Payne joins the WATCH!

[Scurvy 1,488]

The VHLE draft was a stressful and delightful time for many young athletes looking to make the jump from the minors.  We caught up with former San Diego Defenseman Brian Payne to see just how the VHLE draft was for him.  Projected to be a late first round pick with a tremendous upside he was humbled by going 20th overall to the Bratislava Watchman.  

 

Payne was honored to go so high with such huge talent in this year’s draft.  The Watchman took stud defenseman Bo Johansson #4 overall, left winger Girts Galvan #12 overall, Payne #20, Alf Larsson #28, and Jay Saucey #36.  The Watchman must be excited to have so many high picks with some promising futures.  

 

Payne was excited for the team’s future and said, “I am truly honored to be part of the Watch.  They have some amazing defenseman I can learn from, and team management is great.  The team and front office have treated me like family from the minute I was drafted. I look forward to this season I will be working my ass off to help the team as best I can.  I would again like to the thank the team for taking a chance on me.”

 

[Shindigs 1,771]

We're equally happy to have you with us. Having you still on the board at 20 was huge. I had my eyes on Brain Payne for some time now. Having looked at him both when prepping for a potential Oslo GM interview, then for the JST draft and now the E draft proper. My hopes of picking up the Payne Train in the JST were squashed, and rightfully so, as I was basically praying for a miracle to still have him on the board at my first pick earmarked for a Dman. The miracle didn't materialize, sadly.

 

So fast forward to the E scouting and you were always on the radar for us. Like many others we looked at getting a Forward in the 2nd round, as they were under-represented in the over cutoff range. This lead to us crossing our fingers and hoping for some Goalie picks leading up to our 3rd round pick. Which was exactly what happened with Ben going in that range, as well as two strong, but slightly off-board picks of sub cutoff forwards (Chicoine, Bridgers) happening in the late 2nd. Facilitating us picking the exact Dman we wanted in that spot. The draft gods were good to us!

 

Looking forward to Bo and The Payne Train growing together on the ice going forward. And to help support your future VHL goals as your AGM.