It was 15 years ago that the Dallas Stars with the 32nd pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft selected János Vas from Malmö of the Swedish U20 Super Elite League.
A lot has changed in the past 15 years how the NHL draft is covered both in Hungary and throughout the world, thanks to the internet and the development of social media. “At the time hockey was not really being covered in Hungary so this did not get out at the time, today I am sure everyone would know that teams are interested in drafting me.” said Vas.
Back in the early 2000s János Vas was one of only a few hockey players playing outside of the country, but had an excellent season. “In 2002 I had a really good junior season in Malmö, I was playing against players born in 1982 and that season we made it to the finals where we took on Frölunda who had the Lundqvist twins, Alex Steen and Loui Eriksson, they are all now NHL stars. I was the team’s leading scorer in the playoffs, and NHL teams had shown interest in me during the season, in fact the Dallas Stars flew me out to Helsinki to take a psychological test and to talk to a psychologist.”
These days there are number of publication that deal with ranking junior and draft eligible players for the upcoming NHL draft. Back then this was not such a big deal, this is probably one of the reasons why only Jankó’s agent had the feeling that his client would be drafted in the top half of the draft. “My agent figured that I would be taken in the entry draft and he said I should fly out to the draft. My father and myself flew out to Toronto where the draft was being held that year. In total there were about 11 teams that interviewed me right before the draft.”
Most Hungarian hockey fans do not know about how many teams were really interested in having Vas join their organization. “Representatives from the New Jersey Devils had met us at the airport in Toronto and had us staying in the hotel that they were with them. The two scouts that picked us up and drove us around in a convertible car, which was great at the time for me, and they gave us some spending cash for dinner. The next day the Devils put me through some physical tests.” That year the Devils did not have a first round pick and were probably going to pick him in the second round with either the 50th or 53rd pick overall. New Jersey ended up taking Anton Kadeykin from the Russian second division and Barry Tallackson from the University of Minnesota respectively as Vas was already off the board.
“The Red Wings were another team that had shown interest in me, I remember my agent reminding me to congratulate them on their recent Stanley Cup championship win, and that I should make a good first impression. The Columbus Jackets also put me through some tests as well. There were a total of a 11 teams that I talked to one way or another.”
From what Vas mentions and it is clear in his voice when he explains it was that the actual draft day was nothing like what he could have expected. “On the 3rd day we were out in Toronto was the day of the draft on June 22nd. We went out to the arena where the draft was being held, down where the ice surface is normally there was a stage and a podium with 30 tables as representatives from each team were sitting, we went and sat in the stands. I remember that day seeing an article in the newspaper about what Rick Nash was going to wear to the draft and what shoes he would have, my father and I were laughing how crazy all of this is and that I was in the same group as they players.”
These days the entire NHL draft is televised and it is live tweeted by a number of different media outlets and hockey sights. Each player as soon as they are drafted already has a short scouting report going out about them as well. In 2002 things were somewhat different. “The first round was televised live and the players who were selected then would go up on stage have their picture taken and pulled on the jersey of their new team and then did some interviews. After the first round came to an end, I told my agent that I really had to go to the toilet, he said that I should wait a bit because he had a good feeling about Dallas taking me. This was such a great feeling hearing your name being called. After this I went down to the table that the Stars had set up, talked and shook hands with everyone down there. I was given a jersey at the time. There were two scouts that I knew so it was nice to have some familiar faces. After the photos I had to do some interviews, after which we parted ways and agreered that the Stars would be in contact with me. I closed out the day with a nice meal and we visited the NHL Hall of Fame.”
What happened in the years after the draft we are somewhat more known, Jankó spent two more seasons with Malmö, made his SHL debut, and also spent a season with Halmstad before making the jump to the AHL. “After I was drafted in 2002, I was invited every summer to the Dallas Stars prospects up until I went out to play in the AHL. They thought I was ready in 2005, I personally think that I should have waited a year. Les Jackson was the assistant GM of the Stars at the time when I came over and he really was pushing me to make the jump to the AHL. He eventually did become the GM of the Stars but at first he was a co-GM with Brett Hull, maybe if he was by himself I would have played in the NHL. Les and one of the scouts came to see me in Sweden and at dinner they said they are ready to bring me over if I am ready.”
Jankó would play 187 regular season games and 17 playoff games in the AHL as a two-way centerman over the span of three seasons. He would participate in a number of prospect camps and training camps for the Dallas Stars. His best season would be in 2007-2008 when he had 41 points in 80 games. During his three season he would be teammates with a number of NHL stars such as James Neal and Loui Eriksson. Sometimes it comes down to luck and timing about making it to the NHL. “If you want to be drafted you need to play in a league that scouts are in the stands, and if they draft you they are most likely going to take you to camp, assuming you continue to improve and follow the trajectory that they had planned for you. Everything truly needs to work out in your favor.”
Regardless of what happens or has happened Jankó has done something that only a couple of Hungarians have ever done, and that is to be born and bred as a hockey player in Hungary and to be drafted into the NHL.
