Landeskog looking forward to NHL Entry Draft
By Aaron Bell
Gabriel Landeskog isn’t very concerned about continuing the Ontario Hockey League’s streak of four straight years with the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft.
It’s not that Landeskog, the Kitchener Rangers captain, doesn’t want to go first overall. He’s just not stressing about it.
“It is probably more important for fans than I think it is for the players,” Landeskog told NHL.com during the NHL Draft Combine last weekend in Toronto.
See, Landeskog is far more interested in making an impact next fall when he tries to crack an NHL lineup for the first time.
“It would be an honor for anybody to go first overall, but like Cam Fowler (12th overall to the Anaheim Ducks) and Jeff Skinner (seventh overall to the Carolina Hurricanes) showed last year, it doesn’t matter what number you go, it’s what you do afterwards.”
Landeskog and Skinner played together during the 2009-10 season with the Rangers and helped the team extend the Windsor Spitfires to seven games in the Western Conference Championship Series.
Skinner, who scored 31 goals and 63 points in a tremendous rookie season with the Hurricanes, said he knows who hed take with the first overall pick.
“If I had my choice, I’d pick Gabe 100 times because he’s a special player,” Skinner said. “What makes him even more special is the leadership he brings along with all the other intangibles.”
“He was my roommate last year, so it was his first year in North America. I was surprised how well he adjusted. It takes a special person to do what he’s doing, and I think it speaks volumes.”
Landeskog also met with the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche, who have the first and second overall picks in the draft, which runs June 24-25 in Minneapolis, MN.
“I had a pretty good feeling after both of them,” he said. “They didn’t want to say too much but they both showed some interest and asked a couple of interesting questions. I can’t really do too much after this, it’s kind of out of my control right now.”
Landeskog made it through the gruelling Draft Combine relatively unscathed and thinks that his perforance off the ice will back up what hes show on the ice with the Rangers during the past two seasons.
“I think scouts are looking for work ethic and even though your technique is wrong on sit-ups or whatever might be, you’re not trying to stress out too much,” he said. “You just put it behind you and move on and just put a smile on your face and have fun.”