EHM The Blue Line

THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS TO ME!!

So, ive got the 49th overall pick at the CHL import draft with the Vancouver Giants. Lars Eller and Victor Hedman are the two im torn between. Eller was ranked 8th overall and Hedman was ranked 50th overall. I need defence more then offence so I go with Hedman. Before picking him I check his "information" and in the future section of the information it says:

"wants to play major junior hockey"

so im like sweet!!! So I draft him as a 16 year old so I can sign him, I go to sign him and he says he does not want to go to North America beacause of the change in lifestlye and language!! This happend to me with another player (russian) and he also "wanted to play Major Junior" but changes his mind right after!!! HOWEVER...it still says both of them want to play Major Junior still!!!!

1.) Why?
2.) Will they ever change their mind back to wanting to play Major Junior?
3.) What should I do?
4.) how to avoid this in the future?

I know how you can feel. The same thing have happen to me in the past.

The first thing I do with the CHL import, is than NEVER use it to fill a hole in my roster. I prefer use my WHL/OHL/QJMHL picks to do this.

What I do with my CHL import picks is:
1- draft a young player for a long term.
2- draft a guy who are already draft by a NHL team.

Just like you, I always look to see if a guy wants to play in ''major junior hockey''. If they have this mention, I look to draft them. If I draft a 16 years old player, normaly, I didn't try to sign them the first year. But I invite them in my training camp. I only try to sign them at 18-19 years old. Most of the time, I have more chances to made a deal with them. But, this can still to have problems sometime. If happen, I try to trade them.

When I draft a guy who was already draft by a NHL team, I never sign them. I wait to see if they made a deal with their NHL club. And wait to be send in junior. I don't draft them regulary (1 at each 3-4 years) But this can be good if you can find a good on in that list.

I hope this will help you.

Thanks man, in other words I probably should of gone with Eller.

what i do is wait till i think its april or may where the europeans are free agents and arent signed with teams and then i scout those players and once they sign with a team i remove them and then i draft ones who arent signed with a team that way i know they will always sign with my team... try that u can find some really good europeans that way...

My question is if you draft a player thats playing in europe even though he has a contract with them can u still invite them to your Major Junior Training Camp?

Yes you can still invite them to training camp. The only restriction I've seen with training camp is the NHL and college players.