After every Kootenay Ice practice in the bowels of the Cranbrook Rec Plex you’ll find defenseman Brayden McNabb leaping side-to-side, back-and-forth and up and down a string ladder spread out on the floor in an exercise designed to increase his foot-speed on the ice. The sometimes grueling drill paid-off on June 27 as the Davidson, Saskatchewan product took another leap in his hockey career when the Buffalo Sabres called his name in the third round of the NHL Draft in Montreal, 66th overall. McNabb got the call from his agent and then from the Sabres about five minutes after he’d seen his name on the NHL draft-day website. “It was great,” said McNabb from his home in Davidson. “Watching the first round and not getting drafted. Then watching the whole second round and not getting drafted and then finally going early in the third round was a great feeling.”

The dreaded pit in his stomach formed after the second round came and went for the 6-foot-4, 200-pound defender after Central Scouting had him ranked 51st among North American skaters. “There was a little bit,” said McNabb of the forming anxiety. “But just getting drafted is an amazing achievement and I’m really excited about it.”

During the NHL scouting combine in late May where prospects were put through a battery of physical tests, interviewed by prospective teams and then tested some more McNabb sat through 21 interviews by NHL clubs, including the Sabres. Two in particular – Montreal and Toronto – expressed the most interest, with the Habs and Leafs actually flying him out for even more interviews and testing. McNabb finished first among all prospects on the fatigue index with a score of 37.1, an indication of why the rangy d-man can log the minutes he does with the Ice. “Those were the two teams with the most interest, I thought,” said McNabb. “But it was really hard to tell with the interviews because they’re all the same.”

McNabb, who will participate the Sabres prospect camp July 6-11, will join another tower in the Sabres stable in Kelowna Rocket defenseman Tyler Myers. Myers, at 6-foot-7, 211 lbs and arguably the best defenseman in the WHL last season, and McNabb went to school together at Athol Murray College in Notre Dame Saskatchewan three years ago when McNabb was on the Bantam squad and Myers on the Midget team. Myers, 19, is expected to challenge for a spot on the Sabres roster this season.

Size was a theme for the Sabres during the NHL Draft as before their second selection in McNabb the club used the 13th overall pick to take 6-foot-3, 210 lb Peterborough Pete forward Zack Kassian, thought by many to be the toughest player in the draft. “I want to go there next week and make a good first impression and hopefully move up on the depth charts for now," added McNabb.

Quick Hits – Two former Ice players – one a roster player and the other a list player – heard their names on draft day. Forward Kris Foucault, who was cut last September after being acquired from the Swift Current Broncos the season prior and subsequently dealt to the Calgary Hitmen for forward Ryan Fox, 18, just before the trade deadline last season. Foucault was with the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles at the time and went on to score 11 goals and 5 assists in 18 playoff games with the Hitmen who lost to the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL final in six games. Foucault went 103rd overall to the Minnesota Wild. D Kevin Connauton, an Edmonton product who was listed by the Ice two seasons ago, was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks 83rd overall out of Western Michigan University of the NCAA. Connauton was dropped by the Ice and subsequently listed by the Vancouver Giants, prompting speculation that he may leave the NCAA and join the Giants next season… McNabb, an accomplished pitcher who lead the Davidson Midget AA squad to the Saskatchewan Provincials last season, won’t be playing this summer citing a demanding workout schedule on top of the Sabres prospects camp… The CHL Import draft took place June 30 with the Ice picking 38th overall. The Ice were expected to make only one selection as Czech forward Dominik Pacovsky is expected to return in September.