It was July 22, 2005 and I was on Île Notre-Dame with 150 or so of my colleagues, most of us in shorts and T-shirts. The CBA ending the lockout had been signed earlier that day, the World Aquatics Championships were in full swing, and we were all taking a break from diving, swimming and water polo to watch the draft unfold on a couple of smallish TV screens in the media tent.
Because of the season lost to the lockout, all 30 teams were in the hunt for the No. 1 pick and the opportunity to choose Sidney Crosby. It was hot outside and as team after team fell away and the Canadiens were still in the hunt, it was so quiet in that tent you could hear the sweat drop.
After the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets heard their names called, we were down to five teams. When the Montreal pick fell to the fifth slot, there was an audible groan in the room — Sidney Crosby would not be playing for the Canadiens.
