Christian Wolanin talks about being drafted by the Ottawa Senators

 

By @MichaelCaples –

For most players selected in the 2015 NHL Draft, they heard their names called by NHL clubs while sitting in the stands at the BB&T Center in Florida.

A friend told Christian Wolanin that the Ottawa Senators chose him while they were driving back from breakfast.

“I was actually in the car,” the Rochester, Mich., native said. “I was driving back from breakfast. I wasn’t expecting much; I was watching the draft earlier on TV while we were eating. Obviously the first, second, third round I wasn’t expecting it, being a ’95 [birth year]. I had a heard rumors that some teams were going to try to take me in the fourth, and I was just going to play it by ear. I was really fortunate to go in the fourth round to a team like Ottawa.”

Wolanin, captain of the Muskegon Lumberjacks and future North Dakota defenseman, was passed over in a previous draft, but this time around, the Senators made sure to add him to their organization.

“One of the kids I was with was watching the draft tracker on NHL.com on his phone. There were a bunch of teammates from North Dakota and they all started freaking out and giving me a pat on the back and stuff like that, but I didn’t believe it until they called me and told me that they had picked me and traded up to get me in the fourth round.”

He said that the phone call confirming the news was made by one of the Senators’ scouts, and that, like most of his peers, he’s still struggling to explain the emotions that followed the moment.

“There is really no way to describe it,” said the 20-year-old defenseman. “I know it’s pretty cliché to say that, but, when I was told, when that moment kind of hit, it was just all a blur. I was just thankful.”

 

It wasn’t a moment that Wolanin had planned for, despite the rumors he had mentioned. In fact, he enrolled in classes at North Dakota for the summer semester, and now he’s not sure if he can even attend the Senators’ development camp.

“I think it’s coming up pretty soon here, I’m actually not sure if I’m going to go due to college eligibility,” Wolanin said. “Truthfully, I wasn’t planning on getting drafted. I know I had a good year, but I didn’t know if teams were going to take a risk on me, being a ’95, so I signed up for classes and there’s something that overlaps with college eligibility where I might not be able to attend. But I do plan on wearing the Ottawa Senators jersey one day, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get there.”

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound defenseman said that while he wasn’t truly a Senators fan before the draft, he was certainly familiar with Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson, who has tried to emulate on the ice.

“I just watch hockey for good games, to learn things from good players,” Wolanin said. “Karlsson’s always been a guy that I’ve watched and tried to model some of my game after. I’ve always wanted to play for a Canadian team if it wasn’t going to be the Wings. To be chosen by Ottawa and maybe one day to play in a city like Ottawa, with fans like Ottawa’s, would be unbelievable.”

His bias towards Canadian teams could potentially stem from the fact that he is a duel citizen; Wolanin was born in Quebec City while his father, Craig, a Grosse Pointe native, was playing for the Quebec Nordiques. The NHL’s official prospect page lists Wolanin as a Canadian product from Quebec City, but he says that after moving officially back to Michigan when he was four or five years old, Rochester is the place he calls home. He’s also proud to say he developed in the Little Caesars AAA system.

“Little Caesars for all eight years, I was a pretty loyal kid to them,” Wolanin said. “I wouldn’t change anything that’s gotten me to this position, for sure.”

 

After a short stint with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL to start his junior career, Wolanin once again returned home, as the Lumberjacks acquired his rights via trade during the 2013-14 season. The new member of the Senators said he couldn’t have asked for more from the Muskegon organization – a squad that finished as the USHL runner-up in the Clark Cup Final this past spring.

“It was the best time of my life, for sure,” Wolanin said. “Starting from right when I got there, after Christmas break, my second year in the USHL, Coach Krygier, Coach McKenna and Mr. Vanbiesbrouck, I really wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for those three, and then this year Coach Todd Robinson joined, and from top to bottom, in my opinion, that’s the best organization in the USHL. I have a lot of buddies who played for different teams, and there is really no comparing.

“It’s a very family-like environment there, and they allow you to play the game how you want to play the game, and I think that’s why we were so successful this year. We had a great group of leaders, and then a coaching staff that really just understood how to treat junior hockey players and how to get the most out of their players.”

Now, Wolanin’s attention is with the North Dakota program, as he tries to find continued on-ice success at the next level. He said that North Dakota’s rich history and lengthy list of accomplishments are what drew him to the program.

“They’re winners,” Wolanin said. “They’re consistent winners. They have just an outstanding track record of sending good USHL players onto the NHL and I’ve never really dreamed about going to a school where I guess I wouldn’t be proud to go to. North Dakota is the best, in my opinion, and I want to add to the tradition and be excellent there. The coaching staff, I think, is going to help me get to where I want to be.”

And where he now wants to be, of course, is the Canadian Tire Centre in Canada’s capital.