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I wouldn’t have predicted it, but somewhere between the start and the finish of the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft...I cared.
I know what you’re going to say. “You cared about the All-Star game?” No. I cared about the FANTASY DRAFT that is held two days before it. This is absurd, but it’s true.
As player after player went off the big board, I just kept hoping that Jason Pominville wouldn’t get picked last. There were plenty of media outlets forecasting that Pominville would be the last skater taken, or somewhere near the bottom.*
*It’s probably somewhat important to know that the system is set up so the last pick HAS to be a forward because a team must fill out its goalies and defense by a certain point. It’s also important to point out that the guy who gets picked last gets a car.
Nobody wants to be picked last. If you’ve got a competitive bone in your body, you don’t want a car...you want to be picked.
I don’t care about your All-Star game.
I don’t care about your skills competition.
I DO care if you take a player from the team I like (and take only ONE player) and make me sit uncomfortably thinking “he’s gonna be last...he’s gonna be last...oh no it’s yet another shot in the gut for the team and city.” Then, you’ve got a viewer.
I know it’s not a huge deal, but I do think it’s a bigger deal HERE. Logan Couture was selected last. I don’t know what the reaction is in San Jose, but I think it’s safe to say it’s 1/1,000,000th of what it would have been, had Pominville been the last man standing.
It’s a gimmick, but it got me. While on “Pominville Watch” on Twitter, I asked just how much it would mean, if Pominville was the runt of the litter The reviews were mixed. Some Sabres fans were on edge with me, while others thought we were being silly.
Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson, the Captain of Team Alfie, came through for us by selecting Pominville in the 18th round. It’s what he said that makes the difference though.
Alfie didn’t just say, “We’ll take Pominville”. He took a moment to say how hard it was to select him because of the 2006 Conference Semifinals. You remember it...a rookie Sabres skater goes around Alfredsson, shorthanded, to score the series clinching goal. It was probably a very difficult time for Alfie. Would you forget that guy?
Pominville poster-ized Alfredsson. Alfie got his revenge the following year, but the announcement last night was a nice moment.
It means players remember history. They remember rivalries. They remember the ups and the downs that sometimes seem like lifetimes ago. I bet that goal still burns Alfredsson up a bit. He took that moment and used it to introduce Pominville in the 18th round. Jason Pominville was the 18th round pick with the 1st round introduction.
So somewhere in between a stupid over-corporate schmooze fest that barely resembles hockey...and a overly gimmicky NHL Fantasy Draft...we found something real.
That works for me.