The NHL Draft, where dreams come true

 The NHL calendar is set up slightly differently than the rest of the sports world. The season just endd a couple of weeks ago when Vegas defeated Florida for the Stanley Cup, and now starting tomorrow, we will have the NHL draft. Free agency will then explode on the 1st, last a couple of days, and then be over. After that, the offseason is pretty quiet, without a lot of prolonged intrigue.

For the league, the hot and heavy business of the free agency period has a much more immediate impact on teams, and really on interest in the league. I love hearing about trades and free agency, don't you? For the players, though, there will be no more significant moment than the one when they hear their name called on draft night. None of the trades or contracts come until after you have been drafted (usually). The draft is where dreams come true.

That's right, for at least a few young men, their prayers will be answered when they are told they have to move to Columbus.

Tweet of the Moment

"We are sad to see Brock go... he was a great asset to our organization, and we know he will help lead Notre Dame to continued success."

After one season leading the #Canes AHL affiliate, Sheahan returns to his alma mater @NDHockey ☘️ https://t.co/IrPsCcq6Bv

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) June 20, 2023

We have arrived in the offseason, and that means we are the beginning phases of roster reorganization. Among the first teams to undergo the first wave of personnel churn is the Carolina Hurricanes, who lost AHL coast Brock Sheahan to Notre Dame. I have no additional analysis to this, except to say that I can't think of a more perfect name than "Brock" for the type of person I hae in mind when I think of Notre Dame.

Let's pretend I know what I was talking about

 Back in October, I had some thoughts:

The league seems to be very Eastern Conference heavy going into the year, and picking a winner there will be tricky. I'm going to lean into the Florida Panthers, who made a leap last year, and then spent the entire summer firming up their roster. They are going to be good again in 2022, and if my hunch that the Lightning are going to be flat is correct, they should have an inside track on the Atlantic. I don't trust the 'Canes, Rangers or Maple Leafs, so I guess the Panthers are where it's at for me.

 Pretty good, right? I mean, I did say the Panthers were going to win it all in 6, which they can't do, now down 3-1. That's clearly the biggest flaw in this post. 

Well, even in this paragraph, I don't mention the Bruins at all in a post about Eastern Conference contenders. That's not great. They had a pretty decent year. I did pick playoff teams for all the rest though, so I'll take points there! 

Oh, and I didn't include comments about the Western Conference. I highlighted, let's see, the Wild and the Blues. Wow. But I did say the Oilers were going to be good! Of course, I did also suggest that the champion from the Western Conference would be the Calgary Flames.

Not my finest hour. It's fine, I've only been doing this for like 10 years.