Coaches Corner: Prior to NA3HL Draft

Jun 2, 2015

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – Now that the Texas Brahmas have used all of their alloted tenders, General Manager and Head Coach Al Rooney switches his attention to the upcoming draft to continue to build his roster for the season. We had a chance to sit down with him to see how the 2015-16 roster is shaping up.

Q: How do you feel about your nine tendered players that you brought on board?

"I'm pleased with the mix of players. I probably would have liked to secure one or two more defensemen so I will probably steer a little more of my focus to defense and goaltending at the Draft (June 16). But I was pleased with the range of players we were able to sign and the response I've gotten this off-season from players wanting to become a part of the Brahmas organization."

(EDITORS NOTE: Rooney tendered one goalie, two defensemen, and six forwards)

Q: How many players do you expect to return from last season's roster?

"I'm not 100 percent sure yet because thats a fluid situation with some guys going to NAHL Main Camps, some players attending junior training camps in the Canadian leagues and quite frankly some players are going to have to earn their spot on this year's roster. Recruiting is going really well and we look to have a stronger team this coming season. I'm very excited about how the roster is shaping up."

Q: Walk us through how many picks your have in the upcoming draft.

"It's an eight round draft, but over the course of the past season, we traded away two picks and acquired four more, totalling ten picks for the Brahmas in the draft. Some teams don't put a lot of value into draft picks, whereas I believe very strongly in our draft. Last year we have 14 picks and seven of them played for the Brahmas. One of those picks already tendered with an NAHL team for this coming season and two of them have been invited to NAHL Main Camps."

Q: Can you provide us with any insight on how you expect the draft to go? Do you have players in mind already that you expect to draft?

"Well without showing my hand too much, I certainly have plenty of players on the radar that I've spoken too and I'm also looking to secure via the draft. Our draft will consist mainly of players that we have spoken to directly and/or players that we expect may fall down from the NAHL. I also expect to react off of the Lone Star Brahmas draft board to secure some of their players rights. Last weekends pre-draft try-out definitely provided us with more players to think about and add to our draft board. And lastly, I will be at the Elite Edge Showcase (in Nashville, TN) while the draft takes place so there may be some additions to our draft board from there."