Live at the Bud Light Arena Pub ...
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Looks like I was in luck! There was an open Wi-Fi connection available within the area, and my laptop was able to pick it up just fine. I'm just a table down and away from the guys up front -- Rimer and everyone -- so this should be fun.
There's still 1h40m until the actual draft starts, but Dan Fritsche will be coming around 5 PM to sign autographs and meet with the fans, which should be fun. I was going to ask him how his brother is doing, since I know Tom is a prospect of the Colorado Avalanche.
So I'll be updating this throughout the draft party hopefully. Be sure to keep an eye on this.
4:24 PM: I want to add, much thanks to the people running this shindig for letting me plug in where the hosts are plugged in. Fortunately enough there was an open outlet they weren't using, and so long as it stays unused, I'm allowed to use it. Good stuff, good stuff.
4:57 PM: Ding, dong, almost 5 o'clock. Announcer mentioned a whole bevvy of things going on, from street hockey to table hockey outside, and it looks like Fritsche will also be outside for the autograph signings. Hats For Heroes are also going to be sold outside at $5 a pop. I'd get one if I wasn't so sadly poor at the moment.
Aaaand ... Pepsi Girls! Of course, right? What Blue Jackets functions is complete without the Pepsi Girls. Not that that is bad or anything.
5:18 PM: Suddenly, Stinger! One of them!
Yeah, really. All of a sudden a huge blur of yellow mozies on past me to my left, and I about fall over in my seat because Stinger comes into my line out sight out of nowhere! Killer bees, man ... they sneak up on you.
5:38 PM: So most people know that Columbus got rewarded the 06-07 draft. About 10 minutes or so ago, the logo for the draft was unveiled to fanfare.
Not bad at all. I personally like the alternate logo more than the regular logo. Though this makes you wonder if MacLean will keep denying that the alternate logo will become the primary logo in the future.
5:53 PM: Spoke with Dan Fritsche for a moment, just to say hello and get my cap signed. I asked him if he thought his bro -- who is with the Avs -- will be coming up this coming year, and he admitted that he didn't see him coming up this year. Though anything's possible with call-ups. It'd definitely be cool to see the two of them meet in a game sometime this upcoming season.
6:18 PM: And the 1st overall draft, after the Vancouver crowd boos the St. Louis representatives (which is taken in good spirit) ... Erik Johnson!
Unless something shocking happens, expect my next -- more informed -- comments to come when the Blue Jackets pick.
6:40 PM: Okay, you got to admit that Ovechkin doing the choice for the Washington Capitals (Backstrom) was both pretty funny and pretty cool. Though I half-expected him to make the pick in Russian. I kid, I kid ... anyway, so far, things have more or less fallen into place as expected. Boston's up next, then C-Bus.
6:45 PM: Ugh! And Phil Kessel goes to Boston. Mere inches away from having a steal of a deal, the Bruins pick him up to round out the top five. Now we're left with an interesting predicament, with a whole myriad of players as viable options for the #6 pick.
6:50 PM: And with the #6 pick, the Jackets pick up Derick Brassard. TSN definitely was doting on him, and talking about how he is a great, great fit for the Jackets down the line. And honestly, I agree. Not just because of the fact that he is a great scorer -- and the Jackets are in dire need of scoring -- but also because he actually seems very eager to be a member of the Jackets and come to the city of Columbus.
The Columbus Dispatch wrote up an article on Brassard's feelings on the city, and you can tell how eager he is. I'm very excited to see him picked, and I wonder how long he'll be a project down in Junior or at the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) before he makes the jump up. Couple years, maybe?
7:10 PM: GM Doug MacLean is talking with the guys on the radio, and he's also mentioning that Brassard will probably be spending time not with the Jackets before he comes up. There's really not any sort of rush. Sure, the Jackets need offense, but at the same time it'd be detrimental to bring him up too quickly before he prepares himself for the NHL.
Looks like he tried moving things up to #2 and #3, but there were too many complications. Considering that this draft isn't that in-depth beyond the first several picks, its understandable that none of the other teams would want to risk dropping lower than they need.
Lastly, MacLean has also said that while there are some deals being talked about between the Jackets and other teams, nothing looks to be coming to fruitition before the end of the draft. Looks like we won't be seeing any Denis deals with the Lightning now, unless something comes out of far right field.
7:23 PM: Brassard is on the show with the guys, and he is talking about how he definitely feels he has a good shot at making it on the team for the upcoming season. Maybe I misheard MacLean when he talked about his projections for when he'd make it up to the team. Either way, I do know that it would be great to see him make the team during the summer and in the pre-season. He's fast, he's a playmaker (in his own words), and he's doing his best to bulk up.
... and he just said his number is 61. Oh no, number drama with Rick Nash! :D But not really. Maybe he takes 16? 60 or 62?
8:48 PM - back at home: Well, after the on-radio interview with Brassard, things wrapped up and I -- as well as many others -- headed home. To be honest, that was actually pretty stressful. I'm normally not the kind of guy to just go rambling down to a party, let alone hook up and start blogging right in the middle of the fray. Man, imagine how much of a flake I'll be next year at the 06-07 draft when it comes to Columbus.
While I was there, I got to speak with one of the head radio coordinators who sat beside me at my table. But again, being the flake I am, I completely forgot her name. If you happen to be reading this, it was great talking with you and getting some insight in to how some things are run behind the scenes.
Obviously this live blog was very homer-ish, since I all but stopped after the Brassard pick. But honestly, that's okay. I'd probably be pulling things out of thin air if I tried to touch on most other team's picks and how they'd affect them beyond just the scouting report on each individual player.
I'm done for tonight, though. Good night, and don't forget to tip your waitress.
9:33 PM: Okay, this is my last, last update. Honest. It looks like the Jackets and Sharks swung a draft pick deal ...
San Jose gets Columbus' 2nd round draft pick (#36).
Columbus gets San Jose's 3rd round (#85) and 4th round (#113) draft picks.
... eh. Well, it's rather hard to say what MacLean is thinking. Once you get past the first round it pretty much degenerates into draft pick chaos. Hopefully by later on tomorrow more information will be revealed as to who is picked at those parts of the draft, and what they can do.
6 Comments:
There's still 1h40m until the actual draft starts, but Dan Fritsche will be coming around 5 PM to sign autographs and meet with the fans, which should be fun. I was going to ask him how his brother is doing, since I know Tom is a prospect of the Colorado Avalanche.
So I'll be updating this throughout the draft party hopefully. Be sure to keep an eye on this.
4:24 PM: I want to add, much thanks to the people running this shindig for letting me plug in where the hosts are plugged in. Fortunately enough there was an open outlet they weren't using, and so long as it stays unused, I'm allowed to use it. Good stuff, good stuff.
4:57 PM: Ding, dong, almost 5 o'clock. Announcer mentioned a whole bevvy of things going on, from street hockey to table hockey outside, and it looks like Fritsche will also be outside for the autograph signings. Hats For Heroes are also going to be sold outside at $5 a pop. I'd get one if I wasn't so sadly poor at the moment.
Aaaand ... Pepsi Girls! Of course, right? What Blue Jackets functions is complete without the Pepsi Girls. Not that that is bad or anything.
5:18 PM: Suddenly, Stinger! One of them!
Yeah, really. All of a sudden a huge blur of yellow mozies on past me to my left, and I about fall over in my seat because Stinger comes into my line out sight out of nowhere! Killer bees, man ... they sneak up on you.
5:38 PM: So most people know that Columbus got rewarded the 06-07 draft. About 10 minutes or so ago, the logo for the draft was unveiled to fanfare.
Not bad at all. I personally like the alternate logo more than the regular logo. Though this makes you wonder if MacLean will keep denying that the alternate logo will become the primary logo in the future.
5:53 PM: Spoke with Dan Fritsche for a moment, just to say hello and get my cap signed. I asked him if he thought his bro -- who is with the Avs -- will be coming up this coming year, and he admitted that he didn't see him coming up this year. Though anything's possible with call-ups. It'd definitely be cool to see the two of them meet in a game sometime this upcoming season.
6:18 PM: And the 1st overall draft, after the Vancouver crowd boos the St. Louis representatives (which is taken in good spirit) ... Erik Johnson!
Unless something shocking happens, expect my next -- more informed -- comments to come when the Blue Jackets pick.
6:40 PM: Okay, you got to admit that Ovechkin doing the choice for the Washington Capitals (Backstrom) was both pretty funny and pretty cool. Though I half-expected him to make the pick in Russian. I kid, I kid ... anyway, so far, things have more or less fallen into place as expected. Boston's up next, then C-Bus.
6:45 PM: Ugh! And Phil Kessel goes to Boston. Mere inches away from having a steal of a deal, the Bruins pick him up to round out the top five. Now we're left with an interesting predicament, with a whole myriad of players as viable options for the #6 pick.
6:50 PM: And with the #6 pick, the Jackets pick up Derick Brassard. TSN definitely was doting on him, and talking about how he is a great, great fit for the Jackets down the line. And honestly, I agree. Not just because of the fact that he is a great scorer -- and the Jackets are in dire need of scoring -- but also because he actually seems very eager to be a member of the Jackets and come to the city of Columbus.
The Columbus Dispatch wrote up an article on Brassard's feelings on the city, and you can tell how eager he is. I'm very excited to see him picked, and I wonder how long he'll be a project down in Junior or at the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) before he makes the jump up. Couple years, maybe?
7:10 PM: GM Doug MacLean is talking with the guys on the radio, and he's also mentioning that Brassard will probably be spending time not with the Jackets before he comes up. There's really not any sort of rush. Sure, the Jackets need offense, but at the same time it'd be detrimental to bring him up too quickly before he prepares himself for the NHL.
Looks like he tried moving things up to #2 and #3, but there were too many complications. Considering that this draft isn't that in-depth beyond the first several picks, its understandable that none of the other teams would want to risk dropping lower than they need.
Lastly, MacLean has also said that while there are some deals being talked about between the Jackets and other teams, nothing looks to be coming to fruitition before the end of the draft. Looks like we won't be seeing any Denis deals with the Lightning now, unless something comes out of far right field.
7:23 PM: Brassard is on the show with the guys, and he is talking about how he definitely feels he has a good shot at making it on the team for the upcoming season. Maybe I misheard MacLean when he talked about his projections for when he'd make it up to the team. Either way, I do know that it would be great to see him make the team during the summer and in the pre-season. He's fast, he's a playmaker (in his own words), and he's doing his best to bulk up.
... and he just said his number is 61. Oh no, number drama with Rick Nash! :D But not really. Maybe he takes 16? 60 or 62?
8:48 PM - back at home: Well, after the on-radio interview with Brassard, things wrapped up and I -- as well as many others -- headed home. To be honest, that was actually pretty stressful. I'm normally not the kind of guy to just go rambling down to a party, let alone hook up and start blogging right in the middle of the fray. Man, imagine how much of a flake I'll be next year at the 06-07 draft when it comes to Columbus.
While I was there, I got to speak with one of the head radio coordinators who sat beside me at my table. But again, being the flake I am, I completely forgot her name. If you happen to be reading this, it was great talking with you and getting some insight in to how some things are run behind the scenes.
Obviously this live blog was very homer-ish, since I all but stopped after the Brassard pick. But honestly, that's okay. I'd probably be pulling things out of thin air if I tried to touch on most other team's picks and how they'd affect them beyond just the scouting report on each individual player.
I'm done for tonight, though. Good night, and don't forget to tip your waitress.
9:33 PM: Okay, this is my last, last update. Honest. It looks like the Jackets and Sharks swung a draft pick deal ...
San Jose gets Columbus' 2nd round draft pick (#36).
Columbus gets San Jose's 3rd round (#85) and 4th round (#113) draft picks.
... eh. Well, it's rather hard to say what MacLean is thinking. Once you get past the first round it pretty much degenerates into draft pick chaos. Hopefully by later on tomorrow more information will be revealed as to who is picked at those parts of the draft, and what they can do.
-
At 6:13 PM,
said…
-
At 7:13 PM,
Stormbringer said…
Not bad at all. I personally like the alternate logo more than the regular logo. Though this makes you wonder if MacLean will keep denying that the alternate logo will become the primary logo in the future.
My feeling is that as long as the bug (Stinger? Never can remember...) mascot sticks around, the main logo will stay.
I, too, like the alternate much better...fits in a lot more with where the 'Blue Jackets' name came from. -
Yeah, I don't really see Stinger looking good with the alternate jersey on instead of the Starry Logo jersey. On the other hand, he's already been knocked off the jersey itself in favor of the Union Army cap logo on the right shoulder.
It's possible, though. For what it's worth, Dan Fritsche wore the alternate jersey to the draft party instead of the normal one. -
At 11:17 AM,
said…
hey it's steven, if_you_see_kay from the bluejackets community.
is the draft still going on? my son's birthday party just got over and i saw they drafted brassard. that little snippet in the paper was pretty good.
if it's cool with you, can i post what you've updated with (or you can) in the lj community? that would be great.