Kent Hughes may have wanted to slow down the ardor of the supporters by arguing that the organization was going to be patient with its first choice, but the external pressure will be strong on whoever will be the lucky one.
• To read also: Xavier Simoneau will play with the Rocket
• Read also: Canadian: no decision has been made on the first choice
Chosen first by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 1998 auction, Vincent Lecavalier knows a lot about the issue. At the time, Florida team owner Art Williams said Lecavalier would become nothing more than the Michael Jordan of hockey.
“I was lucky to have Jacques (Demers) with me after that comment. He protected me, he didn't put any pressure on me," Lecavalier said of his first NHL head coach.
“It has been an exceptional year. I was playing on the third line. Jacques told me that I would continue to develop and improve, that he would make me play with good veterans,” continued the athlete from Île-Bizard.
For this first of 14 seasons in the Lightning uniform, Lecavalier had collected 28 points, including 13 goals. A seemingly small harvest, but acquired within a formation that had finished the season in 27th and last place in the NHL with a record of 19-54-9.
At the time of drafting Lecavalier, the Lightning was in its sixth season of activity. The team had only participated in one elimination round. And the Tampa-area hockey market was far from developed as it is today. Therefore, the reflectors weren't on him like they will be on Shane Wright, Juraj Salfkovsky or Logan Cooley.
“I found myself in an organization that was not too winning. It allowed them to be patient with me the first year, said Lecavalier. But it's not easy being number one and having outsiders asking you questions every day. But you have to live and grow with it. »
A call to Shane Wright
Like Wright, Lecavalier had been tipped to be the top of the class for several months when the auction began on the Marine Midland Arena floor in Buffalo on June 27, 1998.
" It is not easy. You have pressure every night. You are 17 years old, not 25 or 30 with 10 years of experience in the NHL, underlined Lecavalier. In my last junior season, I had a lot of ups and downs mentally. »
In his capacity as special adviser to hockey operations for the Canadiens, Lecavalier made a phone call to the Kingston Frontenacs forward to share his experience.
“I wanted to understand the young man more and how he handled this situation during the year. I think he did it well, he said. I learned a lot about him. He is a good person with high standards. »
The work begins
Stanley Cup champion, scorer of 421 goals, including 52 which earned him the Maurice-Richard trophy at the end of the 2006-2007 campaign, Lecavalier allowed himself the following advice to the young Ontarian.
“Whether you are the first or the 200th, the goal of all drafted players is to one day carve out a position in the NHL. Being a first-round pick just gives you the advantage of possibly having a quicker opportunity to do it,” he said.
"So savor the moment, but the next day you have to get to work," he continued.
A piece of advice that applies to all those who will hear their name, Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, at the Bell Centre.
