Don Waddell speaks to the media after the 2024 Draft at Sphere Las Vegas!

Don Waddell speaks to the media after the 2024 Draft at Sphere Las Vegas!

first uh draft is uh with the Blue Jackets new team um just give me a little assessment here what what you what you thought of these two days well I thought uh the process that we went through to get to today our list was pretty dead on you know there’s some guys that jump around a little bit but our our fact we were getting toward the end here like we don’t have a seventh round pick and it’s good thing cuz we don’t have any players left on our list so that means they guys have done a good job of identifying the right players doesn’t mean you know we all know it’s all projection that but uh that that’s the biggest thing you know getting to see him at their amateur meetings when I first came into town and then spending time with them this week how they put the list together and the way it worked out it just shows me that the process they have in place is uh pretty darn good yeah I was going to say cuz you’re you’re the new guy into this thing and but you’re running the whole thing now so to to know that what you got in place I mean that’s a big yeah there’s always things that we can tweak you know and do you know uh like maybe bring some analytics more into it I mean we do to a certain point but there there are some things but uh overall for what I uh uh walked into I thought it was done very well you’ve uh drafted four defenseman in this draft and I think all of them pretty much have size is that something you’re looking to add some kind of a theme there somebody just texted me and said we drafted a basketball team nobody under 6’2 uh you know we always talk about size didn’t realize it was that much uh you know until I found out um but you know size size is important obviously but skating is is the key I don’t care if you’re 5’8 or 67 if you can’t skate you’re not going to play in the league so all these guys uh you know skating was first thing I always asked and talk about is the skating and all these guys came away with either good skating or exceptionally good skating while ago you said you wanted to narrow your list down to about four coaching candidates where are you on that I officially have haven’t interviewed anybody yet I’ve talked to some people uh I’m going to start that process uh here in the next few days for sure so um once it starts you know like I said before you know we were the only team looking for a coach and all that and this week was going to be a busy week for agency which you know probably won’t a whole lot happen so I said when I get into it I want to be able to stick with it and get somebody hired just the last thing for me guys I I’ll just just the change in the draft process perhaps next year um how big of an impact is it and I keep hearing that it’s not set in stone yet well I think from a club standpoint it’s excellent because you can talk freely you know we did during Co where you’re in your locker room or wherever you set up Open Mic you know you don’t have to worry about you know need a lot more room to spread out you know the negatives are there’s always a lot more trades made uh in person uh you know when you’re it seem like when you’re in the same build building I know there’s always draft picks at trade but there was a couple big play trades players probably the most important thing is the kids being drafted you know you know first round kids you know they get taken probably to wherever they’re going to do it on site in New York but you know we draft a kid in the sixth round and he’s here with his parents and everything the house and they’re so excited you you’re only going to get drafted once and that’s probably the most disappointing thing for me that the kids will lose out on that opportunity um you knowly getting back uh to the coaching sech can you say that fre agency is going to start by Monday I think that it’ll go beyond that yeah it’s going to go beyond Monday but you know I don’t I don’t anticipate a whole lot in free agency you know we’re going to try to tweak a few things to that but yeah but I like even uh tomorrow afternoon I mean I’ll be back and and Raleigh I might do a couple tomorrow afternoon and I can find some time Monday and Tuesday and hopefully if we’re going to I guess for the fourth the holiday for some people uh but yeah so how does that conversation go if you do Target somebody in Ufa and they’re like who’s your coach um n i you know it it probably will be a question but I I think and you guys you know everybody reads the names out there I’ve said pretty publicly that I want somebody with thatl experience and we’re looking for structure and accountability so I I don’t think you know I think I think what you’re looking for is probably as important right now as a coach’s name yeah uh like you said so you’re you’re going to be looking also for free agency inverted you know restricted free agents you got five of those left how how’s that kind of going is are you guys in talks right now and yeah we are we yeah we you know some the guys without like I met with both agents today and uh Ken Ken Johnson and uh singer we’ll get those deals done there’s no urgency on those things obviously we’ve met with Dan main on marchie um you know so that’s I can’t remember who else we have there somebody else but uh it’s all going to happen in time I go you um yesterday you were talking about like with trades I know you did make a uh a draft pick trade today you wanted this kid obviously you moved up but I mean is it hard to make hockey trades anymore no it’s it’s more difficult today than it was years ago obviously salary Cap’s always a big thing and term of the contract uh you know it’s yeah it’s if you go back and look at the draft’s history you can find just pick any year pick before the last 10 years how many trades were made take away the pick swaps versus the 10 years prior for that I I’ll bet it’s at least double and I don’t even know the math but I just know from being involved it for so long that there used to be a lot more hockey traits yeah oh yeah uh this goalie that you took today um he’s between like 6 foot 6′ one listed uh so you got all these big defenseman and put him back there he’s not really that’s not small I guess no I guess they you measure out 61 and a half but whatever yeah but for like today’s modern goalie I guess the very athletic yeah okay yeah what do you obviously you trade it up to get him you guys must really like yeah we well we had second on our goalie list okay and and goalies were starting to go and we wanted him so I said you know let’s let’s see if we can move up and and we’re able to very athletic uh uh and you don’t talk about this a lot with goalies but Nick you really used it he’s got good hockey sense and we have a hockey sense with player forward skaters that but never was a goalie uh it was nice to hear how Nick explained it uh and so we were very comfortable with trying to uh make a play to get them and you know the people in Carolina too so that probably help I’m glad I made the trade yesterday I didn’t want my first trade to be made with Carolina I’m glad I made one yesterday at St Louis right yeah talking yeah

Don Waddell answers questions from the media and breaks down a successful draft weekend in Las Vegas!

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