Kukla's Korner Hockey

Elias Not A Fan Of The ASG Draft
by Paul on 02/01/11 at 02:56 PM ET
Comments (16)
from Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger,
Selected by Team Staal with only five other players remaining, Elias said the process had a built-in insult factor for those who are bypassed until the end.
“I didn’t enjoy it (much). The fans and media enjoy it. Whoever is going last is going to hear it for a long time,” Elias said today. “It’s not right. The guys are top players and you don’t want to put guys in that position.”
He was relieved not to be picked last.
“Kind of,” he said.
Phil Kessel was the last pick and received a car for it. Elias said he would not have wanted to get a car for being last, although he was able to crack jokes during the draft.
“One was when they called the rookies up on the stage and we were still sitting there,” Elias recalled. “I said, ‘Holy (cow), the rookies are going before us. That’s not good.’ “
Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: 2011+all-star+game,
patrik+elias
Comments

It’s as unfair as a child getting picked last at recess.
Wait wait, almost as unfair. These guys are professional hockey players making good money to do exactly what they’ve dreamed of doing since they can remember. Oh, and they’ve been picked out as 32 of the best out of a pool of 700+ other players, not mentioning every single other player on the planet that is not “as good” as them.
And the draft wasn’t for the players, it was for the 1.5 million people watching in Canada, and the large amount watching in the USA.
Posted by NathanBC on 02/01/11 at 03:05 PM ET

Hopefully Elias and Kris Versteeg will get together and throw a combined pity party so I only have to get one ticket instead of two.
Posted by Garth on 02/01/11 at 03:18 PM ET

I’m unsurprised he’s irked. From what I’ve understood Elias is a nice guy, but devoid of all sense of humor and personality.
Maybe he can go home and take a bath in dollar bills ala Mike Commodore and feel better. Next time the league can do Elias a favor and not name him I guess…
To his credit, Kessel handled it all admirably—better than I expected to be honest.
Posted by Primis on 02/01/11 at 03:40 PM ET

STFU, Elias. Take a cue from Kessel and learn some g-ddamn humility. Ass…
Posted by SYF from impossible and oddly communally possessive sluts on 02/01/11 at 03:55 PM ET

BOO-FREAKIN-WHO Elias!
This is probably the first lick of scrutiny he’s faced his entire career. That’s why so many players like it in NJ. Nobody pays attention to the Devils there.
Elias forgets that the fans pay his inflated salary and the ratings show that the fans loved this format.
So excuse me if some overpaid millionares can’t stand being picked last for once in their lives.
If it was me, I’d make sure everyone knew it was a mistake making me the last pick. I’d be throwing some huge checks out there! LOL!
Posted by Hank1974 on 02/01/11 at 03:57 PM ET

“...can’t stand being picked last for once in their lives.”
Posted by Hank1974 on 02/01/11 at 12:57 PM ET
The horror!!!
Posted by NathanBC on 02/01/11 at 04:00 PM ET

If it makes him feel any better, at least his team will likely get the first pick in this summer’s actual draft.
Posted by Itrusteddrrahmani from Nyc by way of A2 on 02/01/11 at 04:14 PM ET

If it makes him feel any better, at least his team will likely get the first pick in this summer’s actual draft.
Posted by Itrusteddrrahmani from Ann Arbor on 02/01/11 at 01:14 PM ET
Me likey.
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from PA now in SC-made in Detroit on 02/01/11 at 04:42 PM ET

If it makes him feel any better, at least his team will likely get the first pick in this summer’s actual draft.
HAHAHA!
I didn’t think I could loathe the Devils anymore than I do, but Elias found a way.
Here’s to hoping he can add all the letters of the Hepatitis alphabet to his resume.
Posted by Hank1974 on 02/01/11 at 05:21 PM ET

Whoever is going last is going to hear it for a long time
If it makes Elias feel better, I’ll volunteer to be picked last next year. I’m pretty sure I can deal with the shame of being picked last for an all-star draft without too much lasting psychological damage.
Posted by UMFan from Denver, Colorado on 02/01/11 at 08:03 PM ET

It’s entertainment for Pete’s sake. A lot of these guys don’t get it. They take themselves too seriously.
Posted by 13 user names on 02/01/11 at 09:32 PM ET

Come on… Elias has been nothing but class his entire career. He answered a reporter’s question that he really didn’t care for the format. He was hardly whining. Some like it, some don’t. Get over yourselves.
Posted by KohoDonuts88 from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada on 02/01/11 at 09:53 PM ET

Get over yourselves.
For someone with only 37 points and who’s a -6, he should be lucky he even made the All-Star roster, much less bitch about not going first or whatever.
Posted by mrfluffy from the phone, calling Detroit, telling them it's on 02/02/11 at 12:01 AM ET

Come on… Elias has been nothing but class his entire career. He answered a reporter’s question that he really didn’t care for the format. He was hardly whining. Some like it, some don’t. Get over yourselves.
This doesn’t sound like whining to you?
“It’s not right. The guys are top players and you don’t want to put guys in that position.”
Sounds to me like someone didn’t wike it when he was almost picked wast.
Poor wittle Elias.
What bothers me about it is that he basically says “I know the fans like it, but I don’t so we should change it”.
Okay Elias. It’s your world. Your league. Do whatever you want. Who cares what the fans want. You can still be overpaid without fans right?
Posted by Hank1974 on 02/02/11 at 12:25 PM ET
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I don’t get how he can talk about how embarrassing it is to be a late pick when he is a late pick of some of the BEST hockey players in the world! Is it more embarrassing to be pick 34 of 36 of the best players out there or to not be there at all? Could this have anything do with cultural differences between the us and the Czech Republic? Maybe they don’t pick teams similarly on the playground growing up? I know that was one of the reasons a lot people could relate.
This quote is far more embarrassing than where he was picked in the draft.
Posted by NHLJeff from Denver on 02/01/11 at 03:03 PM ET