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OHL Kingston Frontenacs

During Commercials: Inside Braden Haché's NHL Draft Day

August 24, 2021 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kingston Frontenacs News Release


"Florida!" Braden Haché's sister shouted from the upper floor of the family household on July 27th.

While Braden and his family had keenly watched the NHL Entry Draft for hours, the TV broadcast switched to a commercial break during the seventh round, specifically between the 268th and 270th overall picks.

"My sister was upstairs and had the NHL website going and shouted 'Florida' downstairs," said Haché. "It was chaos from there, with family and friends coming over to celebrate; it was a pretty cool moment."

While the NHL broadcast showed commercials, the Florida Panthers selected the Kingston Frontenacs defenceman 270th in the final round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, allowing the 18-year-old to exhale after a stressful few hours.

The Newmarket, Ontario native debuted with the Frontenacs in 2019-20, scoring five points in 29 games while establishing himself as one of the premier defencemen in the Ontario Hockey League and one that is not afraid to throw a hit.

Haché did not watch the Draft all day, wanting to keep his mind off the potential stress that could ensue. To stay calm, he went for an early round of golf but did not keep score. However, if he had kept score, he is not sure he would have been terrific, knowing he was still a little nervous about the day to come.

After his 18 holes of golf, he returned home around 12:30 pm, about an hour and a half into the second day of the Draft. While Haché did not want to worry about being drafted, he threw on comfy clothes and sat by the TV. "I knew some of my friends or teammates could be drafted, so I wanted to be able to congratulate them," said Haché.

As the day wore on, he sent several texts to his friends who had heard their names called, but the teams continued to call players, just not his name. It was not easy for the 6'3" blueliner, as his heart rate continued to rise as more picks came off the board.

When the Draft reached the penultimate sixth round, things started to hit a boiling point. "I was kind of all over the place talking with agents because free agency selections for camp are pretty much decided in the seventh round," said Haché. "You want to secure that so that you can at least go to camp if you aren't drafted."

Then the seventh round came around, and this would be the last time in 2021 that the New Hampshire-born Haché could hear his name called by an NHL team. Although the NHL dream would be far from over regardless of the Draft result, it was stressful as the picks wound down.

"I knew I had a great interview with Florida about two weeks before the Draft," he noted. "Florida's pick was coming up in the seventh round, and I thought to myself, 'If it happens, it's going to be here."

While watching a commercial on the phone with his agent, Haché heard his sister call down from upstairs. After hours of stress, phone calls, and, let alone years of hard work, Braden Haché was the newest Florida Panthers prospect.

Haché's day changed at that moment. No longer was he sweating about finding a camp to go to as a free agent or worried about having to build back up after disappointment; the first step of his dream had come true. "I started crying, to be honest; it's something you dream of your whole life," said the newly drafted defenceman.

Now heading into the next few months of Fronts and Panthers training camp, Haché is determined to bring his game to the next level and bring NHL pre-season experience back to Kingston.

Although the next few months of training camps and actual hockey activities after a season away are tantalizing, Haché has circled Frontenacs October 8 season opener on his calendar. With an exciting group of players, the newest Florida Panthers prospect can't wait to start the OHL season.

"We're excited, and we want to win; that's the ultimate goal," said Haché. "Every single person on the Frontenacs wants to bring an OHL championship to Kingston."

2021-22 season tickets are on sale now at www.myfrontenacs.com.

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