Top NHL draft prospects visit Stanley Cup Final, meet their future foes
Nolan Patrick, who is projected to be one of the top two picks in the upcoming NHL draft, had to restrain himself from acting like a kid — which he still is — when he and other top prospects were introduced to members of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators on Monday morning before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Patrick, a 6-foot-2, 198-pound center who played for Brandon of the Western Hockey League, got his wish to meet Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and called Crosby “a nice guy.” But Patrick said he resisted the temptation to bother Crosby too much.
“My goal is to play in the NHL next year, so I think it would be a little weird for me to be fangirling him,” Patrick said. “It was nice to meet him and he’s the best player in the world so it’s hard not to get starstruck.”
Patrick and Swiss-born center Nico Hischier of Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League are the consensus 1-2 picks, though not always in that order. Patrick missed a chunk of playing time last season because of injuries but his athletic and NHL genes might quash any doubts teams might have about him.
The New Jersey Devils won the draft lottery and got the right to pick first, followed by the Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks. The Kings have the 11th pick. The Ducks don’t have a first-round selection because the conditional draft pick they traded to Dallas to get winger Patrick Eaves became a first-rounder when they reached the Western Conference finals and Eaves played in more than half of their games. The draft will be held June 23-24 at the United Center in Chicago.
Patrick, 18, is the son of former NHL forward Steve Patrick, the nephew of longtime NHL defenseman James Patrick and a grandson of Stephen Patrick, who played for Winnipeg of the Canadian Football League. In addition, Nolan Patrick’s mother, Carrie, played on Canada’s national volleyball team. Steve Patrick was drafted in the first round and 20th overall by Buffalo in 1980 and James Patrick was chosen ninth overall in 1981 by the New York Rangers.
Nolan Patrick said his father and his uncle “have been huge” in influencing his career. “My dad has been my role model since I was young and he still is. He’s great around the house with my family. He’s great on the mental side of things and my uncle is more the on-ice things,” Nolan Patrick said. “They both have been huge for me so I have to give a lot of credit to both of them.”
They’ve both offered advice on what’s likely to be the toughest part of his transition from junior hockey to the NHL.
“It’s mostly size and speed,” he said. “I think the base part of the game is thinking and I think that’s the top of my game, what I use to my advantage. But for me to make the jump next year I need to be bigger and stronger and faster and that’s what I need to be working on for the summer.”
Hischier is among the many promising players recently produced by Switzerland, which also claims standout Nashville defenseman Roman Josi as a native son. But according to Hischier, while Josi is popular back home, the most popular Swiss athlete remains 18-time Grand Slam tennis champion Roger Federer. “If somebody can be perfect, it’s Federer,” Hischier said.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
