TRAVERSE CITY -- When the NHL Prospects Tournament rolls around in September, only one member of the Atlanta Thrashers will be able to sleep in his own bed.
Traverse City native Zach Redmond, who the Thrashers selected in this weekend's NHL Entry Draft, is slated to participate in the team's July 7 camp, then in the Sept. 13-17 Prospects Tournament at Centre ICE. In between, he'll have Ferris State's camp in August.
Of course, in order to retain his college eligibility, Redmond will have to pay his own way to participate in the Prospects Tournament.
Now that the draft is over, Redmond said the plan is to go to the Thrashers' camp and then play at Ferris State next season.
"It's a lot off my shoulders," said Redmond, who was taken 184th overall. "I'd been waiting for this all summer. There was a lot of speculation about this and that, but it's good to be over with."
The Thrashers were one of the NHL's worst teams, in part because their defense allowed the most shots per game (33.9) and finished tied with Tampa Bay with a League-worst 3.24 goals-against per game. The club also ranked 27th with a 78.8 percent penalty-killing rate.
Atlanta used two of its seven picks on blueliners -- its first and last. Both, coincidentally, were named Zach.
The Thrashers selected Peterborough defender Zach Bogosian third overall in the first round and then took Redmond with the third pick of the seventh.
Atlanta's Web site boasts of Redmond's skating ability and offensive instincts in its draft recap.
Redmond -- who was Ferris' sixth-leading scorer as a freshman -- said about a dozen NHL teams contacted him before the draft, but Atlanta was one of the last ones to do so. He said Edmonton, Anaheim and Ottawa seemed the most interested in his services.
"I thought I'd go higher, but that's just how the draft works," Redmond said.
The Thrashers will hold Redmond's draft rights until he finishes off his college eligibility.
On draft day, Redmond did what he could to avoid watching the draft online.
"I pretty much just tried to take my mind off it -- walking, talking to some buddies," Redmond said. "I didn't want to bite my nails off and worry about it."
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