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After the draft with Lyle Odelein III
#1

This past week the SHL held their S48 entry draft in Calgray, Alberta.  St. Louis Scarecrow defender Lyle Odelein III was one the prospects that was selected in this seasons draft.  He was selected by the SHL Western Conference champions, the New Orleans Specters.  They used the 8th overall pick that they had just traded for to select this Crow defensemen.  We were able to meet up with Lyle after Team Canada’s WJC quarter final victory over Russia.

Q: Thanks for meeting with us Lyle, and congrats on the victory over Russia today.

A: Thanks, it was a great game for us. Looking forward to our next game.  It’s been a honour playing for Team Canada.  I’m very lucky to be here.

Q: Well, what we really wanted to talk about was the recent SHL draft.  You were selected 8th overall by the New Orleans Specters, tell us about how it all went down.

A: Well, to be honest, it all went by in a blur.  It feels like I blinked and then all of a sudden I was putting on that beauty Specters jersey.  It was wild.

Q: You had been projected to go right around the 8th spot, so it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprised?

A: I really didn’t pay too much attention to the projections, so I didn’t really want to start thinking I’d go at any specific spot.  I knew that the San Francisco Pride had both the 7th and 8th spots, so when they announced that New Orleans and San Fran traded swapped 1st rounders, I wasn’t all that surprised.  I was surprised right after that though, it was surreal hearing my name called by the Specters.

Q: Had you had any talks with the team prior the draft.

A: I meet Joe early in my career, being a Crow we meet in the locker room when he stopped by, we had talked a few times over the past while, he’s a pretty great guy, he’s done nothing but give me good advice since I’ve known him.  I was so stoked that he thought I’d be a good fit in New Orleans.  I’m looking to make sure I show him he made a good choice.

Q: Have you been able to meet any of your new teammates?

A: I have, it’s been great. The group in New Orleans is very welcoming, a great bunch of players.  They have welcomed us rookies into the locker room without hesitation.  Couldn’t ask for a better group.

Q: You mentioned the rookies.  The Specters seemed to have a very successful draft, talk to us about your fellow rookies.

A: They are all amazing.  I had meet Zarley Zalapski before the draft, he is a solid dude, I was so happy when his named got called too.  Darnell Johnson is really great as well, I hadn’t meet him until the night of the draft, but we seem to get along very well.  And I was super pumped that we snagged Travis Bitties, he was the #1 overall pick in my SMJHL draft, he’s a great player.  I’ve meet him in the Specters locker room after the draft too, he’s a solid guy.  Can’t wait to enter the SHL with this group, I think we are all going to work very hard to keep the Specters winning ways going.

Q:  Is there any other players that you knew before joining the Specters?

A: Well, like I said earlier, being a Crow, I’ve meet a lot of the alum.  So as I mentioned, I already knew Joe, and I knew Nicholas Wiliams pretty well.  Aleister Cain drops by the St. Louis locker room every once and a while and Michael Fox, Charlie Serpe and Basil Magnicotta all played in St. Louis last season so it was really nice to see some familiar faces.  And it doesn’t hurt that they are all top notch people.  I can’t say it enough, I’m really happy to have landed in New Orleans.

Q: Have you had any discussions about your future plans with the Specters?

A: Kind of, I’ve talked with Joe about some training ideas, on how to become a better player.  I’ve got a lot of work to go until I’m ready to even think about playing in New Orleans.  They are an amazing team and I don’t think they’ll be needed any help from me anytime soon.  I’m looking to really step it up this year in St. Louis, I’ve been working hard this offseason and I’m looking to make a bigger impact with the Crows.  We’re losing some great guys to the SHL this year, especially Fox and Serpe, they were our leaders, they wore the C and an A.  I was already happy that they were going to get to play in the big leagues, but now that I know they are going to be playing for the team that I’ll eventually be at makes my drive to get good enough to for the SHL even stronger.

Q: Back to the draft itself, I know you said you weren’t really paying attention to mock drafts or speculation but did you really not have any clue that you’d be getting picked in the top ten?

A: Really I didn’t.  Of course I hoped I would, that’s pretty cool, but I wasn’t holding my breath.  I was anticipating my St. Louis teammate Mika Kandinsky to get selected before me, he is such an awesome player, I thought he was going to get picked in the top five, so I wasn’t expecting to be picked before him.  Toronto got the steal of the draft with Mika, he is going to light up the SMJHL this coming season, and when he gets into the SHL, watch out.

Q: You and Mika weren’t the only St. Louis players to get selected in the first round, Barrett Blackwood was picked by Edmonton with the 14th pick.

A: Ya, that was awesome.  And Izem Abioye got picked by West Kendell, the Challenge Cup champs!  Us Crow players had a great showing, can’t wait to hit the ice with them again soon.  We all want to have a great year in St. Louis, we want to take the Four Star cup back and at the same time, show the teams that drafted us that we were worth the pick.

Q: What are your plans to get ready for the upcoming season?

A: Well, my first plan is to try and win the WJC tournament.  We’ve got a huge game coming up, and hopefully another game after that. Then it’s back to St. Louis, I’ve still got some training and equipment shopping before the season starts.  With Charlie moving up with the Specters, I know that I’m going to need to step up and take a bigger role, I’ve got a plan to how to get to where I want to be, I made that plan with help from my GMs and my teammates, so now I just need to put in the work that I need to do to make sure I get there.

Q: There was an article published recently about your family’s new venture in New Orleans, which must be exciting for you.

A: It sure is, being able to start my SHL career in the city that my dad and my grandfather will be in, not many players get that opportunity. I’m stoked about that.  They have had this idea for quite a while, my grandfather played a lot of hockey over the years, he’s learned a lot about playing hockey and wants to pass that along. And my dad has made a pretty good living working in the front offices of some big hockey clubs, he’s got all of the knowhow on how a hockey organization runs, he wants to be able to pass that along too. 

Q: New Orleans is pretty new to the hockey scene, but since the SHL and the Specters management team brought the franchise to the city, they have really embraced the sport, I think that the new hockey training center will really do well in the Big Easy.

A: So do I!  The Specters have really kicked off the love of hockey in New Orleans.  They have been a great team to follow and watch since they started there.  I hope that when I get there I can continue giving the fans and the city something to cheer about.  And soon enough, I won’t be surprised to start seeing a lot more hockey players coming out of Louisiana.  That would never have happened if the Specters weren’t here.  I hope that my family can help facilitate that, teach some kids about this awesome game.

Q: Well, we don’t want to hold you up any longer, we know you got a big game to get ready for.  Just want to wish you luck in the WJC and the upcoming SMJHL season.  And once again congratulate you on being drafted by the New Orleans Specters.  It’s been quite a rookie year for you, and we are excited to see what happens next.

A: Me too! I’ve had a great time since joining the league, I’ve met a lot of great people who have helped me every step of the way.  Getting drafted by the Crows and now the Specters, I couldn’t have written a better story line if I tried.  Such amazing franchises, I’m very lucky to have been choosen by both of these teams.  I want to get so much better to be able to win for these guys.  They are the best. Thanks a lot for this.  Hopefully we’ll talk soon.

We sure will Lyle, that’s all we’ve got here, thanks for reading.  Make sure you watch out for Lyle Odelein III, St. Louis Scarecrow, Team Canada WJC and now one of the newest New Orleans Specter.

Thanks for reading!

Scarecrows Canada Specters

Word count - 1814 / 2x draft media bounus
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(This post was last modified: 06-10-2019, 01:35 AM by PenKnight.)

Mother Russia will Rise from the Ashes!!

Militia Specters Russia
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