Plain and simple, I was a little disappointed last night when Edmonton won the "Connor McDavid Sweepstakes." Nothing against Jack Eichel who will be there at No.2 when the Sabres take the podium in Sunrise, FL, but finishing second, especially having endured a season like no other, is at the very least, mildly disappointing. Like Sabres GM Tim Murray said post-lottery, “If you can pick 1 or 2, you’re going to choose 1. Anytime you can get 1 vs. 2 in any walk of life, you’re going to want No. 1."
Which is really no disrespect to Eichel, it's just human nature.
Murray as well as Sabres fans went into this whole process knowing that there was an 80% chance that McDavid would be headed somewhere other than Buffalo. "We came up here with an expectation we’d probably be picking No. 2 and we’re going to deal with it. There’s no issue there.” They'll also be getting a player in Eichel who many feel would be the first overall selection or rival the first overall selection in every draft dating back to John Tavares and Steven Stamkos.
Which was the whole idea behind a few teams wanting to finish in 30th this season.
Although the end-result was a bit of a bummer in Sabreland, it's nothing close to the crush they're feeling in Arizona after the Coyotes dropped to No. 3 in the draft. "This one stings," President, CEO and 'Yotes co-owner Anthony LeBlanc said. "It felt like someone punched me in the stomach." LeBlanc was the team's representative at the event in Toronto and watched the lottery ball selection.
Which is why Sabres management and fans breathed a sigh of relief when Columbus beat Buffalo to solidify the Sabres 30th spot in the standings.
There are worse things that can happen in the world than picking 2nd overall and having a franchise center there for the taking, like being a (presumably) less attractive and somewhat overweight impound clerk in the presence of a irate, snotty ESPN reporter bailing out her car. And there are worse things than missing out on the opportunity to draft a No. 1 instead of 1A. The NHL missed a golden opportunity for maximum interest and exposure by having a fairly lame lottery process when there was an inordinate number of eyes casually focused upon them last night.
Bill "Daddy Warbucks" Daly is deputy commissioner with the NHL and was the face of the lottery. Although his presence makes the process rather official, executives rarely have a television presence to rise above mundane. If they wanted to, the league could do way better than that. The NHL Network's Kathryn Tappen would have been much more appealing and one would think that she could handle the job of opening envelopes while doing so in an attractive, professional manner.
Quite frankly, the whole lottery process itself could've used a shot of energy. There was a board-room stodginess to the proceedings that left much, much room for improvement. I like the idea the WGR boys had this past week as they played the elimination game. With every lottery ball chosen, teams would be taken off the board and just before the final ball is pulled they can do a graphic with odds for the remaining team as well as the numbers associated with it. Then they can direct the camera to the ping pong ball tube and thwush!, the final number and the winner of the lottery.
Maybe next year when the first three picks are decided by lottery.
It's finally finished, though. Murray now has the two drafts he wanted in hand and despite the mild disappointment of finishing 30th and drafting 2nd-overall two years running, he knows he's adding two high-quality players to the Sabres stable in Sam Reinhart and, more than likely, Eichel. Reinhart is in Rochester finishing out the season with the Amerks while Eichel had said last night that the decision as to his future won't be made until he talks it over with his family.
“There’s the assumption that I’ll turn pro," said Eichel via conference call last night, "but I was really happy at BU this season and a lot can happen. I don’t need to be in a rush to go anywhere and I’m sure a decision will be made at the right time.
"I’ve got a long way to go. With that being said, it’s a dream for me and I’d love to play in the National Hockey League. I wanted to take a week or so to kind of wind down, reflect on my season, so I haven’t put much thought into it. It’s something where I will sit down after the draft with my family and with people close to me. I’m really excited for the future and wherever that may be, I’ll be very happy.”
Make no mistake I, like everyone else in Buffalo, really wanted to see McDavid in the Blue and Gold, but in taking a step back from the results, this could end up turning out very well for the Sabres.
First off, McDavid is out west which means the Sabres will see him only a couple times a year. Should fate somehow intertwine Edmonton and Buffalo in a Stanley Cup Finals somewhere down the road, the sense of drama would be heightened because of the relative unfamiliarity with each other. Despite the appeal of facing McDavid five times a season against a rival like Toronto, this is much better for Buffalo.
Secondly, as "McJesus" rides into Edmonton on the donkey that is Oiler management, the whole "savior thing" is now eliminated from the Buffalo vernacular. Again, McDavid is a rare talent deserved of the No. 1 overall pick and any team with the first overall pick wouldn't hesitate to run to the podium and doing a little jig inside. Hell, Edmonton might be on-stage at the draft and break into a River Dance, Bird Dance or Macarena for all we know.
For the Sabres, or any other non-playoff team in the lottery, McDavid is immediately placed on the top line. In Buffalo that would mean him having Evander Kane on one wing and Tyler Ennis holding the fort on the right side. If he had landed in Buffalo, I get the feeling that instead of McDavid being looked upon by fans and media as a phenom in an excellent hockey situation, their gaze would be focused more on him as a savior that could, would, should single-handedly bring this town a Stanley Cup.
I don't get that with the drafting of Eichel. To this point he's being perceived as more of a Buffalo, blue-collar type of player than savior. When he was found on YouTube blurting into a phone "Buffalo! I'm comin' for ya!" before chuggin' a beer, I get the feeling that most fans felt a connection with him and would relish the thought of chugging a beer with him.
Unlike McDavid who will be placed atop a group of young, talented players in Edmonton, Eichel will play a predominant role within the talent the Sabres have gathered and will continue gathering. It's the case of an extremely talented player merely slipping into his designated slot amongst his teammates. That he's probably relishing an anti-hero persona while carrying a big chip on his shoulder is a bonus.
Should Eichel turn pro this summer, the Sabres will now have a young, ultra-competitive one-two punch down the middle next season, and hopefully for many years to come. He'll be adding his self-described "extreme competitiveness" to the top-six while joining a player who's "will" has always proceeded his skill in, Zemgus Girgensons. Although it's not a given that those two will occupy the top-two center slots, Murray could do a lot worse.
Eichel and Girgensons seem to be cut from the same cloth in that they both hate to lose. They also have supreme confidence in themselves, are firmly rooted in the present while working hard towards the future and are unafraid of challenges.
The challenge of playing against McDavid, as well as other top-notch centers like Tavares, Stamkos, and Sidney Crosby (all of whom are in the east) will always be there, but unlike a "savior," Eichel will not be going it alone. There's little doubt he will eventually be able to hold his own versus players of that caliber, as he's done it already at the U-17 and U-18 tournaments against McDavid, but rest assured he'll have some big-time help that, hopefully, will make life miserable for the stars of the league.
Girgensons, who's first name, Zemgus, means "one who eats lions" (or was it "saviors"?) will be on one line while I can see Eichel, with a crazed look on his face, blurting out, "Connor! I'm comin' for ya!" on the other.
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