Watching the NHL draft I can’t help but feel disappointed in myself for not being drafted. I am proud to see other Long Island natives such as Charlie McAvoy and Adam Fox being drafted and recognized for their well-deserved efforts over the years leading up to the draft. However, like other players who had been passed over watching the draft, I just can’t help but feel envious of these young players who are given such a wonderful opportunity to better achieve the dream that every young hockey player at heart has, playing in the NHL.
Fortunately, for all us free agents out there, it doesn’t mean it’s over; it’s just now going to be extremely more difficult for us. Which is expected because an NHL team would want to actually use their draft picks rather than scooping up a free agent off the street. What it means for us is we have to work our bag off. We can’t take a day off or slack off for a second because we have to prove our worth and hope the NHL scouts are watching. We’re the underdogs now and no one is going to do us any favors.
Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the New York Islanders Prospects camp. I had been passed up in the draft that year but my self-pity was short-lived when I found that I would be attending an NHL camp. It was a great experience for me and I felt like things would start to get easier after this. Since I wasn’t drafted, I didn’t belong to the Islanders, so my coach suggested that I should leave after the prospects game on Thursday to attend a tournament that potentially had NHL scouts in attendance. I spoke with the coaches at the camp about this to see what I should do and I got the most unbelievable response. The coach I spoke with said to my face that he didn’t care whether I left or not. He said since I was a free agent, that this camp was just a good experience for me to have. I was shocked and ultimately decided to leave the camp after the game.
I had been rather upset about this for a while and I felt like I didn’t matter in hockey. The next season before I would leave for college I had a very inconsistent year because this idea of inferiority was resonating in my mind. I eventually realized, with the help of my coaches, that what the Islanders had said to me was a wake-up call. This dream of mine of playing in the NHL is going to be difficult and I shouldn’t expect anything to be easy for me. I am an outsider and like many others, I am trying to play in the most coveted league in all of hockey.
For all us rag-tag free agents, this journey to NHL and pro hockey, in general, is going to be extremely difficult. But watching the draft should not make you feel insignificant; rather, it should give you perspective on your situation and know that it’s time to prove those scouts wrong.
