2014 NHL DRAFT DAY TWO BLOG
2014 NHL DRAFT DAY TWO BLOG
Five Spitfires eligible in Rounds 2 through 7
We’re back at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia for the second and final day of the 2014 NHL Draft.
A total of five Spitfires – Foss, DiGiacinto, Sanvido, Yazkov and Vail – are eligible to be taken today.
Follow along as we document the works in our Day Two blog.
9:42 AM: Didn’t we just leave here? Not complaining by any stretch, but what a turnaround! Today should be very interesting. Always a host of surprises after Round One.
10:15 AM: The picks are flying now. Already six made in Round Two. Of note, Brendan Lemieux went to Buffalo with the first pick and Plymouth Whalers goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was taken by, surprise surprise, the Carolina Hurricanes. Looks weird to see Mike Vellucci sitting at that table.
10:33 AM: The home team gets its first crack today and selects Nicolas Aube-Kubel from Val D’or in the Q. Crowd likes it.
10:40 AM: Local boy and former Spitfire Hunter Smith goes at #54 to the Calgary Flames. Great kid that you can’t help but be very happy for. Good stuff. We’ll get a little face time with him and he’ll be in our feature video, along with DJ Smith.
11:20 AM: The Minnesota Wild grab Spitfires draft pick Louis Belpedio from the USNTDP. He was our 9th Round selection in 2012. He is a Miami U commit. Not sure being taken at 80 would be enough to change his mind. We shall see.
12:00 PM: It’s high noon and things are chugging right along. Two picks left in Round Four. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Ryan Foss and / or Cristiano DiGiacinto picked up in one of these later rounds. Both bring different elements. Both are definitely worthy of selection.
12:23 PM: Missed one earlier. Philadelphia selected Mark Friedman, a Spitfires draft pick, with the 86th overall pick. He was taken in the 2011 draft, in the 13th round. Currently a commit Bowling Green University. Not much hope we will see him. But one never knows.
12:45 PM: Cristiano DiGiacinto living out a dream. Sitting very close to where we are, popped out of his seat like he was cannon launching. Taken at #170 by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Great, great kid that was happy to be here for the experience. He is going home with much more!
1:06 PM: Standing ovation on the draft floor for Tom Webster, former Spitfires Head Coach and a longtime Calgary Flames scout. Tom is retiring after 50 years in hockey. Congrats.
1:25 PM: Big Pat Sanvido snagged by Dallas at #195. Stars get a great kid that has definite pro potential.
A great showing for our club here in Philly, and a couple late surprises that made today a lot of fun. Congrats to Josh, Cristiano and Pat.
