The Western Hockey League bantam draft on May 2 was a great day for the 196 Western Canadian 15-year-olds who were selected. Their dreams of one day playing in The Show took a tiny step closer to becoming a reality.
It was, however, a day of disappointment for the thousands of players passed over. Every kid handles being letdown differently, but some take it personally and think 'well if a WHL team won't draft me, there is no chance an NHL club will.'
None of the players passed over in the draft should sweat it, though. Precedents clearly show the draft is a far cry from the be-all and end-all for Western Canadian kids as NHL stars such as the Pittsburgh Penguins' Jarome Iginla, Phoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan, Vancouver Canucks' Dan Hamhuis, Toronto Maple Leafs' Joffrey Lupul, and Boston Bruins' Milan Lucic were all passed over by the 22 Dub teams.
Although the scouts are missing fewer players, it is still happening. The Nashville Predators selected Kelowna Rockets forward Colton Sissons in the second round of the 2011 NHL entry draft after he was passed over in the 2007 bantam draft. More recently, Matt Revel cracked the Saskatoon Blades as a 16-year-old this past year following going unselected in the 2011 bantam draft.
In some cases, the scouts get it wrong on players. But in the other cases, players are simply late bloomers. They don't hit their growth spurts, gain confidence in their game, or take the time to zero in on their weaknesses until after their 15-year-old season.
In the end, it doesn't matter who got it wrong. If you are truly talented enough to play in the major junior ranks, a scout will discover you in your first or second year of AAA midget. But to be spotted, you can't let getting passed over in the bantam draft break you. You have to keep on working and put in the work to improve the areas of your game that need it.
Milan Lucic is a prime example of how perseverance can lead to an NHL career. After the Vancouver native was passed over in the 2003 bantam draft, he considered giving up on hockey, but later decided not to give up on the dream. In his 16-year-old season, Lucic made a junior B squad, the Delta Ice Hawks. And it just so happened the Ice Hawks played in the same arena the Vancouver Giants of the WHL practiced in. This led to Giants GM Scott Bonner discovering him and listing him. Shortly after, Lucic was promoted to the Coquitlam Express of the BCHL and went on to crack the Giants the following season.
"When he first came out to practice as a 16-year-old he looked like he was going to be a project player for Don," Bonner recalled to The Hockey News in 2008. "By the time he came up at 17, he'd come leaps and bounds; he was an everyday player. He grabbed a physical role that first year, fought anyone and everyone, but his skills kept getting better and better because he's so eager to learn."
Following the Boston Bruins drafting him 60th overall in the 2006 NHL entry draft, Lucic has gone on to win a Stanley Cup and rack up a 30-goal season in 2010-11.
