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08-22-2003, 09:20 AM
Richmond big bonus for Knights
By MORRIS DALLA COSTA -- London Free Press
Another piece of the London Knights puzzle has fallen into place.
By the time this team is done plugging in all the pieces, the completed work could well spell "contender."
Finding this piece, though, is as big a bonus as any Ontario Hockey League team has found this offseason.
Danny Richmond will leave the University of Michigan to play with the Knights.
Richmond is a bona fide big-league prospect. He was selected 31st, the first player in the second round, in the 2003 NHL draft by the Carolina Panthers. The six-foot-one, 185-pound, 19-year-old defenceman was second in scoring among defencemen on his team last year. He was named to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association all-rookie team, was a member of the 2002 U.S. junior national team and attended the selection camp for this year's U.S. junior team this month.
The Knights used a 15th-round pick in the 2002 OHL draft to select Richmond, even though they believed there was little or no chance he would come here. It may be the most lucrative 15th-round pick in junior history.
Richmond played a year in the United States Hockey League with the Chicago Steel, where he led the league in scoring for defencemen.
He had 22 points in 43 games with the Wolverines as a rookie last year.
Knights GM and co-owner Mark Hunter was beyond thrilled about getting Richmond.
"This is a pretty exciting moment for us," Hunter said. "When you get a guy of Danny Richmond's calibre, it's going to be exciting for the fans, No. 1, and for us because he's going to win hockey games."
When someone manages to grab this kind of player, it's a combination of luck, foresight and planning. There was a little bit of all those involved in this situation.
Steve Richmond, Danny's father, is a scout with the Washington Capitals and a friend of Knights coach Dale Hunter. When the Hunters inquired about his availability as a midget-aged player, it was obvious that Danny was going to play in Michigan.
"But Steve said, 'Go ahead and draft him because you never know,' " Mark Hunter said.
The you-never-know turned out to be a guess-what-we-got-him. When Richmond was selected at the top of the second round, he realized he'd get a real shot at playing pro. At that point, Richmond decided the best way to prepare for the pros was to compete in a more intense playing schedule.
"He wanted to play a lot more games than just 42," Hunter said. "And I think the relationship Dale had with (Danny's) father, and the fact they liked the way Dale coaches, had a lot to do with it."
How good is Richmond?
Just about anyone in the hockey world knows the roads to the pros are paved with the remnants of good prospects who never made it.
There's no lack of accolades for this young man, either.
Hunter said Richmond is a Chris Chelios-type player with enormous offensive skills and "a real edge to him."
Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said on draft day he expected Richmond to quarterback his power play in the future.
"I saw him play as a midget and he was good, very good," Hunter said.
Hunter was at a USHL game when Richmond took the puck behind the net, trapped it on the blade of his stick and scored a goal in the top corner of the net, lacrosse-style. "I almost jumped out of my seat."
It's an appropriate remark.
If the moves the Knights are making turn out to be as successful as they think they'll be, there will be plenty of rumps for Richmond to move from those John Labatt Centre seats.
By MORRIS DALLA COSTA -- London Free Press
Another piece of the London Knights puzzle has fallen into place.
By the time this team is done plugging in all the pieces, the completed work could well spell "contender."
Finding this piece, though, is as big a bonus as any Ontario Hockey League team has found this offseason.
Danny Richmond will leave the University of Michigan to play with the Knights.
Richmond is a bona fide big-league prospect. He was selected 31st, the first player in the second round, in the 2003 NHL draft by the Carolina Panthers. The six-foot-one, 185-pound, 19-year-old defenceman was second in scoring among defencemen on his team last year. He was named to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association all-rookie team, was a member of the 2002 U.S. junior national team and attended the selection camp for this year's U.S. junior team this month.
The Knights used a 15th-round pick in the 2002 OHL draft to select Richmond, even though they believed there was little or no chance he would come here. It may be the most lucrative 15th-round pick in junior history.
Richmond played a year in the United States Hockey League with the Chicago Steel, where he led the league in scoring for defencemen.
He had 22 points in 43 games with the Wolverines as a rookie last year.
Knights GM and co-owner Mark Hunter was beyond thrilled about getting Richmond.
"This is a pretty exciting moment for us," Hunter said. "When you get a guy of Danny Richmond's calibre, it's going to be exciting for the fans, No. 1, and for us because he's going to win hockey games."
When someone manages to grab this kind of player, it's a combination of luck, foresight and planning. There was a little bit of all those involved in this situation.
Steve Richmond, Danny's father, is a scout with the Washington Capitals and a friend of Knights coach Dale Hunter. When the Hunters inquired about his availability as a midget-aged player, it was obvious that Danny was going to play in Michigan.
"But Steve said, 'Go ahead and draft him because you never know,' " Mark Hunter said.
The you-never-know turned out to be a guess-what-we-got-him. When Richmond was selected at the top of the second round, he realized he'd get a real shot at playing pro. At that point, Richmond decided the best way to prepare for the pros was to compete in a more intense playing schedule.
"He wanted to play a lot more games than just 42," Hunter said. "And I think the relationship Dale had with (Danny's) father, and the fact they liked the way Dale coaches, had a lot to do with it."
How good is Richmond?
Just about anyone in the hockey world knows the roads to the pros are paved with the remnants of good prospects who never made it.
There's no lack of accolades for this young man, either.
Hunter said Richmond is a Chris Chelios-type player with enormous offensive skills and "a real edge to him."
Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said on draft day he expected Richmond to quarterback his power play in the future.
"I saw him play as a midget and he was good, very good," Hunter said.
Hunter was at a USHL game when Richmond took the puck behind the net, trapped it on the blade of his stick and scored a goal in the top corner of the net, lacrosse-style. "I almost jumped out of my seat."
It's an appropriate remark.
If the moves the Knights are making turn out to be as successful as they think they'll be, there will be plenty of rumps for Richmond to move from those John Labatt Centre seats.