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+---- Thread: Pre-Draft Interview w/ FR Finn-Rhys (2x Draft Media) (/showthread.php?tid=104306)
Pre-Draft Interview w/ FR Finn-Rhys (2x Draft Media) - FinnRhys - 03-15-2020
Code:
words = 1,513; 2x draft mediaQ: Thanks for taking some time out of the pre-draft festivities to sit down with us a little bit.
FR: No worries at all, it is my pleasure. You are going to have to speak up a little bit though. As you can tell from the background noise the music is blaring and the crowds are starting to rock here in Montreal.
Q: <speaking louder> So FR, what is the environment like there? As a former first rounder yourself when you were drafted fourth overall by the Edmonton Blizzard, can you give us some insight into what is going through the minds of these draft prospects?
FR: The environment here is electric! It is always fun to attend the draft, even if you do not have any actual role in it. It certainly does not hurt that recent announcements said that alcohol may have a positive effect on preventing the spread of COVID-19 so there is a lot of alcohol going around right now.
As far as what is going through the minds of the draft prospects, I can tell you from my own experience that they are both incredibly excited and terrified. A lot of these players have been through numerous pre-draft interviews with all the interested teams of the Simulation Hockey League and have gone through individual workouts as well where they were poked and prodded and their play and physical traits put into a gonkulator to spit out an overall assessment of how good, or not, they will be in the pros. I have heard that number called TPE but I have no clue what it stands for so I just call it the gonkulator score. It also is not a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination. Your gonkulator score does not stay static and it will fluctuate so it is really just another tool that franchises, general managers and scouting departments use to try and get as objective a read as possible before they select someone in the draft. I know that is a long-winded answer but ultimately draft night can be an extremely nerve-wracking time in a player’s life. I will tell you, though, the moment these players hear their name called will be one of the best of their lives, regardless of where they get drafted to.
Q: Thanks for the insight. It sounds like it must be quite a night for the prospects. Can you give an insider’s look at what actually goes on behind the scenes?
FR: Absolutely! I was fortunate enough to “know” that I would be drafted in the first 20 picks or so. I think I was actually rated as the 20th or 21st overall pick going into the draft based on that gonkulator score that I mentioned earlier. After the interviews and workouts, though, I had a good feeling that I would go in the top 20 so I came to the draft in person. My agent took me to a tailor a few days before the draft and had me fitted for a new suit and I had my mom and dad with me when we arrived in a limousine to the venue. From there, if it is anything like my experience, the players will get to walk the red carpet a little bit and meet some of the fans that are there and make their way into the actual stadium. Once you actually get into the venue the players are usually escorted to a green room that is surrounded by big televisions and there are tables with snacks and catered food. It is not as raucous as the outdoor festivities with the fans but the atmosphere inside the green room is generally pretty relaxed and fun. You get to spend time with your family and you get to mingle with some of your teammates and the guys that you see week to week playing in the minors.
Q: So what is it like when you get notified that you were drafted? Like what are the actual mechanics of it?
FR: I am sure things have changed a little bit but when I was drafted I got a phone call from the general managers less than thirty seconds before the commissioner went up on the stage to announce the pick. Honestly, for me, I was shocked because I had not expected to go that early in the draft so I initially thought it was a prank phone call from my friends. But yeah, you get a phone call from the management and then you hear your name called and you make your way through a short back hallway onto the stage. They have the bright lights ups and you get a sweater and a hat and when you are done with that minute or two of picture taking you are taken back to a separate room with a representative of the team and you start getting your travel itinerary and start setting up press events with local media. It is a really fun time but it immediately goes into work mode once you are selected. The real partying and celebration of being drafted does not occur until later that night when all your media and team events are done.
Q: So, moving on from your experiences and focusing more on this draft. Are there any players that you have an eye on or that you think could project well as players in the Simulation Hockey League?
FR: Thankfully I am not in the scouting department so all I have to reference is the eye test from the handful of minor league games that I have watched this past season. Add in the fact that I am partial to defensemen, because I am one, and I have a very slanted and narrow view towards talent. Two of the top players that have really caught my eye recently are Ambacas Cuddles (@"cpetrella") from the Carolina Kraken and Valentin Kalashnikov (@suavemente) from my alma mater the Halifax Raiders, well, I guess now the Maine Timber. Both of those guys are just nasty on the defensive side of the ice. They are both big and burly guys that impose their will on the opposition and I think both have the potential to develop into outstanding blue-liners at the next level. Those two are the kind of guys that I would want to be paired up with on a line, they may not score a lot but they are tough, gritty and they not just know how to lay a hit but they are willing to lay their bodies on the line to make a defensive play. I really think both could be absolute steals to whatever teams are lucky enough to draft them. Mark my words, neither one of them will have to wait too long before hearing their name called.
Q: Are there any other players that have caught your eye recently leading up to the draft?
FR: Honestly, not really. It is not that there are not quality players but I just have not been as invested lately in watching the minors to make any more predictions or prognostications on players or where they would go. I know a couple of players I have heard about recently but haven’t actually seen play that could jump up the draft boards of some teams. The one that really sticks out in my mind is A Jobin (@"Awesomecakes"), the Detroit Falcons goalie. It is always hard to figure out where a goalie might land because it is so subjective and based on team needs at the time but what that guy did in the minors last season was pretty incredible, leading his team as a rookie starter, that is seriously almost unheard of. And he not only was the starting goalie as a rookie but he actually played really well. He definitely improved his draft stock with that type of consistent performance throughout the season.
Q: Well FR, thanks again for the time, we greatly appreciate it. Any final comments or parting shots before you head in to observe the draft?
FR: Honestly I cannot really think of anything to add. Thanks for allowing me to do this and for letting me give a little bit of insight. I really look forward to seeing how tonight ends up for not only my team, the Edmonton Blizzard, but for a lot of the younger players that I have worked with in the offseason when I go back to Halifax and now Maine for preseason workouts. I think regardless of where people end up, tonight will be a great night in all of their young hockey lives. And once tonight is done, that is when the real work of earning your place in the league will really begin.