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It's Wednesday night and the Foxboro Summer League is back in session.
I have eyes in the sky inside the building in Foxboro. I'm told that Jack Eichel is on the ice for his Team Harlow.
His wing man Jimmy Vesey is not on the ice.
Vesey and his agent were reportedly meeting with the Boston Bruins at their new practice facility. The Bruins are Vesey's final one on one meeting.
It's all over but the shouting.
Vesey must feel exhausted and worn out from his two day marathon of meetings with NHL executives and cameos by NHL players.
The Harvard graduate and his agents have completed their meetings with eight teams in all:
Buffalo
Boston
NY Rangers
NY Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Chicago Blackhawks
Pittsburgh Penguins
Toronto Maple Leafs.
Team Vesey also spoke with the Detroit Red Wings.
On Thursday, Vesey and his agent will reduce the grocery list of teams down to a short list of 2-3 teams. Team Vesey will arrive at their final conclusion by Friday.
My list of Vesey's final three teams:
1. Buffalo
2. New Jersey
3. New York Rangers
Vesey's agent has described his client as a low key, quiet kid who prefers to stay under the radar.
Vesey can live his life on and off the ice in relative peace and quiet in Buffalo where will be be playing in front of 17,000 hockey addicted fans per home game. He and Jack Eichel will be inseparable in Buffalo.
In Newark, Vesey will play with some of his USNDP friends and coaches. However, Vesey will
l be playing in a quiet, lightly populated barn on most nights.
Manhattan is the antithesis of quiet. The bright lights of Broadway can be intoxicating for young performers. When you play well, the fans and media build you up. When you play poorly, the media and fans can rip you.
It's too bad Vesey won't be skating tonight. His bros Kevin and Jimmy Hayes are on the opponent, Team McDonough. Eichel will have to conquer on his own NHLers Johnny Gaudreau, Brian Boyle, Keith Yandle, Kyle Palmieri and others.
Team Harlow (GREY)
# Name Pos Current Team
1 Austin Lefkowicz G FHL
2 John Marino D Harvard
3 Robbie Donohue D Manchester Monarchs
4 Garrett Noonan D Milwaukee AHL
5 Matt Grizlich D Boston Bruins
6 Mark Fayne D Edmonton Oilers
7 Dennis Robertson D Charlotte AHL
8 Nolan Vesey F U-Maine HE
9 Matt Harlow F Manchester Monarchs
10 Harry Zolniercyk F Anaheim Ducks
11 Garrett Hathaway F Calgary Flames
12 Bobby Farnum F NJ Devils
14 Nick Lappin F Albany River Rats AHL
15 Jack Eichel F Buffalo Sabres
16 Zach Sanford C Washington Capitals
17 Pat Shea F U-Maine HE
18 Andrew Doane F Brown ECAC
19 Jimmy Vesey F Harvard ECAC
30 Conor Maher G Brown ECAC
Team McDonough (BLACK)
# Name Pos Current Team
1 Brad Barone G Ice Gators SPHL
2 Charlie Donners D Bentley
3 Ryan Segalla D Uconn HE
4 Billy Sweezey D Yale ECAC
5 Tommy Cross D Providence Bruins
6 Sean Sullivan D Hamburg DEL
7 Mike Cornell D Charlotte Checkers
8 Brian Dumoulin D Pittsburg Penguins
9 Adam Clendening D Edmonton Oilers
10 Keith Yandle D NY Rangers
11 Brian Boyle F Tampa Bay
12 Eric Robinson F Milwaukee Admirals
13 Johnny Gaudreau F Calgary Flames
14 Jeremy Morin F San Jose Barracuda
15 Derek Arnold F Manchester Monarchs
16 Bill Arnold F Stockton Heat
17 Brian Gibbons F Hartford Wolfpack
18 Chris Wagner F Anaheim Ducks
19 Kyle Palmieri F NJ Devils
20 Kevin Hayes F NY Rangers
21 Jimmy Hayes F Boston Bruins
22 Gunnar Hughes F Adirondack Flames
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I call it the Katie Ledecky Effect.
The darling of the Rio Olympics USA is diehard NHL fanatic.
Katie's uncle John used to be a front office type with the Washington Capitals. However, he is soon to ownership of the New York Islanders on July 1, 2016.
Ledecky recently shouted out to Vesey on social media.Vesey acknowledged the multiple Olympic gold medal winning swimmer.
The NY Islanders met with Jimmy Vesey on Tuesday in Boston.
ESPN Boston reports that Islanders star center John Tavares was involved in the meeting.
"There's obviously not a lot going on in the hockey world right now, so with Jimmy's decision coming up and him being a very good prospect, and potentially to really impact the lineup right away because of his age (23), and his skill set and maturity level, he's obviously a high priority for some teams, and for us, we're obviously on his short list and have that opportunity," Tavares told ESPN.com. "I really believe in our team and I'm sure they want to show him why we're the best fit for him and how he can impact our team and make us better, so we'll see what happens and if we're lucky enough we'll be able to get an impact player like him."
When Day 2 of Vesey Mania comes to an end, the former Hartford scoring star will have met with the Islanders, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Boston Bruins.
Vesey and his agents will take tomorrow and review all of the presentations that were made and will arrive at their final destination.
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