A year ago Cameron Abney and Byron Froese weren’t even specks on the hockey prospect landscape, just two players hoping they had the goods to make a WHL roster.
But now both are NHL properties who are looking at the possibility of future professional careers.
The Everett Silvertip forwards both had their names called Saturday on the second day of the NHL draft in Montreal. Abney was selected in the third round by the Edmonton Oilers while Froese was taken in the fourth round by the Chicago Blackhawks.
“It’s crazy,” said Abney, reached while vacationing in Hawaii. “I wasn’t even drafted into the WHL, so I was just happy to make the WHL. The NHL is just a crazy place to me. It’s still sinking in.”
“I’m excited,” said Froese, who attended the draft in Montreal. “I’m really proud to be a Chicago Blackhawk, but there’s a lot of hard work ahead.”
Both Abney and Froese are examples of the hockey rags-to-riches story as neither has the profile of your typical top prospect. Neither was selected in the bantam draft. Neither had any buzz surrounding him when the season began. Neither was even guaranteed to make Everett’s roster last season. Yet both will be headed to NHL camps in the fall.
“Both were listed guys who worked hard and are now reaping the rewards of today,” said Everett general manager Doug Soetaert, who also attended the draft. “It shows that just because you get passed over in the bantam draft doesn’t mean you have no shot at the NHL.”
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