2018 Draft Diary: Kevin Bahl

Defenseman Kevin Bahl (6-foot-6, 230 pounds) of Ottawa in the Ontario Hockey League is No. 29 in NHL Central Scouting's final list of North American skaters eligible for the 2018 NHL Draft. Bahl had 18 points (one goal, 17 assists), 76 penalty minutes and 58 shots on goal in 58 regular-season games for the 67's. He is representing Canada at the IIHF 2018 Under-18 World Championship in Russia (April 19-29). The left-handed shot has offered to maintain a draft diary for NHL.com, leading up to the NHL Draft in Dallas on June 22-23.

Hello hockey fans.
I'm doing my draft diary this week from Russia since I'm playing for Canada at the Under-18 World Championship. It's always a great opportunity to come out and play for Hockey Canada and represent your country. A lot of people want to play and dream for that moment to come out here, so obviously I'm fortunate enough to do that. I want to represent Canada the best way possible on and off the ice. I'm excited for the tournament and to get into these games. It's a short one but it's going to be a blast.
I certainly took notice that I was No. 29 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters and it's an honor to be recognized that high. Obviously like anybody, if you don't want to move higher and get better you already failed as a hockey player, so I'll try and get to that next level.
I'm getting better and people are recognizing me more but I want to get better, want to get higher on that list. I want to do whatever it takes to show people I can improve my game. I always want to get better and I never want to be complacent. If I get complacent, that's when I kind of lose my game and don't play as well. I'll always try and get better, whether in the gym or on the ice.
After the U-18 tournament, it's the NHL Scouting Combine. Thing is, if you're training for the Combine during the season, you're probably not training to be a hockey player. Those Combine events show little aspects of what a player should be like. Going into the Combine, I'll focus on some of the bike and exercise stuff, but I don't do a lot of biking. It's more heavy, lower-body lifts. I'll get on the bike at some point to see how it feels.

I'm definitely getting excited for the NHL Draft. It's kind of like when you go to the OHL, it's a new chapter in your journey and wherever you go you just want to leave your mark, play a role and try to get to that ultimate goal, which is winning a championship. The draft is just another chapter in your life and I'll have to make the most of that opportunity.
Entering this season with the Ottawa 67's, I came in as a second-year guy to a young team and I think I did a good job as a leader. I brought in some of the younger guys and played a bigger role on the team. I feel like the coaching staff really turned around the team and culture in the locker room. I'm just excited for next year because we have a young group of guys coming up with a deep defense corps and I feel like we have a lot of young forwards who will be elite players in this league. It wasn't a bad year and I thought we did very well for the young group of guys we had. What the coaching staff did was turn a lot of those older guys into NHL style competitors.
Well, that's it for now. Enjoy the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I will post my next diary from the NHL Combine in Buffalo next month.