Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Prospect roundtable

03/10/2017 at 10:01am EST

Sports Illustrated's Peter Roumeliotis engaged in a Q and A with several prospects, including Red Wings defenseman Vili Saarijarvi, discussing a wide variety of topics in an intriguing roundtable discussion:

Sports Illustrated: What went through your head when you got drafted?

Julien Gauthier (pick No. 21, 2016 draft): It was the best feeling of my life. Everything you've done since you're a kid comes in mind at that moment. I would relive it every day and thank everyone who has helped me in my young career.

Vitaly Abramov (No. 65, 2016): I was really happy, proud and honored that I've been drafted in the league and that I became a part of the Blue Jackets organization.

Olli Juolevi (No. 5, 2016): It was a great day and when you finally got to know which team is going to draft you. It's exciting and a really happy day.

Vili Saarijärvi (No. 73, 2015): Everything came pretty quickly and I was little bit surprised because I didn't really have talks with Detroit personally. It was kind of funny, too, because I was telling my agent that I had it on my mind that my teammate Brent Gates Jr. from Green Bay was going to go on that pick but it turned to be me, so it was cool!

Nathan Bastian (No. 41, 2016): Not much at all (laughs). Took me about 10 minutes to click in Mikey [Steelheads teammate Michael McLeod] was drafted by the same team.

Troy Terry (No. 148, 2015): A combination of relief and excitement. The draft created a weird dynamic for me as at that time, I thought I could have been drafted anywhere from the fourth round to not being drafted at all. When the Ducks selected me, I was beyond excited to be a part of such a top class organization. Of all the teams I had interviewed with leading up to the draft they were one of my favorites for a number of reasons.

Roumeliotis continues...

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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