Ty Smilanic of Elizabeth was in position to get the gold-star treatment as a potential first-round NHL draft pick.
The former University of Denver recruit, now headed to Quinnipiac this fall, was poised to interview with several NHL teams in June at the NHL combine in Buffalo before the league’s entry draft in Montreal.
Those events, like all others around the world, have been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But Smilanic, a former triple-A star with the Colorado Thunderbirds, still has his dreams.
While the NHL combine will probably not take place this year, the league’s draft will.