'Live in the moment': Chase Reid ready for NHL draft after long journey

Chase Reid has tried to keep his head down and tune out the noise.

As one of the top prospects heading into the NHL draft on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. that was always going to be an uphill struggle, especially in the social media age with projections and opinions peppering the internet.

"They're popping up a lot more often than not with it coming close," said Reid, the No. 2-ranked North American skater, according to the league's scouting department. "I like to see what people are thinking, but I don't go out looking for it."

And then there's the content that playfully muses about his potential future as the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks, who own the first and second overall picks, and 30 other teams go through final preparations ahead of Friday's first round in Buffalo, N.Y.

"My billet brother keeps making AI-generated images of me in different jerseys," said Reid, a defenceman for the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. "I see some of what he's posting."

It's a surreal position to be in, and one that felt like a distant dream not that long ago

Committed to eventually play at Michigan State in the NCAA, Reid was cut from the United States Hockey League, the country's top domestic junior circuit, early in 2024-25 before catching on in the second tier North American Hockey League.

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The Chesterfield, Mich., product put up 12 points in 18 games for the Bismarck Bobcats when Sault Ste. Marie, which took a flyer on Reid in the 2023 OHL draft, came calling once U.S. college hockey's eligibility rules changed for major junior players.

"If they didn't give me the opportunity," Reid said of the Greyhounds, "I don't know where I'm at