With family on hand -- even via the buffering wonder of the Internet -- you’ll often see tears flowing after a pick is made, and the 2020 NHL Draft was full of emotional moments. It turns out that the best was saved for last, though. When the Sharks selected Ozzy Wiesblatt 31st overall, they used American Sign Language as a touching nod to his mother, Kim White, who is deaf.
“That means a ton, especially to my mom and the deaf community in general, I think,” Wiesblatt said. “It’s a very nice gesture for him to do that. My mom will never forget that.”
Sharks director of scouting Doug Wilson Jr. apparently used sign language (ASL) to spell out Wiesblatt’s first name, specifically.
“In my life, my mom is a huge, huge factor,” Wilson, Jr. said. “She really is. And if I was in this moment, I would want to be able to share it with my parents, too.”
You can watch that fantastic moment, complete with Ozzy Wiesblatt’s boisterous celebration with his family, in the video above.
This Sportsnet video goes into even more detail on the journey for Ozzy Wiesblatt and his family:
Put the Sharks using sign language to announce the Wiesblatt pick as a moment we’ll remember from the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft. It’s up there with Alex Trebek announcing a Senators pick, and the confusion the Blue Jackets caused by choosing Yegor Chinakhov at 21st.