State of Hockey: Keep an eye out for a fruit basket from the National Hockey League.

Or, at least a thank-you note.

This weekend, Minnesota once again asserted itself as a hockey hotbed, as the state provided the 2017 NHL Draft in Chicago with 17 players, including three first-round selections in the first 26 picks of the draft, for an overall contribution of 7.83 percent of all players selected.

Eden Prairie center and Mr. Hockey award-winner Casey Mittelstadt went eighth overall to the Buffalo Sabres, and was joined in the Windy City by several of his Eagle teammates for a proper send-off into the world of professional hockey.

For now, Mittelstadt will spend the upcoming season in Minneapolis wearing the maroon and gold of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Lakeville North products Ryan Poehling and Jake Oettinger were selected at No. 25 and No. 26 by the Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars respectively, one of four pairs of Minnesotans picked with back-to-back selections.

Poehling spent the past season at St. Cloud State as the youngest player in college hockey, while Oettinger stood out between the pipes for Boston University, and was named a Hockey East Second-Team All-Star.

Impressively, nine of the Minnesota natives selected played for their respective high school teams during the 2016-2017 season.

Hermantown defenseman Dylan Samberg was selected in the second round with the 43rd overall pick by the Winnipeg Jets.

Edina native Grant Mismash joined Samberg in the second round, selected by Western Conference champion Nashville with the 61st overall pick.

From the south side of Lakeville, former Cougars’ standout Nick Swaney was selected by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round.

Following is a full list of Minnesota natives selected this weekend in Chicago (table courtesy Minnesota Hockey):

Following the draft, North Branch native Hunter Miska signed with the Arizona Coyotes after playing one season with the University of Minnesota Duluth. Miska posted a record of 27-5-5 en route to an NCAA runner-up finish and a nomination for the Mike Richter Award, given the country's top college netminder.