06/20/2007

Weber eyes NHL draft

Defenseman from Gaylord plans to attend the event

BY DENNIS CHASE

dchase@record-eagle.com

Weber

GAYLORD — Will Weber will play junior hockey for the Chicago Steel and college hockey at Miami of Ohio.

As for professional aspirations — and a possible destination — that could be decided this weekend.

The Gaylord defenseman is expected to be picked in the National Hockey League draft, which gets underway Friday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Friday's first round starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on Versus. Rounds 2-7 will be held Saturday. Weber will be in attendance.

Weber said he has talked to officials from almost every NHL team. He said the Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils have shown the most interest. He's tested for Columbus and will test for New Jersey this week. Tampa Bay officials visited him in Gaylord on Monday. Still, Weber is not sure what will happen this weekend.

"It's impossible to tell,” he said. "They're (scouts) all saying different things. I've heard I could go as early as the second round, which would be insane.

"I've talked to a lot of the teams and they like to play games with each other. So I'll just have to wait and see.”

Weber's family — including his sister Jennifer who lives in California — along with some close friends will join him in Columbus for the draft.

"It's going to be cool to see how the system works,” he said.

Weber was tagged as one of two sleepers in the draft in a USA Today preview last week. He was described as a "huge, raw defenseman with great skating ability and upside.”

"Weber was right under everyone's nose in Michigan,” wrote Kyle Woodlief in his report. "Trouble was, he only played on a local high school team in small-town Gaylord, and nobody scouts Michigan high school hockey, since all the top Michigan kids skate in the top minor hockey factories, like Honeybaked and Compuware, or with the U.S. National Team Program, or the USHL. Weber selected a more obscure route, but both Red Line and NHL talent hunters found him late in the year. At 6-4, 190 pounds with great wheels and offensive skills, he just dominated against lower level competition, and someone's going to have to step up pretty early (likely in the first three rounds) if they want to snag this potential diamond-in-the-rough.”

Weber was the No. 1 pick by Chicago in the USHL draft this spring. He'll play for the Steel before enrolling at Miami of Ohio. He selected the Red Hawks over NCAA champion Michigan State and Cornell, where his father and uncle played.

Now his year could get even better.

"I don't think it's hit me yet,” he said about his good fortune. "And I don't know when it's going to. It's crazy.”