Tuesday, June 28, 2016

View from the Draft Floor

Niagara senior defenseman Kevin Patterson got a unique perspective on the 2016 NHL Draft.

View from the Draft Floor
Patterson was an assistant captain for Niagara last season.

By Nate Ewell

Niagara senior defenseman Kevin Patterson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Topeka-NAHL) is a 1992 birthdate, five years removed from his NHL Draft year.

Nevertheless, Patterson was front-and-center Friday night when the NHL selected its next group of stars. In fact, he was the first person to greet No. 1 overall pick Auston Matthews when the future Toronto Maple Leaf reached the draft floor.

Patterson was among a group of around 50 Niagara students hired to escort the draft picks through each of their obligations after being selected – interviews, photographs, autographs and more. When it came time to assign one of the students to the No. 1 overall pick, Patterson confidently stepped forward.

“I knew the route, and I don’t think a lot of other people were as confident,” he said. “I told them I felt comfortable with it and got assigned with Auston Matthews.”

Patterson and Matthews, the Arizona-born Maple Leafs savior, had a common acquaintance in incoming Purple Eagle freshman Derek Brown, another Arizona native. They had a chance to talk about Brown during Matthews’ 90-plus minutes of media obligations. Patterson described the No. 1 pick as a great guy who had time for everyone, despite the demands.

Patterson plans to play pro hockey after his senior season at Niagara, but one day would like to join the ranks of NHL hockey operations personnel he was rubbing shoulders with on the draft floor.

“My goal is to work in the NHL and one day hopefully become a GM,” he said. “This was a learning process for me. It was awesome experience to be here and see how everything goes down.”