When the Blue Jackets offered up the opportunity to eat dinner with the propsects during development camp, including having a player at every table, our own CBJProspects jumped at the chance. Here’s our guy’s take on a unique event from last week’s camp. Here’s a quick recap of the evening Union Blue style, with CBJProspects answering the questions that we wanted to know more about! (And in case you were wondering, yes, CBJProspects sat right next to the baby Jacket at his table).
Who did you get to sit with?
We sat with 2014 5th round pick Tyler Bird. Every attendee was assigned a table and then after we were all seated, someone with the Jackets led the different players to their respective tables.
What was the best question someone asked?
Someone asked Tyler about going to Brown University. He shared that he had no real desire to play Canadian juniors and that he wants an education. He also said that he thinks he’ll be an impact player at Brown. Interestingly, Tyler had 6 or 7 offers from colleges and universities but he said that an Ivy League school was his preference.
Worst question someone asked?
Thankfully, the evening went pretty well and there weren’t any awkward or “bad” questions.
What was the best story / answer from Tyler?
I asked him about playing outside at Fenway Park and he said it was an amazing experience…despite the stadium being fairly empty.
What were Tyler’s thoughts on the camp as a whole?
He really liked the rowing activity [Thursday morning, Prospects participated in crew races on the scioto river]. He said he was humbled by the talent of some of the other players that were there too.
Any fun facts/ stories you learned about Tyler?
He said he had a good feeling about the Jackets. He had talked to a regional scout a lot, (I’m guessing that scout was likely Rob Riley but I could be wrong). He said that at the NHL combine when he did the bike tests he puked from it. He also ended up revealing that he’s a Bruins fan, so it would’ve been cool for him to be picked up by them but at the end he didn’t care where he was drafted – he thought the CBJ may have taken him in the 4th round too.
How was the food at the event?
It’s hard to mess up hot dogs 😉
How long did it last – any other thoughts on the event?
The whole evening went for about an hour and a half or so. In addition to the time we got to spend with the player at our table, Jeff Rimer was there and he walked around asking a few questions of 5-6 of the guys so even if you weren’t seated with someone, you still got to hear their take on some things. The only thing I might have changed was to add more time for mingling with the players outside of sitting with those you had at your table.
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