New York Hockey Journal

6 NEW YORK HOCKEY JOURNAL April 2020 Subscribe today at NYHockeyJournal.com/subscribe PROSPECTS PULSE PROSPECTS PULSE By Leo Scaglione Jr. HE FEELING WAS MUTUAL. Danny Weight, an 18-year-old center from Lattingtown, N.Y., wanted to play for the Penticton Vees in the British Colum- bia Hockey League for the 2019-20 sea- son because he trusted Vees coach, general manager and president Fred Harbinson. Harbinson, looking to rebound after his club's first- round loss in the 2019 playoffs, was seeking to sign players with a competitive drive who hate to lose. In other words, a player such as Weight. "We have a longstanding history and tradition of having competitive teams, teams that have won cham- pionships," explained Harbinson, whose Vees last cap- tured the BCHL title in 2017. "When I watched Danny play, he showed those characteristics. And he was ex- actly how we thought he would be. He came here and brought energy and a compete level every day to prac- tice that translated into games and was contagious for all of our players." Everything was going according to plan until the last three rounds of this year's playoffs were canceled last month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vees concluded the 2019-20 season second in the BCHL and first in the Interior Division with a 44-12-1-1 record and 90 points. In the postseason, they won their first-round series against the West Kelowna Warriors in five games before the cancellation. "Our team motto this year was 'Now Matters,' " Weight said. "Coach Harbinson preached to stay in the now and not think about the future because it goes by fast. That's what I tried to do, and I'll remember that for the rest of my life." Weight, 6-foot, 171 pounds, finished tied for ninth in the circuit and third on Penticton in scoring with 60 points (25-35-60) in 58 regular-season games. He post- ed eight points (4-4-8) in five playoff matches. "Danny looks to be a playmaker," Harbinson said. "He's a real good set-up guy and he has extremely high- level vision. His hands in tight are real good. He can score when he has to, but a lot of times he looks to pass before he shoots. That's not in a negative way; he enjoys setting up plays." In addition to registering gaudy numbers, Weight again has attracted the attention of scouts following a year that featured a disappointing finish for the left- handed shooter. After being ranked 166th overall among North American skaters in National Hockey League Central Scouting's midterm rankings for the 2019 NHL draft, he wasn't in the final rankings and went undrafted. In this year's midterm rankings for the 2020 NHL draft, Weight sits 116th overall. "Having an opportunity to get picked this year after going through it last year and not getting picked is really cool," he said. "It's proof that there are a bunch of routes to the NHL, and if you don't get picked your first year it's not over. At the end of the day, though, I'm not too focused on it. If I end up getting drafted, that would be surreal, and I'd love that, but if I don't then I'll just keep working." There are several reasons why Weight is again being mentioned in draft conversations. The first is his im- proved defensive play and overall game awareness. An- other is his conditioning, which has boosted his skating. The last reason, and perhaps the most important, is that Weight was able to fully showcase his talents with the Vees after being a depth player on ultra-talented squads in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns. "Danny really grabbed hold of a bigger role and was able to run with it," Harbinson asserted. Added Weight: "Coming into the season, I wanted to be the guy who was looked at to score big-time goals DANNYWEIGHT NTDP PRODUCT SHOWCASES COMPETE LEVEL, SET-UP SKILLS ON WEST COAST T Penticton Vees

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