do, too."

The NHL's Central Scouting Service ranked Bogosian the No. 2 North American skater in the draft, but he went one pick behind defenseman Drew Doughty, who was chosen by the Los Angeles Kings. Everyone knew Tampa Bay was going to choose center Steven Stamkos with the top pick, but the order of the next two picks was a secret.

Bogosian said he was happy to go to the Thrashers, with whom he had met three times before the draft. He looks forward to playing on the same team with Ilya Kovalchuk and reconnecting with veteran forward Todd White. Bogosian was 6 when he met White, who was playing for Clarkson University, not far from Bogosian's hometown of Massena, N.Y., which is on the Canadian border.

With the 29th pick of the first round the Thrashers chose center Daultan Leveille, a Canadian Junior B player who is headed for Michigan State this fall. They have picks in rounds 3-7 today. But Bogosian was the headliner, the player who could offer the team immediate help and fill one of its biggest needs.

His selection, and the hiring of Anderson, were popular moves, though fans said it will take more to turn around a team that finished second to last in the Eastern Conference.

"As far as initial steps, I think it's in the right direction," Chris Bennett of Atlanta said. "Now, it's all going to come down to free agency."

Hundreds of miles away in Ottawa, Waddell agreed.

"This is No. 1," he said on the draft telecast. "We've got free agency coming up."

Waddell is known for draft-day trades, and fans at the Thrashers' party weren't the only ones wondering if Bogosian might be headed elsewhere when Bettman stepped to the microphone.

"It was kind of in the back of my mind," Bogosian said. "Atlanta kept their pick, and I'm pretty happy."