[Drake]

“Weis thinks this guy, if he’s not the most talented guy coming out of this draft, he’s going to be one of them,” said Feaster.

“High expectations. This is a player that we had targeted.”

Added Jankowski: “I really want to prove them right. That’s what I’m here to do. I think in 10 years I can be the best player in this draft.”

“I can tell you I was in a bad mood — I was driving two and a half hours through snow,” said Weisbrod. “But by the middle of the second period, I was laughing out loud by myself in my seat.

He’s a long way away, he’s raw, he’s young, he’s still got to cross the crocodile-infested waters and develop properly — like, it’s a long way from draft day to play in the NHL — but the physical attributes this guy has. The athleticism. The skating. The hands. The fact that he’ll likely be playing at six-four, 215. I’ve said it to our scouts all week long — he’s Joe Nieuwendyk.”

“It’s not the same as playing in the OHL — but in his OHL draft year, he was five-nine,” said Feaster. “But I give our guys credit — they look past what the level of competition is and say, ‘What’s the skill level?’ Our guys are pretty confident that that skill is going to translate into the next level and ultimately make him an NHLer.

“He’s a guy that’s still developing. This isn’t the pick last year at No. 13 where Sven Baertschi plays five games for us this year — and we expect him to make our team out of training camp next season. (Jankowski) is a guy, there’s going to be development time.”

“We knew he was playing in a league where a lot of people would undervalue him,” said Weisbrod. “He was playing against weaker competition. He was playing in obscure places. We knew that would help downgrade him in some team’s minds.

“If you want to let a guy lay in the weeds, that was a good place to do it.”

“I don’t want to share anyone’s business,” said Weisbrod, “but I know he wouldn’t have made it through (the first round).

“I know at least two teams that would have taken him.

“We knew we had to take him (Friday) — it was just a matter of where.”

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/...194/story.html