Unforgettable, My Journey to the 2014 NHL Entry Draft

“Are You Allowed to Wear that Jersey Here?”

By Shannon Penfound, Special to All Habs Hockey Magazine

WINNIPEG, MB. — This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2014 NHL Draft in Philadelphia with All Habs Hockey Magazine. I’ve been documenting the journey to share my experience with readers. If you missed the previous two posts, you can find them here: Heading to Philly, Trip of a Lifetime  and Heading to the Draft With the All Habs Team, Here’s My Pick.

After close to 11 hours of travelling, I landed in Philly wearing my Canadiens jersey, and looked forward to what was sure to be a great weekend. As soon as I stepped off of the plane, a gentleman gave me a sideways look and said, “You know you’re in Philly, right?” He was one of many passionate Flyers fans who commented on my bleu-blanc-rouge, and though they are known as the ‘Broad Street Bullies,’ the Flyers fans truly were wonderful hosts.

As you may have read, my dad also made the trek to Philadelphia. Since I recently moved out of my home-province of Ontario, it was a very special weekend to share together, and we made some great memories.

After an extremely pleasant conversation with a Florida Panthers fan regarding this season’s late trade, Mike Weaver, both dad and I agreed that not only is the draft a great way to interact with fans from around the league, but that we would make the trip to Florida for next year’s draft without hesitation.

I couldn’t possibly end this article without commenting on the city of Philadelphia itself. There was way too much to do in the few hours that we weren’t being mesmerized by the NHL brass, but what we did get to see was absolutely beautiful. The people of Philadelphia constantly stopped to take time out of their busy schedules to answer our questions and to ensure that both my dad and I were enjoying our stay. The city has such rich history and Philadelphia is a location that I would return to in a heartbeat.

It was a great journey and I highly recommend that you consider attending next year’s draft, if given the opportunity. The Draft allows you an inside look at our future NHL All-Stars and it truly was an event that I will not soon forget.