Chase-ing a Dream: Quinnipiac's Priskie and his NHL Draft Day Experience
6/27/2016 10:41:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
(by Tyler Brosious, Special to QuinnipiacBobcats.com)
Hockey is a sport that is associated with the cold fall and winter months, from the brisk temps inside the arenas where the games are played to the crippling temps of the driveways where many young hopefuls wrist pucks into their parent's garage door, simulating every situation imaginable in their head.
However, it is during the peak of summer, when the sun is it's hottest, when 211 of hockey's brightest young stars, from around the world, take the next step in their hockey career by being drafted into the NHL.
Quinnipiac sophomore defenseman Chase Priskie has sat through two draft days hoping to hear his name announced - each with completely different outcomes.
THE EARLY DAYS
Hockey has always been a part of Chase Priskie's life – from the time the boy from Pembroke Pines, Florida attended his first hockey game at a month old, he has loved the sport ever since.
Priskie continued to play more-and-more growing up, becoming a stronger and more-talented player during his freshmen year of high school. It was then when he decided to travel North to Connecticut to play for South Kent, a school known for it's hockey.
At South Kent, he had aspirations to play for his mother's alma mater, Bowdoin College, a NCAA Division III school in Maine. Then Quinnipiac gave him a call.
"I hadn't spoken with any Division I teams and then, all of a sudden, I got a call from Reid Cashman at Quinnipiac and they offered me a scholarship," said Priskie. "It was pretty much mind-blowing, because at the time I had no aspirations to play Division I hockey"
After a few visits to other schools, Priskie knew Quinnipiac was where he wanted to play college hockey.
"I had just such a good feeling at Quinnipiac," Priskie said, "and how they develop players, I just fell in love with it and fell in love with the intensity they bring each game. I knew this is where I wanted to play college hockey."
In 2014, during his senior year at South Kent, Priskie flourished as a defenseman and the phone calls from NHL teams started to pour in. Priskie, 18 years old at the time, interviewed with more than 10 teams and expected to hear his name called near the middle rounds. However, even after a phone call from one NHL team on the second day of the 2014 draft to let him know they would select him, Priskie watched 211 names be called. None of them his.
"It was a huge letdown, then it lit a huge fire for me as a player." Priskie said.
Over the next two years, Priskie would continue to grow. After a 20-point season in the BCHL and a freshman campaign at Quinnipiac that saw the defenseman notch 22 points and 26 points, second only to Matt Erhart in the program's all-time freshman record book, during a year the Bobcats went to the National Championship game, the NHL teams started to call - and call often.
The weeks follwoing the Bobcats' trip to the Frozen Four, Priskie met with around 15 NHL teams total, sometimes more than one team in any given day.
Then came draft day.
DRAFT DAY
I joined Priskie and his teammates at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 25, with the fourth round of the draft well underway on a typical hot day in June.
Priskie and I chatted at the very beginning. Silencing his phone from a few "good luck" texts, the quiet guy from Pembroke Pines seemed completely composed for a 21 year old kid who may get drafted by a NHL team at any moment.
"I really don't have my hopes up too high," said Priskie "Just because the first time I went through the draft. I interviewed with close to ten teams and wasn't selected."
Relaxed, he joined his friends downstairs where the attitude was light, almost as if it was just another Saturday in the summer in Hamden, Connecticut.
We sat in a room with six or seven different hockey players – all of whom knew someone who was just drafted:
"Oh yeah, I played against him in juniors."
"Yeah, my buddy played against that kid when they were younger."
However, as players' names were being announced during the fifth round, Priskie's name was absent. Feeling as if it was deja vu of the 2014 draft, Priskie tried to remain poised but he ultimately left the room as doubt crept in for the defenseman, who was projected to go by the fifth round. I joined Chase upstairs.
"So the fourth round and the fifth round just went through, and at this point, I felt like I may not get drafted and that's a little bit of a letdown, but I am staying positive." Priskie tells me, as the 6th round starts. "You talk to so many teams and you expect to go…I'm starting to get a little frustrated."
The mood downstairs was still positive, just as it had been all day when another one of Priskie's teammates arrived and another defenseman was selected.
Priskie's phone is quiet as he takes a moment to gather himself upstairs, before heading downstairs to let his teammates know that he believes that he will not be getting drafted this year.
As Priskie makes it to the landing at the bottom of the steps, the TV flashes to the draft board as the Capitals pick.
"I was really upset coming down those stairs…I was going to try and not show it, but I was pretty upset." Priskie said after the fact, "I thought this was going to be the year, especially after the freshman year I had and talking to so many teams…and then boom."
The board flashes, and shows that the Capitals have taken "Chase Priskie, D" with the 177th pick overall. Priskie's phone was silent. Nothing. But that won't last long.
"Mayhem" ensues in the house. Priskie is mobbed by teammates as his phone begins to ring. A euphoric atmosphere capsizes into the room.
In the next few moments, Priskie removes himself from the celebration, receiving a call from the Washington Capitals' management and his mother. He also took a moment to take it all in.
"It's…. there are no words."
Priskie says after a long pause, visibly overcome with emotion and happiness as his phone, which will receive close to 300 texts throughout the day, continues to ring and beep.
"It is just an unbelievable experience," Priskie says. "I was in complete shock just like everyone else." His teammates' celebrations downstairs shake the house.
It seems as if the quiet kid from the Sunshine State- who laced up his first pair of skates at the age of three at a roller-hockey rink behind his house - has finally hit one of his greatest achievements in his young life. Humble as always, Priskie is quickly focused on the game itself, the thing that means the most to him when all is said and done.
"I don't think this changes a lot for me next year," Priskie said. "I still have to go into next year and continue to prove my worth."
Priskie sat back down to take a breath for the first time in an hour, realizing what had just occurred.
"I want to prove, not only to the coaches here, but to my teammates and to show everyone that my freshman year wasn't a fluke and that is how I am going to play the game. I am going to continue to get better every day, every game, every season, and work my way up and try to play in the NHL one day."
Priskie will participate at the Washington Capitals' developmental camp this week after arriving in D.C. on Sunday. From the roller hockey rink in Pembroke Pines, to the South Kent School, to competing for the NCAA National Championship at Quinnipiac, the Bobcats talented blue-liner may have just caught a glimpse of days ahead.
Tyler Brosious is a senior journalism major in Quinnipiac's School of Communication and the newest feature writer for QuinnipiacBobcats.com. For all the news, student-athlete features and updates on Quinnipiac Athletics, visit QuinnipiacBobcats.com or follow on Twitter @QUAthletics.
Hockey is a sport that is associated with the cold fall and winter months, from the brisk temps inside the arenas where the games are played to the crippling temps of the driveways where many young hopefuls wrist pucks into their parent's garage door, simulating every situation imaginable in their head.
However, it is during the peak of summer, when the sun is it's hottest, when 211 of hockey's brightest young stars, from around the world, take the next step in their hockey career by being drafted into the NHL.
Quinnipiac sophomore defenseman Chase Priskie has sat through two draft days hoping to hear his name announced - each with completely different outcomes.
THE EARLY DAYS
Hockey has always been a part of Chase Priskie's life – from the time the boy from Pembroke Pines, Florida attended his first hockey game at a month old, he has loved the sport ever since.
Priskie continued to play more-and-more growing up, becoming a stronger and more-talented player during his freshmen year of high school. It was then when he decided to travel North to Connecticut to play for South Kent, a school known for it's hockey.
At South Kent, he had aspirations to play for his mother's alma mater, Bowdoin College, a NCAA Division III school in Maine. Then Quinnipiac gave him a call.
"I hadn't spoken with any Division I teams and then, all of a sudden, I got a call from Reid Cashman at Quinnipiac and they offered me a scholarship," said Priskie. "It was pretty much mind-blowing, because at the time I had no aspirations to play Division I hockey"
After a few visits to other schools, Priskie knew Quinnipiac was where he wanted to play college hockey.
"I had just such a good feeling at Quinnipiac," Priskie said, "and how they develop players, I just fell in love with it and fell in love with the intensity they bring each game. I knew this is where I wanted to play college hockey."
In 2014, during his senior year at South Kent, Priskie flourished as a defenseman and the phone calls from NHL teams started to pour in. Priskie, 18 years old at the time, interviewed with more than 10 teams and expected to hear his name called near the middle rounds. However, even after a phone call from one NHL team on the second day of the 2014 draft to let him know they would select him, Priskie watched 211 names be called. None of them his.
"It was a huge letdown, then it lit a huge fire for me as a player." Priskie said.
Over the next two years, Priskie would continue to grow. After a 20-point season in the BCHL and a freshman campaign at Quinnipiac that saw the defenseman notch 22 points and 26 points, second only to Matt Erhart in the program's all-time freshman record book, during a year the Bobcats went to the National Championship game, the NHL teams started to call - and call often.
The weeks follwoing the Bobcats' trip to the Frozen Four, Priskie met with around 15 NHL teams total, sometimes more than one team in any given day.
Then came draft day.
DRAFT DAY
I joined Priskie and his teammates at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 25, with the fourth round of the draft well underway on a typical hot day in June.
Priskie and I chatted at the very beginning. Silencing his phone from a few "good luck" texts, the quiet guy from Pembroke Pines seemed completely composed for a 21 year old kid who may get drafted by a NHL team at any moment.
"I really don't have my hopes up too high," said Priskie "Just because the first time I went through the draft. I interviewed with close to ten teams and wasn't selected."
Relaxed, he joined his friends downstairs where the attitude was light, almost as if it was just another Saturday in the summer in Hamden, Connecticut.
We sat in a room with six or seven different hockey players – all of whom knew someone who was just drafted:
"Oh yeah, I played against him in juniors."
"Yeah, my buddy played against that kid when they were younger."
However, as players' names were being announced during the fifth round, Priskie's name was absent. Feeling as if it was deja vu of the 2014 draft, Priskie tried to remain poised but he ultimately left the room as doubt crept in for the defenseman, who was projected to go by the fifth round. I joined Chase upstairs.
"So the fourth round and the fifth round just went through, and at this point, I felt like I may not get drafted and that's a little bit of a letdown, but I am staying positive." Priskie tells me, as the 6th round starts. "You talk to so many teams and you expect to go…I'm starting to get a little frustrated."
The mood downstairs was still positive, just as it had been all day when another one of Priskie's teammates arrived and another defenseman was selected.
Priskie's phone is quiet as he takes a moment to gather himself upstairs, before heading downstairs to let his teammates know that he believes that he will not be getting drafted this year.
As Priskie makes it to the landing at the bottom of the steps, the TV flashes to the draft board as the Capitals pick.
"I was really upset coming down those stairs…I was going to try and not show it, but I was pretty upset." Priskie said after the fact, "I thought this was going to be the year, especially after the freshman year I had and talking to so many teams…and then boom."
The board flashes, and shows that the Capitals have taken "Chase Priskie, D" with the 177th pick overall. Priskie's phone was silent. Nothing. But that won't last long.
"Mayhem" ensues in the house. Priskie is mobbed by teammates as his phone begins to ring. A euphoric atmosphere capsizes into the room.
In the next few moments, Priskie removes himself from the celebration, receiving a call from the Washington Capitals' management and his mother. He also took a moment to take it all in.
"It's…. there are no words."
Priskie says after a long pause, visibly overcome with emotion and happiness as his phone, which will receive close to 300 texts throughout the day, continues to ring and beep.
"It is just an unbelievable experience," Priskie says. "I was in complete shock just like everyone else." His teammates' celebrations downstairs shake the house.
It seems as if the quiet kid from the Sunshine State- who laced up his first pair of skates at the age of three at a roller-hockey rink behind his house - has finally hit one of his greatest achievements in his young life. Humble as always, Priskie is quickly focused on the game itself, the thing that means the most to him when all is said and done.
"I don't think this changes a lot for me next year," Priskie said. "I still have to go into next year and continue to prove my worth."
Priskie sat back down to take a breath for the first time in an hour, realizing what had just occurred.
"I want to prove, not only to the coaches here, but to my teammates and to show everyone that my freshman year wasn't a fluke and that is how I am going to play the game. I am going to continue to get better every day, every game, every season, and work my way up and try to play in the NHL one day."
Priskie will participate at the Washington Capitals' developmental camp this week after arriving in D.C. on Sunday. From the roller hockey rink in Pembroke Pines, to the South Kent School, to competing for the NCAA National Championship at Quinnipiac, the Bobcats talented blue-liner may have just caught a glimpse of days ahead.
Tyler Brosious is a senior journalism major in Quinnipiac's School of Communication and the newest feature writer for QuinnipiacBobcats.com. For all the news, student-athlete features and updates on Quinnipiac Athletics, visit QuinnipiacBobcats.com or follow on Twitter @QUAthletics.
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