No Shame in Second
In one of his pre-draft articles, McKeen's Director of Scouting, David Burstyn, offered his take on the phenomena that was Taylor vs. Tyler.
Some famous seconds?
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Even the Sedins were 2 and 2'A'.
In the end, being chosen second-overall in the NHL Entry Draft wilts into nothing but a mere career footnote; unless of course, if you're Pat Falloon.
That isn't the case with the top two ranked prospects in 2010: Windsor Spitfires left winger Taylor Hall and Plymouth Whalers center Tyler Seguin. When the ranking drama unravels at the draft in Los Angeles in June, either selections will mark the fourth consecutive NHL entry draft with an Ontario Hockey League player selected first overall.
"That's our job," explained Windsor general manager, Warren Rychel. "It's to get these kids to the next level. Taylor came in two years ago with high expectations, but we have a high-profile team. We have Cam Fowler that's ranked up there, too."
"Cam is the same as Taylor," echoed Windsor coach Bob Boughner. "He's been stretched out as well and he's done a good job of following through with his media commitments. He's a pretty down to earth guy, level-headed and classy off the ice."
The American defenseman, Fowler, won gold at the World Juniors facing off against Hall, who suited up for Canada.
"It's helped having that gold medal success at the World Juniors," Boughner said of his defenseman. "Since the World Juniors, it's elevated his game and you can see his confidence growing every game."
"I think they were beneficial," said Hall of the silver winning experience. "They taught me a lot about team-work and winning at a high level. It was disappointing to not win a gold medal."
Seguin was spared the heartache of losing the gold-medal game after being cut at the World Junior selection camp, along with other highly-ranked prospects in Sudbury's John McFarland and Moncton's Brandon Gormley.
So what gave Seguin an edge this season?
One comparison was how the two month younger Seguin put up better numbers in his second OHL season (63-48-58-106) than Hall (63-38-52-90), while the six-foot-one, 186-pound pivot tied Hall in the scoring race by scoring a goal in the final game of the season.
The goal came after Seguin had been held pointless in consecutive games, the third such episode in 2009-10. In his rookie season, he had been held off the score sheet in consecutive games only once, and three games twice.
"I had a bit of a slow start coming to the OHL last year," Seguin acknowledged. "I didn't score for the first 14 or 15 games of the season. Then I started getting opportunities on the top line and Terry and I started clicking in practice and in games getting points. [Matt] Caria came along at the trade deadline and we had a good little run."
That run of 11 games in the 2009 playoffs saw Seguin tie Chris Terry with 16 playoff points, and Caria close behind with 15 points. Their 21 goals outscored the 16 from the rest of the roster.
Flash forward to 2010 and Seguin scored five goals and 10 points in five OHL playoff games before being shutout by the Spitfires in the OHL Western Conference Semi-Finals.
"That was something that was being hyped and expected all year," said Hall. "[Plymouth/Windsor] is a good rivalry and we're happy with the outcome. I felt I played well and contributed."
However, high, prestigious ranking demands more than just point production.
"I've seen a maturation and learning curve process," summarized Boughner. "Taylor has paid more attention to little things and details that will make him a better hockey player. Everybody knows he's an unbelievable skater and shooter and scorer, but he does a lot of different things. He's really worked hard to being a good penalty killer and blocking shots. He's shown improvement in that area and in the dressing room showing leadership qualities."
While the top two ranked prospects' clubs collided, NHL Central Scouting released their final rankings with Seguin's name atop the list, amidst the Whalers being on the brink of playoff elimination, and Tyler held pointless.
"Even though this is a big series, scouts have already seen all year what players can do," Seguin said with Plymouth trailing 3-0 at the time. "This series is only small amount of games instead of all year. I've been going into it with the mentality of this as a regular season game. Obviously the pace and tempo are higher."
"There's nothing much I can do about that," Hall said in response to the rankings. "It's their opinion and they're entitled to it. I'm focused on my game. In the end, it doesn't matter where you were picked. I'm just trying to focus on team success and achieving that individual success will come."
Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli would concur with the Spitfires' bench boss. The Brampton-born Seguin could have been drafted by his hometown club, the Toronto Maple Leafs. They traded their pick to the Bruins and ended up second in the draft order after the Oilers won the draft lottery. Instead of a homecoming, the Whalers pivot could be Beantown-bound.
Edmonton controls the draft order with the first-overall selection. Hall was actually born in Calgary and only moved to Kingston recently. Hailing from Alberta would give him and opportunity to play close to family and friends in Oilers silks.
"That would be awesome. I just want to play in the NHL next year and it doesn't really matter for who," noted Hall. "It would be great to go out to Edmonton. If not, all that matters is that I become a solid NHLer for any team I end up playing for.
"Taylor is a very good team player," said Boughner. "Deep down inside he wants to go No. 1, but he's worried about the playoffs and the team and trying to get them to another Memorial Cup."
"No, not so much," when asked if being selected first had importance to him. "I was focused on my game and helping the team. It would be an honour going No. 1, but the goal is to make it to the NHL."
Both Hall and Seguin are no strangers to media. They've both been stretched trying to meet the multitude of media commitments as well as the scrutiny of every move that comes with the expectations of high draft picks, without affecting their games on the ice.
"I felt I handled it pretty well," Hall commented about his media commitments. "I don't mind being questioned in the media. The good guys can handle the pressure and I'm just trying to focus on my game, about being ready to play hockey every night.
Hall has been in the spotlight a long time. He gained national attention with his performance at the Memorial Cup last May, capturing the tournament Most Valuable Player award. His trophy case also includes the Wayne Gretzky 99 Trophy as the OHL's playoff MVP, which followed his OHL championship winning goal over the Brampton Battalion in overtime.
As a late birthdate, Hall attended the draft in Montreal last summer and closely watched the experiences of his peers. That experience made him more knowledgeable of the process, but his exposure still brought a heavy demand for interview requests.
"It's been tough," admitted Boughner. "He's pretty gracious and understands the position he's in. He's the face of junior hockey right now. He's handled it pretty well and it hasn't affected his play on the ice."
"He's a professional already," Rychel added. "He saw a lot of what Tavares went through last year, and he knows how to handle it and he manages his time well."
Seguin experienced a similar amount of media scrutiny and leaned on his support systems.
"I had so many supporters back home, family and friends and the boys on the team," said Seguin. "The guys gave me advice like Chris Terry did last year. He was always giving me advice on media. Then there's Tyler Brown, AJ Jenks, those kinds of guys were great."
"You could see he was a special player, a special talent," said Kitchener Rangers forward Jeff Skinner who played with Seguin as a member of the Toronto Young Nationals. "You're not looking that far ahead when you're that young. He's developed into a great hockey player."
"He's always been a pure goal scorer," said Seguin of his former Young Nats linemate, Skinner. "Back in the day when we played with the Nats, I would always go wide trying to beat a couple of guys and finding him in the slot. He's got an NHL shot and I'm sure he'll be there one day soon."
One of these two will be chosen first overall, and the other will join the ranks of some rather famous number two selections, a list comprised of notables Brendan Shanahan, Alexei Yashin, Chris Pronger and Patrick Marleau.
Soon to be added to that list: Hall or Seguin.
Edmonton, it's your call.