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Having been a fan of the NHL since I literally came out of the womb, and for the First 3rd of my life growing up in various suburbs of Montreal, QC and every other city thereafter having a hockey rink it became a dream of mine like any other kid growing up to be like my idol and play in the NHL.
We dreamt of scoring that game-winning goal in double OT to hoist the Cup or making the save to keep the game or series alive, making that blocked shot to prevent the game winning goal, making that pass to set it up, making that big hit to get momentum and the list goes on.
Most of those dreams as was shared in the recent NHL draft that I was fortunate to receive a last minute ticket to attend for the first time, when player videos were played on Rogers Arena big screen of the time the kids being drafted in the first round spent on their backyard rinks, outdoor rinks, ponds or mini- stick competitions in their basements as I did as a kid.
In the case of this year’s NHL draft, another of the Hughes brothers was drafted in the first round to follow his older brother Quinn who was selected as the 7th overall pick in the first round by our home city Vancouver Canucks.
This time, it was Jack, who was pegged for most of this season to be picked 1st overall and the New Jersey Devils, announced by one of the greatest goalies of all time and hall of famer Martin Brodeur.
Back to back years where brothers and parents hugged in the stands where all the players sat with their families waiting for their names to be called by one of the 31 teams with all of their senior management, coaches and other personnel amassed on the floor of Rogers Arena
Although two of the three Hughes brothers drafted in to the NHL thus far (the next projected to come to the NHL is Luke), participated in the US NTDP, until that point they experienced playing on outdoor rinks (the epitome of free play) and their organized minor hockey in Toronto, Canada as their dad worked with the Leaf’s and other Hockey organizations.
The very same coaches that I have worked with facilitating Hockey Canada NCCP Clinics for BC Hockey but their Ontario counterparts are the ones that were instrumental in developing Quinn’s and Jacks passion for the game and initial development of their core skills.
Like the other Canadian players who were drafted, Quinn and Jack had very similar experience playing mini stick, on outdoor rinks or ponds, minor hockey in the GTHL then their junior path was US NTDP vs. Junior A or Major Junior
Listen to the podcast below to get more insight from the US NTDP U18 head coach who shares insight on the various players before they were selected in this year’s draft (including Montreal’s pick Cole Caulfield who they stole at 15)
The second pick by the New York Rangers, as suspected, was for Kappo Kakko, the Finnish phenom who played on the Finnish U18, World Junior and World Championship Gold Medal teams this past season.
Similar to 2016 when Auston Matthews (USA) was the #1 pick by Toronto, then Patrick Laine (Finland) the 2nd overall pick by the New York Rangers so game on, as both teams are in the same division, we will see these two young players playing each other for years to come.
What was different about this draft, however, was the number of other US born players that were selected in the first round, 8 from National Development Team (7 in the first 15 picks), three others were born in the USA that was also chosen the first round, 5 others in additional rounds for a total of 13 (62% of the players from the NTDP U18 team)
Compare that to Canadian players, #3 – Kirby Dach – WHL, #4 – Bowen Byram (WHL) and 11 others for a total of 13
Others chosen not from the NTDP or Canadian (the exception being Thomas Harly with dual citizenship
1 other from the USA – USHL
1 – Dual Citizenship (Canada/USA)
2 more from Finland
4 from Sweden
1 from Russia – think back in the 60-70-80’s when the Red Army Dominated Internationally
1 from Germany
When I talked to Ken Martel for our online summer event, he shared that this year’s U18 US NDTP was a special group of players and they did anticipate several to be drafted in the first round, I think he and rest of USA hockey staff are sitting back and doing the same thing I did…. especially once all rounds completed, 17 were drafted.
WOW with a sense of pride like many of the parents who did the same when their son’s names were called.
So what makes the US National Team Development Program unique and lead to so many players being drafted in the first round from ONE team?
#1 – With the exception of Jack who played all his minor hockey in Canada, this year’s group are all players that went thru the US American Development Model (ADM) which adheres to age-appropriate training, small area games, and cross-ice hockey for the earlier age groups (from 5-8 years of age), endorsing multi-sport participation and FUN.
The ADM was implemented by USA Hockey in 2009 when all of the players from this year’s draft class would have been 7 years old.
#2 – Coaching certification – they all benefited from coaching certification programs in either Canada or the USA.
All of Quinn’s and Jacks Minor Hockey Coaches would have been certified thru the NCCP Hockey Canada program and all the other US players benefited from one of the top coaching certification programs in the USA to coincide with the roll-out of their ADM model in 2009. The majority of other sports in the USA have less developed or no coaching certification programs at all as they don’t have a centralized coaching certification program as we do in Canada.
#3 – Unlike all the Canadian and International players that come to Canada to play in major junior or Junior leagues playing on multiple teams, the U18 and U16 US NDTP are national teams that train and play in all tournaments and stay together as a group annually so they develop chemistry, competitive spirit vs. Canada’s “all-star” teams that are formed a few weeks prior to participating in international events.
Did Quinn and Jack get the best of both worlds then? Playing minor hockey in Canada than being selected to the US National Development program where they moved to Plymouth, billeted, went to school and trained with their teams?
The closest equivalent in Canada would be the explosion of academies where kids play on U15, U16 or U18 teams, go to schools together, the billet in same neighborhoods etc.
In BC/Alberta alone, there are 14 academies as members of the CSSHL (Canadian School Sport Hockey League) now with bantam prep, bantam varsity, U16, U18 boys and now girls teams with an annual bill to parents anywhere from $15-40K
A few other things jumped out for me when I was watching the draft in person that you don’t get a true feel for when watching on TV;
# 1 – When each player was interviewed and aired on the big screen to fill the 3 minute time limit that teams have to make their pick, literally EVERY player said that the experience was surreal, it had not sunk in yet, that their dream of playing in the NHL was getting closer and many shared that they wanted to make an impact and help their teams.
Translation – they are Gen Z, and regardless if it is sport, business, school, having mentored many students over the years who work with us as interns, literally every one answers the question, where do you see yourself in 5 Years?
Answer – I want to make a difference and contribute.
#2 – In those interviews, they also would thank their parents, friends, coaches and others who helped them get to this special moment that showed how much it takes a village to raise a child.
At about the ½ way point of the draft (after the Habs picked), I went to get a snack and while walking in the concourse came across a group of those from the village, several Alex Newhook’s (Colorado) friends who flew in from his home town in St. Johns Newfoundland, wearing his various jerseys were screaming at the top of their lungs in celebration.
Another was a group of Moncton WHL Wildcats teammates sitting adjacent to us who also traveled across the country from Moncton, Nova Scotia who jumped from their seats when their fellow teammate Jakob Pelletiers named was called and drafted to Calgary.
Many of the other players shared how many friends and family were there and what the whole experience reminded me of was high school graduation, as each player went up to receive his jersey ( graduation certificate), family and friends sitting in the stands would celebrate.
It was similar to when I attended both of my kids (now adults) high school and university graduation ceremonies and all I could think about was how proud I was of both of them, similar to that of all the parents would be of these potential prospect NHL players.
For a fleeting moment I thought to myself it would have been great to have been one of those parents to have seen all of my sons hard work pay off over the years to be drafted to either the WHL or the NHL, but then I reminded myself he learned a ton, had fun (for the most part) and he is now playing adult rec (AKA beer league) and loving the game more than he did in the crazy days (when winning at costs prevailed for all kids to contribute but that is another story in itself).
The other thing I thought about was all those players I coached (hundreds over the years), only a handful have gone on to play junior, one is finishing his tenure playing major junior whom I thought potentially would be drafted to the NHL and would have been great to see him go up on that stage with others but it was a reality check just how hard it is to make it just to the NHL draft, let alone play.
Then as the draft finished up we walked to a local restaurant to have dinner and truly appreciated the moment when Alex Newhook and his family and friends walked up the restaurant we were at on the outside deck, we all stood up to give him a standing ovation and then quieted down when he approached the hostess and asked if it would be possible to get a table.
Two of the tables on the deck as did we stood up (we were heading out) offered ours so a teenager could celebrate such a special moment with his family as I did with my kids when they hit such special milestones.
I then headed to my car, my cohort headed to his hotel as was attending day 2 of the draft the next day.
Although such a small % of kids that play hockey will reach this milestone, and even if drafted, may or may not even play or have long careers in the NHL my friend shared with the reason why he loves going to the drafts is that is the time we as coaches can see when kids realize their dreams they had as toddlers, as Jack Hughes did and all those other first overall picks before him.
I am looking forward to seeing how the careers of this year’s draft class evolves.
I can then look back when they make team rosters and do all the others things that we dreamed about as kids and say to myself like all the other members of their villages and say to myself, WOW I was there when they got drafted and saw their dream come to fruition.
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