"It was really slow on my computer but then my phone started vibrating and it was Gerard Gallant, my coach in Saint John," MacAulay said. "I knew he was going to be there so when I picked up the phone I knew it was going to be something good. He said ‘Congrats, buddy’ and I just asked him what happened. He said ‘St. Louis just picked you.’ I just asked him if he was kidding me and he said ‘No, I wouldn’t lie to you.’ Then I just tried to (digest that) and I have a bunch of friends and family here so I told them and we kind of celebrated. It’s pretty crazy.
"I knew I had a chance and I knew it would be in the later rounds if it happened so I tried to go into the day kind of expecting the worst so I wouldn’t get crushed if it didn’t happen," he added. "But I guess now I can enjoy it."
The Saint John Sea Dogs forward was drafted by the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California with the 164th overall pick.
“Just talked to Stephen MacAulay: still having a hard time catching his breath,” said Willy Palov – the writer of the article – on Twitter yesterday.
Just like Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant, MacAulay found himself taken in the sixth round. Gallant went on to play 11 successful years in the NHL.
“Turk” was selected by the Detroit Red Wings with the 106th overall pick in 1981 draft.
St. Louis missed the playoffs by just five points last season, finishing ninth in the Western Conference with a record of 40-32-10. The Blues play in the same division (central) as the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.
On another note, MacAulay was the only Nova Scotia born player selected in this weekend’s selecting process. A native of Cole Harbour, the 18-year old spent the day clicking the refresh button on NHL.com.
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