NHL Draft 2020: Q&A With Bob Murray, Martin Madden
Oct 6, 2020What led to the decision to take Jamie Drysdale with the sixth overall pick?
Murray: We only had a choice of one [defenseman] by the time we picked. Martin and I decided a while back, if at all possible, we were going to get a defenseman with that pick. We had the two defensemen go [side by side]. We had them [side by side]. Once Ottawa took [Jake] Sanderson, we weren’t playing around with that draft spot anymore. We were going to get the defenseman we wanted. It worked out very well for us today. We were hoping both didn’t go in front of us, and they didn’t. Lucky for us today.
Did you expect Ottawa to go with Sanderson with the fifth overall pick? If he were still on the board, would that have made the decision tougher?
Murray: Not really. I’m an old right-shot defenseman. What the heck. [Laughs]. We expected one of them to go before us. We were hoping they didn’t, and maybe we could’ve finagled a little bit there, but they’re both really good hockey players. The right-shot D is right up our alley right now.
Drysdale is being described as a ‘new-age defenseman.’ What does that term mean to you?
Murray: They’re talking about the game changing. I think that’s what they’re talking about. Players like Jamie can play at any age. He could’ve played in my day and probably could’ve played before my day. The modern defenseman is up the ice, passes and joins the play - which Jamie does really well - is thinking offense. It’s not as if the guys in the old days didn’t think that way. He can play the game. He can always play the game. He’s a very intelligent young man.
How much of a factor is his skating ability?
Murray: For his size, he has to be elusive. He’s very smooth. What he’s working on, from the three or four times we’ve talked to him, is his power and his stride so he can get away from people. That’s what we’ve heard he’s working on, and when we talked to him way back in April or May, we talked about getting that explosive power so he can separate from people. He skates just fine.
When did you start scouting Drysdale?
Madden: He was a high pick in the OHL, so he stood out as a 16-year-old last year. He was one of the top-three players for Canada at the [Hlinka Gretzky Cup] this summer. He stood out as a leader. He ran the power play and was an overall extremely smart defenseman at both ends of the ice. At that stage, we knew he was a top-10 pick. I remember one game in particular coming back from our training camp, I was heading to the first tournament in the USHL. I stopped by Erie for a game and he just dominated that particular game. He reinforced how we felt about him in the summer.
Murray: Don’t forget, any 17-year-old defenseman who could play in the World Junior…he started off slowly and wasn’t a regular, but Canada had a couple injuries. He finished playing a whole bunch. He actually finished [the tournament] killing penalties, which tells you his hockey intelligence because he’s mostly an offensive guy. Anybody that’s 17 years old and could play in the World Juniors, they’re really good hockey players.
Did you get a lot of offers for the sixth overall pick?
Murray: There was lots of activity around our pick, but we were getting a defenseman. There was no action in the end, but there was leading up to it. People were inquiring. Martin and I made a decision and it played out how it did.
What led you to select Jacob Perreault with the 27th overall pick?
Madden: We want goal scoring and he’s a goal scorer. He’s a powerful kid. Really elusive power and ability to get away from people in the neutral zone. He finds open ice in the offensive zone and can score from anywhere. One-timer, off the rush, rebounds, tips. That’s why he’s exciting at 27.
What do you see with Perreault that can translate at the NHL level?
Madden: He did it as a 16-year-old in a really hard league. That’s a really good indication. His release and his ability to get inside translates really well to the pro level.