The NHL Entry Draft is hours from going down, and amidst a flurry of trade and contracts talk the hockey crowds are starting to gather outside Staples Center.
For those that haven’t been out here to Los Angeles before, I can’t imagine an odder choice for a place to hold the NHL draft but that one that is perfect for building up the spectacle of the festivities.
The climate is perfect, there’s the Pacific Ocean just a few miles away, there are buxom ladies parading around and the area is abuzz with hockey fever. Well, at least within a 5-square block radius at least.
I spent the morning chatting with some prospects and their families, getting an obvious sense of nerves and excitement. For every player, this is going to be the biggest day of their life up until this point.
We’ll have plenty of news and tidbits on all the rumors floating around out there, so stick with us.