Gord Stellick - Stellicktricity: Stories, Highlights, and Other Hockey Juice from a Life Plugged Into the Game

The Entry Draft kicks off the season each year and provides a key opportunity for teams to augment their rosters. Here's a look at noteworthy picks.

The average hockey fan is intrigued about what goes on at the draft tables of NHL teams on draft day. It's a day of optimism for all 30 NHL teams, the one day they can honestly say that they feel they have improved their teams with the addition of new young players. That enthusiasm can be dampened somewhat a few months later as training camp begins, but draft day is one that leaves all NHL teams in great spirits.

So, what are the last-minute discussions and arguments that determine if a team ends up with a Mario Lemieux, a Claude Lemieux, or a Jocelyn Lemieux? One was a superstar, one a quality player, and one a journeyman.

The 1987 Entry Draft was the first to be hosted by an American city. Mike Ilitch had brought the Entry Draft and NHL meetings to Detroit; Joe Louis Arena would be the site of the actual draft. It was an enthusiastic crowd that immersed themselves in the opportunity to see the top junior and college talent connect with their first NHL destination.

They cheered loudly as the Red Wings made their selection in the first round, 11th overall, and took defenceman Yves Racine from Longueuil, of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. It was a few hours later, as the Red Wings were about to make their second-round pick, 32nd overall, that the Joe Louis crowd became even more opinionated. The loud chant of Adam, Adam enveloped the building as Red Wings fans clamoured for the hometown boy to be picked by his home team. Detroit native Adam Burt was a defenceman with the North Bay Centennials, of the Ontario Junior League.

The Red Wings ignored the advice of their newest, most vocal scouts and selected Gord Kruppke, a defenceman from Prince Albert, of the Western Junior Hockey League. Kruppke was welcomed to the Red Wings organization with a mixed reaction from the hometown crowdthunderous booing competed with the cheers. When Adam Burt was selected nine picks later by the Hartford Whalers, he received an ovation far surpassing Kruppke's welcome to the Red Wings and comparable to the top selections in the first round.

Hindsight would prove that the Red Wings' management would have fared better had they listened to the crowd. Adam Burt played a steady 11 years as a valued member of the Carolina Hurricanes' defence corps before brief stints in Philadelphia and Atlanta during the final two years of his NHL career. Gord Kruppke became a career minor-leaguer who played in only 23 NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings.

That 1987 draft in Detroit also stands out for its humorous moments. One such moment involved Gilles Leger, the assistant general manager of the Quebec Nordiques. He had a unique fashion sense, and on that particular day he wore a white jacket, one befitting a struggling Bohemian artist. Although draft day is one of the busiest days of the year for the scouting staff, the coaching staff have plenty of idle timethey're just there to greet the players. Bob McCammon, a member of the Vancouver Canucks' coaching staff, grabbed a similar looking white jacket from one of the many food and beverage servers. Putting on the jacket, he headed toward the Quebec Nordiques' table, cleaning up empty cups and garbage as he went. Speaking loudly in the direction of Leger, he said, Quit goofing off and get up and help clear the tables. This brought no shortage of laughter from everyone within earshotMcCammon and Leger were two of the best liked and most respected NHL executives.

Then there was the time one of the NHL teams used the phone sitting on their draft table to successfully pull off the oldest prank in the books. They ordered 10 pizzas from Domino's Pizza, the archrival and fierce competitor of Mike Ilitch and his Little Caesars franchises. The pizzas were delivered to the Red Wings' draft table on the floor of Joe Louis Arena. Even Mike Ilitch had to laugh at the practical joke. I never did find out if they tipped the Domino's delivery guy. I do think a couple of the Red Wings management team did actually partake of a slice or two from the Little Caesars archrival!