nivek_wahs
06-22-2007, 08:56 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=e21766e4-8cbb-4a79-9378-9c52b0766f63
Ross wants it to be over
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007
Regina Pats defenceman Nick Ross might need to call a timeout during his NHL draft party -- for a nap.
"As it gets closer I'm kinda having some sleepless nights," offered the 18-year-old Lethbridge product. "I've been thinking about it ever since the season ended. You just want to get it over with almost."
The wait is nearly over.
Ross has been touted as an early selection in the draft, which will be conducted over two days in Columbus. The first round is slated for tonight while rounds two through seven are to follow on Saturday morning.
Although predicting draft results can be more luck than science, Ross has been earmarked for somewhere in the top three rounds, perhaps even as high as the later stages of the opening round. Central Scouting ranked him 18th overall among North American skaters, a projection which suggests he's more likely to land somewhere in Round 2.
"I'm definitely hoping I go high but it's just an honour to be drafted," he said. "It doesn't really matter when or to what team."
Ross was among a group of top prospects invited to the NHL's annual draft combine two weekends ago in Toronto. The 6-foot-0, 190-pounder was pleased with his showing in the fitness testing as well as the interview process.
"I was in pretty good shape (for the testing) and I had 23 interviews and they all were pretty positive," said Ross, who admitted he was nervous about the one-on-one meetings. "Every team pretty much had their basic questions. There might have been a couple (head-scratchers) but with me they weren't too bad. A couple of my buddies had some crazy ones though. Brandon Sutter said one team asked him, 'If you could be the best player in the NHL but die at the age of 45 or just be how you are now, what would you do?' I'm glad I didn't get any questions like that."
Among the teams that interviewed Ross, the Colorado Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens have reportedly shown the most interest. Representatives of the Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks also came to visit his home in Lethbridge this spring.
"A couple teams have been a lot more interested that I've talked to more than once," he said. "Then there's other teams like at the combine who interviewed me and I kinda wondered why they did because they didn't seem that interested. You never really know (who likes you and who doesn't)."
At the suggestion of his agent, Ross decided against travelling to Columbus for the draft. It's generally recommended that players shouldn't attend unless they're a sure-fire first-rounder because it saves them the potential disappointment of not being picked on the first day.
"I'm just going to stay home," said Ross. "I've got a couple buddies coming over. We're gonna watch the first round (on TSN) and then they're gonna stay over night and we'll check out the second round the next morning (on the Internet). I have some Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights that I'm going to watch on Saturday."
Ross likes the rough stuff on the ice, too. A devastating open-ice hitter, Ross has been praised for his physical attributes and solid two-way game. He's also remarkably poised with the puck, although some scouts have interpreted his patience as a lack of urgency.
"I know what I have to work on," said Ross, who had seven goals and 31 points in 70 games last season, with a plus-11 rating. "Other people can say what they think I need to work on, but I hear lots of stuff like that from (Curtis Hunt). I just focus on what our coach says and not what is being written about me."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
Ross wants it to be over
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007
Regina Pats defenceman Nick Ross might need to call a timeout during his NHL draft party -- for a nap.
"As it gets closer I'm kinda having some sleepless nights," offered the 18-year-old Lethbridge product. "I've been thinking about it ever since the season ended. You just want to get it over with almost."
The wait is nearly over.
Ross has been touted as an early selection in the draft, which will be conducted over two days in Columbus. The first round is slated for tonight while rounds two through seven are to follow on Saturday morning.
Although predicting draft results can be more luck than science, Ross has been earmarked for somewhere in the top three rounds, perhaps even as high as the later stages of the opening round. Central Scouting ranked him 18th overall among North American skaters, a projection which suggests he's more likely to land somewhere in Round 2.
"I'm definitely hoping I go high but it's just an honour to be drafted," he said. "It doesn't really matter when or to what team."
Ross was among a group of top prospects invited to the NHL's annual draft combine two weekends ago in Toronto. The 6-foot-0, 190-pounder was pleased with his showing in the fitness testing as well as the interview process.
"I was in pretty good shape (for the testing) and I had 23 interviews and they all were pretty positive," said Ross, who admitted he was nervous about the one-on-one meetings. "Every team pretty much had their basic questions. There might have been a couple (head-scratchers) but with me they weren't too bad. A couple of my buddies had some crazy ones though. Brandon Sutter said one team asked him, 'If you could be the best player in the NHL but die at the age of 45 or just be how you are now, what would you do?' I'm glad I didn't get any questions like that."
Among the teams that interviewed Ross, the Colorado Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens have reportedly shown the most interest. Representatives of the Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks also came to visit his home in Lethbridge this spring.
"A couple teams have been a lot more interested that I've talked to more than once," he said. "Then there's other teams like at the combine who interviewed me and I kinda wondered why they did because they didn't seem that interested. You never really know (who likes you and who doesn't)."
At the suggestion of his agent, Ross decided against travelling to Columbus for the draft. It's generally recommended that players shouldn't attend unless they're a sure-fire first-rounder because it saves them the potential disappointment of not being picked on the first day.
"I'm just going to stay home," said Ross. "I've got a couple buddies coming over. We're gonna watch the first round (on TSN) and then they're gonna stay over night and we'll check out the second round the next morning (on the Internet). I have some Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights that I'm going to watch on Saturday."
Ross likes the rough stuff on the ice, too. A devastating open-ice hitter, Ross has been praised for his physical attributes and solid two-way game. He's also remarkably poised with the puck, although some scouts have interpreted his patience as a lack of urgency.
"I know what I have to work on," said Ross, who had seven goals and 31 points in 70 games last season, with a plus-11 rating. "Other people can say what they think I need to work on, but I hear lots of stuff like that from (Curtis Hunt). I just focus on what our coach says and not what is being written about me."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007