By Matthew Strader/Kamloops This Week
Jun 27 2007
A brass ring made an appearance in Kamloops this past weekend, and three hard-working local boys took a grab at it.
Luckily, all three held on.
Of the three Kamloops players chosen in the NHL draft on Friday, Pierro-Zabotel has the most exciting lineup of pros in front of him.
Selected with pick No. 80 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Merritt Centennial is well aware of a number of his famous teammates.
How does he feel about throwing his stick in with Sidney Crosby?
?It?s exciting to go to that lineup,? Pierro-Zabotel says. ?They?re a good organization, I just hope to have a good time.?
Pierro-Zabotel became the highest NHL selection in Centennials? history.
Keaton Ellerby, Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Riley Nash were all selected in the draft on the weekend.
?It was an unbelievable feeling,? says Nash, forward for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, and 21st overall selection by Edmonton in the 2007 NHL entry draft.
?I think I blacked out after my name was called. I don?t remember a thing.?
Ellerby, a hulking defenceman who patrols the blueline for the Kamloops Blazers, revelled in his 10th-overall selection by the Florida Panthers.
All three boys are aware of the benefits of their situations and each has a unique perspective on the future.
They made a name for themselves with their development programs.
The draft selection legitimizes years of work for each young man. But each knows this is just another step on a ladder which only gets higher.
Ellerby will enjoy another year with the Blazers organization if he doesn?t make the big club in Florida.
?I have a lot of work to do, and I?m just eager to get to it,? he says.
Pierro-Zabotel and Nash have each chosen to continue their hockey careers at U.S. colleges. Both cited education as a major reason for the choice.
Pierro-Zabotel will attend Michigan Tech and Cornell will welcome Nash.
A mixture of playing time and education attracted them to their respective programs.
?Sometimes you can focus on hockey too much, and lose track of other parts of life,? Nash says. ?I want to play and get my education, just in case.?
Any thoughts on a Welcome to Consort, Alta. sign with his face on it?
?That would be cool,? says Nash. ?Although I only lived there for a year. My hometown is Kamloops.?
