Guelph Storm forward Isaac Ratcliffe has no idea which National Hockey League team is going to draft him this weekend and quite frankly, he doesn't care.
"It's kind of surreal. Pretty crazy actually," said Ratcliffe, "I never really thought I'd get the opportunity to get drafted in the NHL. It doesn't really matter to me which team drafts me."
Ratcliffe is expected to be drafted in the first round of the NHL draft, which takes place Friday night in
Rounds 2 through 7 take place Saturday.
NHL Central Scouting has the six-foot-six, 200-pound
He won't be the only Storm player chosen. Nate Schnarr and Dmitri Samorukov will definitely be drafted while Liam Hawel and Nick Deakin-Poot might get picked.
"The last two weeks have been pretty nice to relax. The whole thing is out of my hands now," Ratcliffe said.
Never really had a favourite team growing up (although "the Leafs games were usually on in the house") Ratcliffe said he's just looking forward to the next step in the journey.
At the recent NHL Combine in
"To go in the first round is always a dream, no matter where you go," said Ratcliffe, who is represented by Darren Farris and his Definitive Hockey Group agency.
"But really I never pictured myself even getting here. I've always been the kind of guy that looks at what's coming down the road in the near future, not far off."
Ratcliffe, his parents, his two brothers and his two step brothers were all heading to
"I'm looking forward to getting drafted but really I'm just looking forward to enjoying the whole experience with my family. That's probably going to be the best part," he said.
No matter where he's taken, Ratcliffe will almost certainly return to the Guelph Storm for a third season, looking to better the 28 goals and 26 assists he had last year.
"It's exciting. It's starting to sink in. But most of all it's going to be fun," he said.
