Jock Talk part 1 Jock Talk part 2

Hello fans,

Although the NHL season is over, the teams always seem to be busy. The NHL Draft was last weekend in Columbus, and since it was just down the road I jumped in the car with a couple of ex-Lumberjacks (Mike Tamburro and Chris Longo) and went down. Believe it or not, it was actually the first draft that I have ever attended in all my years of hockey!

Columbus had a great turnout on Friday night for the first round, there was a sold-out crowd. While I was there I saw a lot of familiar faces from my years involved in pro hockey. There were old teammates and coaches from pro and junior hockey; scouts that I have met over the years at the rinks; a lot of my brother's old teammates and friends. It was amazing how many people were there!

It was really fun seeing the excitement of the players and their families when they were picked. But it was also a bit painful to watch those that were waiting and waiting and not getting picked. I remember when I played junior hockey and not getting picked during the Draft. I wasn't actually there in person, but the day was very hard on me. After having a very good year and being rated to go in the second round, it was not a good feeling when it was over and I had not been picked at all.

At this year's Draft the players looked so young and it has to be hard as general managers and scouts to predict how a player is going to develop. But now that the Draft is over the teams are getting ready for the free agent market. So watch out for a lot of interesting moves this off-season!

I'm really glad I went down to the Draft in Columbus, I had a great time. And it was so fun being around all the hockey buzz - it made me that much more excited for the Monsters to take the ice this fall!

Until next time,

Jock