Set to make the jump
Dustin Tokarski admits it.
The Spokane Chiefs goalie isn’t one of those players who will be golfing or waiting for someone to call and tell him if and when his name is called this Saturday during the second day of the NHL draft.
If it happens, he’ll be the first to know.
“I’ll be watching – sitting on my computer and hitting refresh every two minutes,” Tokarski said Thursday.
The draft – held in Ottawa this year – begins tonight. The first round is today and the remaining rounds are Saturday. According to the final Central Scouting reports, which were published in March, none of the Chiefs eligible for this year’s draft is projected to be a first-round pick.
Tokarski, who never heard his named called in the Bantam Draft, is ranked ninth on nhl.com among North American goaltenders. The final rankings were released before Tokarski backstopped the Chiefs to a Memorial Cup championship at the end of May in Kitchener, Ontario. He was named MVP of the tournament after posting a 1.72 goals-against average and .953 save percentage – including 53 saves in the championship game against Kitchener.
“It’s pretty ironic if the first time I get drafted is the NHL,” Tokarski said. “But if it was going to be between getting drafted in the Bantam Draft or the NHL draft, I’ll toss out the Bantam Draft.”
Tokarski added that hearing his name called would just be another step – albeit a pretty important one – and that he doesn’t have any expectations going into the weekend.
“I don’t want to get my hopes up – you never know what can happen on draft day,” Tokarski said. “But I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it. If I get picked high it’s great, if I get picked low it’s great. I’ll be happy to be selected anyway.”
Along with Tokarski, Chiefs forwards Mitch Wahl and Tyler Johnson are draft-eligible for the first time. Defensemen Jared Spurgeon, Brett Bartman, Jace Coyle and Mike Reddington are also eligible.
Wahl – a former first-round pick (fourth overall) of the Chiefs in the 2005 Bantam Draft – was second in scoring for the Chiefs last season and is ranked 64th among North American skaters. The Seal Beach, Calif., native is in Ottawa with his family for the draft, along with Chiefs coach Bill Peters and general manager Tim Speltz.
Reddington is listed 187th and Spurgeon is ranked 198th among North Americans skaters.
In last year’s draft, three Chiefs were selected: Drayson Bowman (Carolina, third round), Justin Falk (Minnesota, fourth round) and Ondrej Roman (Dallas, fifth round).