Bulldogs make interesting draft bait
If everything had gone to plan, Reilly Webb would be boarding a plane today bound for the NHL draft in Chicago. It didn’t. He’s not. A big, tough defenceman from Stoney Creek, Webb just wrapped up his sophomore season with the Hamilton Bulldogs. However, a separated shoulder — his second in less than a year — meant he only suited up for 12 games, plus another seven in the playoffs.
As a consequence, scouts didn’t see much of him, and Webb, 18, didn’t appear in either Central Scouting’s rankings or any mock drafts. So, if he were to have his name called by an NHL team this weekend, he said, “it would definitely be a little bit of a shock.”
It wouldn’t surprise Steve Staios, though.
In spite of Webb’s limited ice time — between last season and an injury-plagued rookie campaign, the 6-foot-3, 192-pound blueliner has just 20 OHL games under his belt — the Bulldogs president and general manager said NHL teams have been calling with questions.
“He’s intriguing,” he added, saying Webb wasn’t seen as often as other players, “but certainly when he came back, he made a seamless transition into our lineup and played very well for us.
“I think everyone was impressed.”
That includes coach John Gruden, who said Webb managed to play “real steady” even after being sidelined for so long. “He hasn’t even scratched the surface as far as how good he can become.”
Webb is what hockey folks call a sleeper. Basically, a player who’s stayed under the radar for any number of reasons — injury, ice time or disappointing numbers, for instance. He’s not the only one. In the lead-up to the draft, which takes place Friday and Saturday at the United Center, Staios mentions defenceman Ben Gleason, and Gruden cites forward Brandon Saigeon as prospective choices.
Both players were passed over a year ago and, like Webb, were largely absent from draft chatter.
The fact that Saigeon, a Grimsby native, wasn’t selected was predictable. His draft year started slow and ended two months early after he collided with a goalpost and shattered a bone in his arm.
Gleason, however, was a different story.
Last June, the 19-year-old from smalltown Michigan was the top-rated Bulldogs player, and all signs pointed to him being picked. Then, when the draft came, he and his family sat in the stands at Buffalo’s First Niagara Center through seven agonizing rounds. He wasn’t chosen. Gleason was back on Central Scouting’s players-to-watch list for the 2017 draft at the start of last season, but had fallen out of the rankings by the midway point. He didn’t let any of it affect his play, though — at least not negatively. In fact, Gruden thinks the experience of being overlooked made Gleason better last season — a transformative campaign in which the left-shooting blueliner made huge strides in his defensive game while upping his offensive production.
“One of the things with him going to the combine and not getting drafted was he had a little chip on his shoulder,” said the bench boss. “I think that showed in the way he played this year.”
Gruden also said he told Gleason it might be better for him if he’s not picked when he re-enters the draft this weekend. “If he becomes the player we think he’s going to be — being a top defenceman in the OHL — then he’s got 31 teams that are going to be bidding on him,” he explained. “I’d rather be a free agent than get drafted in the seventh round, because then you’re limited.”
Gleason said his coach isn’t wrong, although he doesn’t necessarily agree.
“He knows what he’s talking about. I mean, it definitely wouldn’t hurt not to be drafted, but it would be a good thing to be drafted as well. It’s always nice to know that you’re welcome to a team that likes you a lot.” “I would love to get drafted,” he added. In 2016, the club had just one player selected at the draft: defenceman Cole Candella, to Vancouver in the fifth round.