Guest treble charged Report post Posted June 23, 2003 Well, I've seen two different versions of this story. One from Sportsnet.ca: The NHL draft is officially over, but not without a bang from the Florida Panthers. Sportsnet has learned that with their final pick Sunday in the ninth round, the Panthers selected Alexander Ovechkin, the youngster from Russia who is almost certain to go number one in next year's draft. The NHL rejected the pick since Ovechkin's birthday is Sep. 17, two days after the cut off day of Sep. 15 to be eligible for this year's draft. But the Panthers believe that due to a lack of clarity in the collective bargaining agreement, in terms of what constitutes a year, they may in fact have a case. Since more than two leap years have occurred between the day he was born and the 2003 draft, the Panthers contend he is technically eligible now, and they plan to protest the NHL's ruling. And another from TSN.ca: The Florida Panthers started the NHL Entry Draft with a splash and almost ended it the same way. Witnesses told TSN that Panthers owner Alan Cohen wanted to select Russian phenom Alexander Ovechkin in the ninth round but general manager Rick Dudley refused the request. Ovechkin, who turns 18 on September 17, is not eligible to be selected until next year's draft. While scouts have said he is the best junior-aged player in the world, his birthday falls two days after the NHL deadline for eligibility. He is projected to be the top pick in the 2004 Entry Draft. For the second year in a row, the Panthers started the Entry Draft by trading the first overall selection. They ended up picking third overall and chose power forward Nathan Horton of the Oshawa Generals. While I'm not sure what story to believe (although I think I'm leaning more towards TSN's version), it still is an interesting story. I doubt their appeal will go in the direction they want it to (if you go buy Sportsnet's side), but it will be interesting to see how this turns out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest starvenger Report post Posted June 23, 2003 Sportsnet's version seems a bit more sensationalistic to me. But then, I like Sportsnet only for NHL trade deadline coverage and Mike Toth, who is hilarious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest evilhomer Report post Posted June 23, 2003 Fuck I hate lawyers. The rule states that the birthday has to fall before Sept. 15, his birthday is Sept. 17. Simple, clear-cut, no questions asked, he is ineligible. Then some lawyer walks along and says "oh but wait, you didn't take into account..." This is the reason why you've got to fill out a 20 page document every time you want to wipe your ass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
