DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills filed an article about Red Wings first round pick JP Hurlbert, who spoke with the media last night from Buffalo.
Hurlbert was born in Texas, and played this past season with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, but he’s headed to U of M this fall:
The next phase of Hurlbert’s development will take place in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he’s committed to the University of Michigan for the upcoming season – a fitting destination given the Allen, Texas native’s strong family connection to both the Wolverines and the Motor City.
“A lot of time in Texas for sure in the summers,” Hurlbert said. “But I’ve always, every summer, gone up [to Michigan] for at least two weeks. Spent it with my grandparents. They have a lake house up there, so I know the city really well. I know the area. It’s somewhere where I feel like I’m at home and it’s really easy to go back to.”
Those ties also influenced Hurlbert’s hockey fandom growing up, with his parents helping fuel his passion for the sport and supporting his journey every step of the way.
“Kind of starting off watching Red Wings games, running around the house, yelling ‘hockey, hockey, hockey’ with my dad, so that’s what got me into it,” Hurlbert said. “They’ve carried me the whole way here. So much travelling as a kid, taking me to events and practices, so I wouldn’t be sitting here without them.”
Detroit initially didn’t own a first-round pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, but Draper explained that the Red Wings’ expansive scouting staff was prepared for anything going into the weekend.
“You never know what was going to happen,” Draper said. “Obviously, at the Trade Deadline, we ended up trading our first-round pick and brought in Justin Faulk. So, for us it was just basically continue doing the job, watching the players, knowing the players and if something were to come up and Steve was able to add a first-round pick, make sure that we were ready to go. That’s exactly what we did, and the opportunity came being able to make a trade with Utah and gave us the opportunity to select J.P.”
