‘Maybe it’ll be lucky and I’ll go in the first round, too.’ That’s why I wore a bowtie.”
Even so, he still wore the look of surprise when Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman announced his name as the sixth overall pick.
“It was pretty funny because my mom told me like 15-20 seconds earlier, ‘Hey, it’s going to be your time – they’re going to call your name now’ and I thought, ‘Yeah mom, I know you’re excited and you’re nervous, but calm down.’ So when he said my name I was like, ‘Wait. What’s going on?’
His interview with Yzerman, which was his final meeting of the NHL Scouting Combine, lasted 40 minutes and was a harbinger of what was to come. Yzerman quizzed him up and down, wanting to know almost everything about his family and his upbringing.
“He wanted to make sure that he didn’t miss anything,” Seider said. “He’s such a calm guy that it was like talking to a friend. He visited me three times, including twice with Tampa and once with Detroit. It was very exciting for me because I got the chance to actually meet a Hall of Famer.”