Calgary Herald

Crosby, Ovechkin know draft anxiety

Former No. 1 picks are familiar with feelings that come on eve of lottery

- MIKE ZEISBERGER mzeisberge­r@postmedia.com Twitter: @zeisberger

Before they were the two poster boys of the National Hockey League, they were the supposed “next big things” of their own draft years, wondering what their fates would be, mulling over which profession­al markets they soon would be calling their hockey homes.

If anyone can relate to the anxiety that the top 2016 prospects are painstakin­gly going through as the clock ticks down to Saturday’s highly anticipate­d draft lottery in Toronto, it’s Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. More than a decade ago — almost an afterthoug­ht now that they are doing battle in this electric best-of-seven second-round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals — they were the Auston Matthews, the Patrik Laine, the Jesse Puljujarvi of their generation­s.

Matthews, Laine and Puljujarvi, generally considered the three top candidates in this year’s draft pool, will undoubtedl­y have butterflie­s churning in their bellies as they await the revealing of the teams that will make up the draft order.

As former first overall picks themselves, Ovechkin (2004) and Crosby (2005) understand what Matthews, Laine and Puljujarvi are going through right now. Moreover, both superstars freely offer their advice to these talented teenagers, perhaps offering a glimpse of what might lie ahead.

“It’s a great honour to be picked first overall,” Ovechkin said on Friday. “But at the same time you have that kind of pressure because all the attention is going to be on your shoulders and everyone expects you to play your best.”

Crosby’s draft year was unique in that the NHL was coming off a season that was wiped out by the lockout of 2004-05.

As such, the draft order was determined by lottery in which teams were assigned one to three balls based on their playoff appearance­s and first overall draft picks from the previous three years.

The result: all 30 teams had a shot at drafting him, leaving Sid The Kid with no idea where he might end up. “It was exciting,” Crosby said. “Looking back, it was an exciting time knowing that whatever team finished the process, there was a good chance that’s where I was going. It’s a unique thing and it was exciting.

“It’s an anxious time, it’s an exciting time, it’s really a time that you really start to get excited knowing that the anticipati­on of where you are ranked and where you might end up. Now I think this part is more about just enjoying it knowing that, especially for the guys going to the lottery, that’s going to be the case. Some anxious moments finding out what the order is and where potentiall­y they might go.”

That being said, teams must be wary of falling into the trap of thinking that winning the lottery will ensure a Stanley Cup down the road. In their combined 22 seasons in the NHL, Crosby and Ovechkin have won just one title between them, that coming in 2009 when Sid The Kid’s Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup final.

Edmonton is the classic example of the pitfall of not surroundin­g No. 1 picks with a sufficient supporting cast. The Oilers have held the top overall selection in four of the past six drafts, yet have failed to reach the playoffs for a decade despite the additions of Connor McDavid, Nail Yakupov, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall.

“One guy can’t change a team on his own,” Ovechkin pointed out to Postmedia during a one-on-one interview last summer.

“The only people that can change a franchise is the whole team. Everybody. He can be better but the guys around him have to help him a lot.

“My first year, I had a great team. They helped me with everything. Lifestyle, all kind of stuff. So I hope for that kind of future star, the experience­d leaders and veterans have to help him.”

Ovechkin’s lack of a Stanley Cup is well documented. At the same time, this likely is his best chance to hoist hockey’s Holy Grail, with secondary scoring in the capable hands of T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams and, of course, Nick Backstrom. Oshie’s hat trick in Washington’s dramatic 4-3 overtime win in Game 1 on Thursday underscore­d how deep these Capitals are.

Crosby did not have his best game, having watched his line lit up for all three of Oshie’s tallies.

“You don’t like being on for goals, definitely not,” Crosby said Friday. “But I’ve had a lot worse games and didn’t end up (minus-3).”

For Crosby and Ovechkin, the future rests with Game 2 Saturday.

For Matthews, Laine and Puljujarvi, the future will be unveiled at the lottery Saturday night.

 ?? ALEX BRANDON/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES ??
ALEX BRANDON/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES

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