What to expect at the NHL draft...

[xrickyb86x 1]

I got my tickets for the NHL draft in LA. I'm wondering if there is ever anything real cool to see or be part of from a fans perspective. I'm guessing it's usually pretty boring after a while. Either way, it's a once in a lifetime experience for me so I'm pretty excited.

Anyone else going?

[Jason Harris 31]

I believe I will be there. I haven't been to one either, so I have no idea how interactive it is.

[Chadd 916]

We were at the draft in Columbus to see David get drafted. There really wasn't anything to do and you don't get the info that they talk about on TV. Unless you're well versed in the players and team needs or are waiting for a specific player to get picked, it could be very boring.

[xrickyb86x 1]

I figured. I might just stick around for the first couple of picks then head over to Hockey Giant on the way back to San Diego. lol. Should be cool regardless.

[hamstercaster 2]

Nothing exciting really. Team walks to the microphone. Team calls out player's name. Player walks to the stage with big smile. Player puts on jersey and hat. Player takes pictures with Bettman and some staff from the team who drafted him. Team and player walk back to their table and do some quick interviews.... Start over for the next 29 players.

You'll get the odd exciting trade where a team will trade a big name for some draft picks and some other players/prospects but they seem to be the exception nowadays.

[Jeff 0]

If anyone needs two tickets let me know, I'll be out of town that weekend.

[Steve_v3 289]

We were at the draft in Columbus to see David get drafted. There really wasn't anything to do and you don't get the info that they talk about on TV. Unless you're well versed in the players and team needs or are waiting for a specific player to get picked, it could be very boring.

I went to the one in Boston in 99. It was pretty much what Chadd described. It was a little funny when they introduced Neil Smith from the rangers & he got booed.

My brother works for a company that sets up events, parties, & trade show related stuff. He told me he is supposed to be doing something with Bauer at the draft but he had no details yet. Could be only a backstage thing though.

[srv2miker 0]

We went when the draft was in Vancouver. Concourse had some cool displays of NHL Trophys including the Stanley Cup, and there were plenty of prospects milling around if you were an autograph hound (walked right by Phil Kessel). You definitely need to come prepared with the Hockey News draft guide or something, because you're left totally in the dark as to who these kids are.

It was fun, but we only stayed for the first round.

[starsfan71 9]

Could have sworn I posted on here!

Well I went to the Draft in Ottawa during a family trip to Canada. The tickets were free but I don't if it is like that for every daft or just the one that was in Ottawa. Anyways I follow the CHL a decent amount and loved the whole draft day experience. I got to to talk to a lot of fans from different teams around the league which was really cool, a lot of them really knew their stuff. It was fun to boo Bettman when he walked on to the stage and to boo the leafs when they walked up for their pick the place was buzzing. They had the NHL awards trophies there too but I had seen them at the HHOF the day before.

Overall I liked the experience if you know your stuff and are a social person who enjoys talking to other hockey fanatics it's a cool experience.

[coldshoulder 0]

You'll get to holler for a 1st rd draft pick from SoCA, and probably one in the 2nd round too.

[xrickyb86x 1]

Is there any kind of draft guide I can download anywhere to get info on everyone being drafted?

[hamstercaster 2]

Is there any kind of draft guide I can download anywhere to get info on everyone being drafted?

This here could probably be a good start

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/nhl_entry_draft/

[xrickyb86x 1]

Saw this on the Bauer FB page...

"Bauer will be at the NHL Fan Fest at this year's 2010 NHL Draft. The event is free and runs from 12pm-9pm on Friday June 25th. It will be held at the L.A. Live Plaza right across from the Staples Center.

Come check out the latest Bauer gear, win prizes and enter for a chance to win signed gear from Bauer athletes. "

Anyone have any info on what other hockey companies will be there?

[xrickyb86x 1]

Called 1888 LA Kings... I guess the fan fest will have some hockey companies and a beer garden. That's all the guy knew.

[Jason Harris 31]

I now have scientific reasoning on which player I hope falls to the B's, and that methodology is called observation.

I was standing outside the hotel this afternoon and noticed that Hall and Seguin were standing about thirty feet away, so I walked up and said, "I'm a Boston boy, so we haven't seen the Cup in 38 years, which means I need one of you two to bring us to the Promised Land. Now I'm not going to play favoritses, so I don't care which one does it, but I want to see one of you bring home the championship!"

Seguin started laughing, but Hall couldn't be bothered. I've read that people think Seguin has poise and is a leader in the making. I don't know about that, but it was obvious in that brief moment that he was more comfortable around others than Hall currently is. Add that to the impressive condition he was in at the combine, and I think the kid's going to put in the effort to be a star.

[Hradsky 1]

I now have scientific reasoning on which player I hope falls to the B's, and that methodology is called observation.

I was standing outside the hotel this afternoon and noticed that Hall and Seguin were standing about thirty feet away, so I walked up and said, "I'm a Boston boy, so we haven't seen the Cup in 38 years, which means I need one of you two to bring us to the Promised Land. Now I'm not going to play favoritses, so I don't care which one does it, but I want to see one of you bring home the championship!"

Seguin started laughing, but Hall couldn't be bothered. I've read that people think Seguin has poise and is a leader in the making. I don't know about that, but it was obvious in that brief moment that he was more comfortable around others than Hall currently is. Add that to the impressive condition he was in at the combine, and I think the kid's going to put in the effort to be a star.

Well it should work out well for you then, because apparently people are convinced that Hall will be going first overall.

[shotty 7]

hall doesn't want to play for edmonton, so they'd be retarded not to take seguin, even though i like seguin and wouldn't wish edmonton on him. however, being that just the sight of hall's face bothers me, i hope he does end up in the 'chuk. that place is horrible, pro athlete or not.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Im going to the Islanders draft party today. Doors open at 530 and they're having an equipment sale so i might try n pick up a pair of gloves and some elbows. Bringing a draft guide with me. Its not the coolest thing in the world, but us Islander fans need to stick together. :P

[shifter 0]

lol wooot hall to edmonton!

[NoFear1419 0]

Im going to the Islanders draft party today. Doors open at 530 and they're having an equipment sale so i might try n pick up a pair of gloves and some elbows. Bringing a draft guide with me. Its not the coolest thing in the world, but us Islander fans need to stick together. :P

i was gunna go but when i go home from work at 5 i said f it by the time i get there nothing will be left. lemme know how you made out. Thanks

[n3ss 0]

hall doesn't want to play for edmonton, so they'd be retarded not to take seguin, even though i like seguin and wouldn't wish edmonton on him. however, being that just the sight of hall's face bothers me, i hope he does end up in the 'chuk. that place is horrible, pro athlete or not.

+ 10000

so glad hall went first. don't want to have to see hall's ugly mug all season if were to end up in boston..

[gerbe3:16 19]

Nice to see Kevin Hayes go in the 1st round. I thought Massachusetts hockey was dead. Huh.

I almost thought that when Montreal traded for a higher pick they were going to try to grab Hayes after missing the boat on another Massachusetts prep kid last year (Kreider).

[coldshoulder 0]

You'll get to holler for a 1st rd draft pick from SoCA, and probably one in the 2nd round too.

Make that 2 1st rounders from SoCA.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Yea the selection was not all that great. Most of the players are lefty though so the OPS sicks were useless to me. Had a few gloves, but the palms were worn. Best part of the sale were the helmets and shafts. I picked up a 5100 and a still unknown Bauer facesheild for 60 bucks. They had a bucket of shafts for 15 bucks each. I was temped to buy about a million Ultra-Lights/Griplites/Tflex's but ended up grabbing 2 Mission L2s. They also had some skates that looked quite beat up.

i was gunna go but when i go home from work at 5 i said f it by the time i get there nothing will be left. lemme know how you made out. Thanks

[Jason Harris 31]

Finally have some time to write about the draft, and the truth is it's somewhat boring because of the down time. I couldn't tell whether it was seven or ten minutes between picks, but it seemed like each team used the entire allotment. They would show about two minutes of video for each pick, as well as an occasional Best Goals video, but then we'd have to wait 5+ minutes for the next pick. Eight picks into, we went out to the concourse so we could run into people we knew.

I felt they need to find a way to make it more interactive for the fans in the stadium, with my thought being they should move the games that are outside the arena into the rink area, so people could be entertained between picks, then a bell could be rung to alert them that the next pick is happening. Watch the pick, watch the video, then go back to perusing the games.

Later that evening, we we were having dinner with Phil Pritchard and the other staff from the HHOF, when the gentleman who is in charge (or one of the top guys) of the NHL events sat next to us. I gave him two suggestions, to which he had a couple of interesting replies. I told him, "No more Snoop Dogg!" and he knew exactly what I meant. He said they hired an outside producer to stage the Awards Show, which made sense, since Snoop and Shinedown seemed to have no business being there other than a manager pulling in some chips. Then I told him about needing to bring the games into the arena, which he said they'd like to do, but he said some of the GM's are old school, wanting to be able to walk to another table to talk trades. I understand that, but I would imagine there are some conference rooms in these stadiums. It just seems they could sell more tickets to the draft if there were more activities for fans to do, and a fuller crowd would show better on TV.

***

Some of you have wondered whether you can run into players and execs at the draft. You definitely can, particularly if you are at the hotel where the NHL is staying, but it helps to know someone who knows someone. It was obvious who had "business" in the lobby versus who was waiting to get autographs. If someone can make themselves look like they belong, they might be able to strike up a conversation with some of the ex-players.

I had a couple of instances like that. I had seen Peter Chiarellii in Toronto at the Induction Weekend and asked him if he had brought a voodoo doll to stick it into Kessel so the B's would get the top pick. I saw him again Thursday night, so I asked him if he remembered that. He laughed and said he remembered, so I told him I just wanted to thank him because it was obvious he must have been bringing the whole Kewpie doll with him. He laughed again but had a tone that said he wasn't in the mood for chatting.

Also, it turned out a friend of Gouche's is a friend of Tyler Seguin, because suddenly his entire family joined us for dinner. I chatted with him briefly, telling him I lied about not caring who the B's picked, because I was really optimistic from everything I read that he'd put in the effort to be a star. He also said he was hoping he'd be picked by Boston. Finally, I asked him if he knew what he was getting into with Boston fans.

"You mean they love you when you're playing well, and hate you when they aren't?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it! Except the difference is some fans will boo you when you aren't giving effort, while the Bruins fans will boo you for just not playing well if the team itself is losing."

I also spoke with his parents, grandparents and sisters and can say he came from a good family. That means nothing in professional sports, but we know the kid wowed the scouts with the shape he was in at the combine, so I told his mother to remind him to keep eating his vegetables.

Finally, the last morning I walked up to Bettman. Now, I must disclose that I've always thought a lot of you go overboard with your "Screw Gary Bettman!!!" It turns out....

....

....

....

.... he's a turkey.

I said the same thing to him as I did to the guy in charge of events, "No more Snoop Dogg!" Instead of admitting it didn't go over as well as they'd hope, which the events guy readily conceded, Bettman gave me a lawyer's response -- and a weasly one at that. In thirty-five seconds of talking to him, he seemed to be the type of person who wasn't concerned about being right in his arguments, only in winning them.

I was definitely unimpressed.