A Day at the 2013 NHL Draft

BY:Tony Healey Jr. - @T_Loc11

On Sunday June 30th,  I crossed the NHL Draft off my bucket list. After attending the event, I can honestly say that I would love to attended every NHL Draft from here on out. I know that it was an unusually deep draft and it was all in one day, but your access to everything is unparalleled. I have attended many sporting events in my lifetime, but nothing where I was able to get so close to the action.

After winning general admission tickets, my buddy Brian and I drove down on Sunday and got there early enough to have a few brews outside before the festivities started. We walked around the concourse and saw the Conn Smythe and other trophies, as well as the Stanley Cup. We then grabbed a couple of more beers and took a bathroom break, where we ran into Sean Monahan.

The future NHL stars were all over the place, and happy to talk and sign anything you had. We also decided to upgrade our seats after the 10th pick by sneaking into the bottom bowl of seats. We got two rows from the draft floor right by the Habs' draft table. They could hear me very well and I even was able to meet and say hello to a few people you might know. Marc Bergevin, Michel Therrien, and Trevor Timmons all said hello and I even got them to smile a few times when I cracked a few jokes. 

Brian (thanks to my interference with the security guard) was even able to sneak his way into the media area, and, being a Buffalo Sabres fan, was able to spend almost 20 minutes speaking with the Buffalo T.V. media. He was also able to make it to where the draft picks give their press conferences and snappedsnap a picture using his iPhone of Montreal's first round pick Michael McCarron talking with the media. Brian even said that guys with the professional cameras and microphones even got out of his way without asking so he could snap the picture.

We ran into Paul "The Fat Walrus" MacLean while we were sneaking into the VIP lounge. While I walked by, I turned to Brian and said "there goes the Fat Walrus". I said it loud enough for mClean to hear and as he turned around my buddy congratulated him on his coach of the year honours. 

Later that day, Pierre LeBrun walked by and I asked for a picture. He was more than happy to take a picture with me, but Brian couldn't get the camera to work and faked the picture because he didn't want to keep him any longer. Thanks Brian. 

We were able to watch Hall of Famer Joe Sakic get asked to see his badge by the same security guard that I ran interference on. The guard would not let him pass until Sakic found his badge which allowed all the Devils fans to continue the "Marty's better" chants for an extra two minutes. Bill Guerin, Brendan Shanahan, Dan Bylsma, and many of the more famous media members walked by. Most of them even stopped to talk or at least exchange hellos.

When Devils' General Manager Lou Lamoriello walked by, I was able to stop him and congratulate him on the Schneider deal. He shook my hand and took the time to speak with me for about three minutes. I know the Devils' assistant equipment manager because he worked in Albany for the former River Rats. I worked at their practice facility at the time. I was able to parley that into Lamoriello speaking with me for a bit longer.

With all the scouts, former and future players, team management, and media personalities walking around your access to information is really an anomaly for any fan. There is no other sport or event that allows you this much access as an average fan to the backstage of sports. 

"Bon travail" NHL and the New Jersey Devils for putting on a great event that I look forward to attending again.  

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Habs' 2013 Draft Shows Size & Character Trump Skill

Going into yesterday's draft, opinions varied on what direction Canadiens' GM Marc Bergevin and the team's braintrust would take with their selections.

To the surprise of many, Trevor Timmons went to the podium and select Michael McCarron of the United States Development League with the Canadiens' first-round pick.

At six foor, five inches and 235 lbs., McCarron is not your typical top six forward, but can very well play in that role, should his team need him there.

The right winger has been compared by many as a Milan Lucic type players, who isn't afraid to get physical and drop the mits, yet has better than average skill and finish in the offensive zone.

His selection immediately told Habs' fans and the media alike that the culture surrounding the Canadiens' had changed. No more will the NHL's most storied franchise select the "best player available". Instead they would address organizational needs, a strategy which is esential to be competitive in a salary cap world.

With their 34th pick, the Habs made even more fans happy with their selection of Jacob De La Rose from the Swedish Elite League.

At six feet, two inches and 176 lbs, the gritty, versatile two-way forward still had some growing out to do. While he is listed as a left winger, De La Rose can play at center.

While he has an awkward skating style, he has a innate ability to win forecheck races and isn't afraid to take contact to win them.

Again, with this pick as well, the Habs addressed their needs to get bigger and more physical.

The biggest surprise was the selection of goaltender Zachary Fucale of the Memorial Cup champion Halifax Mosseheads.

Fucale was the consensus number one rated goalie in this year's entry draft. Although many attribute the Mooseheads' championship to their two stud forwards in Nathan McKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, the coach, Dominique Ducharme, said that Fucale is the type of goaltender who will give you a big save when the team needs it, and his talent allows his team to concentrate on scoring rather than worrying about the defensive zone.

With only Dustin Tokarski in the Habs' farm system, Fucale addresses a definite need to strengthen goaltending within the organization. While many may see this selection as the team losing confidence in Carey Price, Fucale will need at leat three years to fully develope, posing no threat to the Habs' number one netminder.

The Canadiens rounded out the second round by taking Finnish left winger Artturi Lehkonen. The 5 foot, 11 inch forward is considered an elite playmaker, with incredible vision on the ice.

While not overly physical, he is a tenacious player, like many now being developed in Finland. He has an aptitude for delivering solid open-ice hits, and displays above average puck control at top speed.

The Habs finished the draft by selecting left winger Connor Crisp of the Erie Otters at #71, right winger Sven Andrighetto of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at #86,  left winger Martin Reway from the Gatineau Olympiques at #116, and finally centre Jeremy Gregoire of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar at #176. The Canadiens traded their seventh round pick to the Florida Panthers for their seventh round pick in 2014.

All in all, the Canadiens did an excellent job restocking their farm system with quality players, that they didn't necessary think would be available to them. Of course, only time will tell if this draft class is worth its weight in gold, but it certainly has HabsNation anxious for the future.

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Montreal Canadiens: Draft Stategy

With less than a week before the NHL Entry Draft to will be held at Prudential Center on June 30th, 2013, Montreal Canadiens fans have every reason to get excited about the next Habs' draft. While the team doesn't have a top-three selection like last year when they drafted talented forward Alex Galchenyuk from the Sarnia Sting, the teams holds eight draft picks this season, six of which are in the first three rounds.

Despite the first round upset to the hands of the Ottawa Senators, the organization made great strides this season under the helm of new general manager Marc Bergevin as well as new head coach Michel Therrien. As a result, everyone expects the Canadiens to be competitive next season as well.

With a very deep core of young defensemen such as Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi, Morgan Ellis, Marcus Nygren, Dalton Thrower and Darren Dietz, everyone expects Trevor Timmins and his scouting staff to draft a forward with his first-round pick. Will the organization keep their 25th overall pick to draft that forward or will the team try to move up or down the draft to get the player they want?

The rumors coming from Montreal is that GM Marc Bergevin would very much like to move up in the top 10-12 of this particular draft in order to land a quality power forward to add to an already potent group of young and talented forwards, namely Sebastian Collberg, Tim Bozon, Danny Kristo, Charles Hudon, Michael Bournival, Brady Vail and Patrick Holland. While the above group of forwards is very talented, it lacks a true power forward and that's the kind of player the organization is looking to select in 2013.

In order to do so, Bergervin would need to package one or two 2nd or 3rd picks with the team's 25th overall draft pick to accomplish this feat. The team is also shopping center David Desharnais, who has become redundant with the emergence of youngster Lars Eller, who is now ready to become the team's #2 center behind Tomas Plekanec. Don't forget that while he was mainly used as a winger this season, Alex Galchenyuk is also a natural pivot.

Timmins and his staff will most likely draft on of the following forwards: Sean Monahan, Valeri Nichushkin, Hunter Shinkaruk, Max Domi, Bo Horvat, Anthony Mantha, Frederik Gauthier, or Curtis Lazar.

The Canadiens could also draft PK Subban's brother Jordan in the second round of this draft. The younger Subban is currently ranked at the end of the second round by most draft agencies and scouting services, which means the Habs could very well draft him with their 55th overall selection.

Finally, you can also expect the Canadiens to draft a goaltender in the second or third round as the cupboard is pretty bare after Carey Price and Peter Budaj. With career AHLer Dustin Tokarski and unproven Robert Mayer are the team's goaltenders of the future, Montreal really needs to address that weakness through the draft.

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