BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
SAN DIEGO -- Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …
• So, how did Brandon Saad, once again a sensation in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Blackhawks, get away?
Simple: Ray Shero had the only vote that mattered.
This is the truth about the 2011 draft, as described by a man who sat at that table and remains with the organization today in pristine standing …
The Penguins’ scouts had made up their collective mind that their choice was Saad, the Gibsonia native, not at all because he was local but entirely because they were stunned he had fallen so far after being a consensus top-five pick, and there he was all the way down at their No. 23 position. They knew Saad’s plunge had much to do with a groin injury that season, but they also knew more about him than most teams, partly because of his proximity, partly because he’d just been invited to Consol Energy Center for a personal visit and tour a month earlier. They couldn’t believe their good fortune.
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