Samuel Ross Drafted by Davos

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  Sunday September eighth was the night where dreams came true, where years of hard work paid off and where a new crop of stars got to play along with their idols.  That night was the season 68 VHL draft.  The top 3 were all but set in stone the week before the season ended, with Connor Adrianne being first overall.  There was a wrench thrown in this draft as the league welcomed in two new expansion teams.  This was good news for goalies, as the prospect pool was rather small.  Both expansion teams needed goalies, and there were a few teams that were looking for prospects to groom into starters.  It was no surprise that A.R. Guy was the first goalie picked by New York at eighth.  This fits into a good timeframe for the Americans as they have a lot of young talent.  This would leave the next two top goalies battling for draft position, former teammates Raymond Bernard and Samuel Ross.  Bernard was the starter in Ottawa and led them to a championship, but a few would argue that the choice as Bernard as the superior goalie was not so cut and dry.  One of those was Davos General Manager Shawn Glade, who made good on his prediction to shock the draft and take Samuel Ross tenth overall.  We caught up with the Dynamo’s newest first round draft to get his thoughts on his draft night.

 

    When asked about the overall experience he said, “It was all kind of quik.  My rookie year flew by, it seemed like not along ago all of us were in Ottawa ready to play our first game then we lose that one.  No one really got upset, we just worked harder and everything came together.  We won the championship and then here I am.”  “I was shocked to go in the first round,” the goalie admitted.  “I mean, I took some time off to enjoy myself and then it seemed like no one was really interested.  I heard from the expansion Gms, had a few good conversations with diamond_ace.  I really thought I was going 3rd round because there wasn’t a huge need for goalies.  Then that Saturday I got a few more phone calls and I guess I made a good impression.”

Ross has had some critics in the minors.  A few have questioned his experience since he came from such a small league in a non hockey market in South Carolina.  Even more have said that he was just the recipient of being able to choose a good team in Ottawa.  Since Ross declared after the draft period he could pick and choose where he wanted to go.  A lot of critics criticize his GAA, saying a lot of he games he did not face a lot of shots and therefore should have won.

 

   We questioned Ross on his critics.  “All of those things have a bit of truth in them, but I didn’t pick Ottawa because I knew they were going to be great.  If I had that kind of insight I would play the lottery. I picked them because out of all the conversations I had I felt the biggest connection with Acyd Burn (Ottawa GM).  I also did come from a small league in a state that isn’t hockey friendly, but I dominated that league and I would say I did pretty well in the minors this past season. I worked hard in practice and that turned into more games where I was rather successful.”  About his stats, “I’m not sure how to answer that, I mean should I tell my defensemen to let shots through?  Be like, ‘Hey guys, play a little worse so my stats look better?’  I played the games my GM put me in for, I did beat Philly and I won a couple of playoff games.  Not sure what else I could have done.”

 

 

    We also asked him about Davos and his expectations for the upcoming season, but that will have to wait until next week.  Did Davos find a steal in the draft or a bust?  A few even speculate if Ross will be on the roster by the end of the year?  What are your thoughts VHL fans?