Maybe the saddest thing I ever heard at an NHL draft came at the end. It was 2011, in Minnesota, and as people were clearing out the building, I overheard someone say, "Don't worry - it just means you'll go in the first round next year."
Hockey players will attend the draft, but that doesn't mean they'll leave with a new jersey, a new favorite team. It can be agonizing to wait in those seats, but I can't imagine how much worse it gets when your name is never even called.
I don't know whether or not Nathan Noel was in Florida, waiting for his name to be called at the 2015 year draft, his first year of eligibility. But I do know he wasn't there when his name was called in 2016 - because he was at a Play On! street hockey tournament instead.
This is Nathan at PlayOn getting the call he was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks. Special moment emotional day. pic.twitter.com/hZbFWVheYq
— Glen LC Noel (@glcnoel) June 25, 2016
That has to be an amazing feeling. Maybe the draft is in the back of your head, but you didn't see the point in going - only to get the biggest surprise of your life anyway.
That's, no doubt, an incredible moment. Here's hoping all the best for Noel in his journey with the Chicago Blackhawks - he's already got one hell of a story.
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