By Patrick King
Sportsnet.ca
KITCHENER, Ont. — The circumstances will be different for Rick Dudley in advance of this year’s National Hockey League draft.
The assistant general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks has been in Kitchener, Ont. this week, watching some of the draft-eligible players playing in the MasterCard Memorial Cup. With his team picking 11th in next month’s draft, Dudley won’t know which player his team is taking until draft day, unlike last year’s draft.
“At this point in time last year, we knew we were picking Patrick Kane,” Dudley said. “We’ll be picking an interesting player. We really don’t know who and nobody knows who really, outside of No. 1 and that would be Tampa.”
The nature of the draft, Dudley said, is so unpredictable when picking outside of the top slot.
“You can throw your hat over five or six names and it’s pretty likely one of those is going to be the player you picked,” he said. “The truth is you’re always surprised.”
Among the surprises last year was when Russian forward Alexei Cherepanov, who some considered a top three talent, fell into the hands of the New York Rangers, who were rumoured to be trying to move into the top three, at 17 overall.
“That was an unusual set of circumstances,” he said. “I talked to a lot of the people from other teams and it just so happened they had people ahead of him and he just perfectly fell so the Rangers could get that kid. I think it’s going to turn into a good pick for them.”
Dudley has been watching several potential future draft picks in the tournament, including Kitchener’s Mikkel Boedker. The Danish forward had an impressive first season in the Ontario Hockey League, showing off his soft hands, vision of the ice and terrific skating ability.
Dudley will also have an eye on Spokane Chiefs forward Mitch Wahl. The 18-year-old forward from Seal Beach, Ca. has had an impressive Memorial Cup, scoring twice while adding four assists and helping his team earn a bye to Sunday’s final where they will meet Boedker’s Rangers.
Wahl’s Memorial Cup performance could help increase his draft stock, Dudley said, as the pressure of performing in the Memorial Cup is on par with playing in the Stanley Cup Final.
“A kid like Mitch Wahl is trying to prove a couple of things,” Dudley explained. “He skates well, he’s a smart player, he handles the puck extremely well, he’s not very big so he’s probably here trying to show he can play in traffic and do those types of things and play with the big boys and so far I think he’s done that.”
Dudley’s job this season has been made more difficult given the core group of players who aren’t eligible until future drafts. Spokane’s Jared Cowen and Gatineau’s Hubert Labrie were two young defencemen making it tough for scouts to focus on the present. Cowen and Labrie were big reasons for their team’s success this season while Cowen has an opportunity to claim the Memorial Cup with a win on Sunday.
“To be honest with you, you want to watch them but you’re not really here to watch them,” he said. “You make a note on them and you say, ‘He’s going to be a very interesting player to watch in the future, but you’re here to watch the players you’re drafting in another month.”
The Windsor Spitfires, especially, have been tough to focus on when looking at the present. Spitfires games have been littered with NHL scouts who have been watching some potential future gems in forward Taylor Hall and defenceman Ryan Ellis.
“It’s been hard this year because in Windsor there were a couple of underage kids who were brilliant players,” Dudley said. “You found yourself sitting at the game watching them and you lost track of what you’re supposed to be watching. You really have to fight with yourself to not find yourself watching a kid like Hall and (Ellis).”
Among the players Dudley has watched at the Memorial Cup was a pair of Rangers in goaltender Josh Unice and defenceman Ben Shutron. Chicago has the rights to both, having drafted Shutron in the fourth round in 2006 and Unice in the third round a year ago. Both players have yet to sign with the Blackhawks.
In a pressure-filled tournament like the Memorial Cup, Dudley said a player can increase or decrease his draft stock but he is just as interested in the player’s performance throughout the regular season and playoffs.
“We do a lot of amateur scouting so we know these players before they come (to the Memorial Cup),” he said. “In most cases you’re just trying to reinforce what you already think.”
