NHL Entry Draft Just One Day Away
By Paul Krotz/CHL
The 2011 NHL Entry Draft weekend has been circled on their calendars all season long, and now that it is within reach the top NHL draft eligible CHL players can’t wait to get it started.
“I’ll try to go to bed as early as I can so tomorrow can come faster,” said Gabriel Landeskog of the Kitchener Rangers, the second ranked North American skater. “I’m not nervous, I am just really excited.”
If selected first overall, Landeskog would be the fifth straight OHL player to achieve such a feat.
“That would really be a great thing,” he said. “Four great players in the past four years shows how good the league is and says so much about the standard of play. “I am very happy I took the Ontario route and had the chance to play with the best players in the world.”
Landeskog’s excitement is shared by his fellow prospects who have worked hard throughout their careers for this weekend and wait with anxious anticipation for their names to finally be called by an NHL club.
“I was nervous a couple of days ago but getting here has just made me more excited,” said Dougie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs, the top ranked defenceman who has enjoyed VIP access with the other top prospects on various excursions to the Mall of America, and a tour of the Xcel Energy Center. “It has been really fun to be part of a group of guys like this, going through the same things all season long. Being here really puts a smile on my face.”
Hamilton has been fortunate enough to share his draft experience with teammate Ryan Strome who is the eighth ranked North American skater, however Nathan Beaulieu of the Saint John Sea Dogs has also been enjoying all elements of the draft but with eight other members of his MasterCard Memorial Cup Championship squad who are ranked by NHL Central Scouting including three other players (Jonathan Huberdeau, Zack Phillips, Tomas Jurco) who are also potential first round picks.
“It would be pretty cool to be part of something like that,” Beaulieu said, referencing the 1979 Brandon Wheat Kings as the last team to have four players selected in the first round. “It helps a lot to have teammates here. We have bonded well all season. It has been a long road working for this, but we have enjoyed every minute.”
For players such as Sven Baertschi of the Portland Winterhawks, while anxiously awaiting the draft it never hurts to get some last minute tips from teammates who have been there before.
“Don’t fall down the stairs,” Baertschi said with a laugh, when asked what tips his teammate and fellow Switzerland native Nino Niederreiter provided after being selected fifth overall in 2010. “He was actually very helpful to me for the combine, he says to enjoy every minute of the draft and that is what I have tried to do. Tomorrow is going to be so much fun, but I have had fun all season long, every day at the rink. We had a chance to win, the coaching staff with Mike and Travis, we were very successful.”
While Baertschi has just one CHL season under his belt to reflect upon, other players like Sean Couturier of the Drummondville Voltigeurs have played three seasons with plenty of highlights to look back upon as he prepares to make the next step.
“In Drummondville we won the President Cup in my first year,” Couturier said, who also captured the league scoring title in his second season while earning Player of the Year honours this past year. “I was very fortunate to play three years there and am grateful to the entire organization. I am looking forward to finally knowing where I will be going in the draft.”
Not only are the players excited for what lies ahead, but starting this weekend, CHL fans across the country can look forward with pride as these players continue their professional careers in the NHL.
