Carbo's draft day

In the last post, I mentioned how I attended the 2008 NHL Draft in Ottawa.  This post is about Carbo's own draft day.

Guy was drafted on August 9, 1979 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.  In his previous junior year, his third with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, he notched 141 points.  The Montreal Canadiens sat up and took notice.

Carbo was actually on a golf course in Chicoutimi when he was called.  He remembers in the 2008 Hockey Night in Canada book My Greatest Day:

"When they called me on the golf course and told me that I was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, that made my day.  I think it was [Habs director of player development] Claude Ruel who called.  I had heard rumours that I might end up in Montreal.  I had a few calls beforehand.  I had somebody from Montreal call and ask me if they drafted me would I be interested.

I remember that I was kind of anxious that day, but when the call came, believe me, I was happy.  Obviously, being French and growing up in Quebec [Sept-Iles], Montreal was the team I watched all the time.  So it was a big day for me.

I finished the game after the call -- with a big smile on my face.  I spent the night with my friends and we had, well, a couple of beers."

Carbo in his junior days.  He was selected in the third round of the draft, 44th overall.

Some other facts about the 1979 NHL Draft:  Rob Ramage was the number one pick that year, drafted by Colorado.  Also in the class were Kevin Lowe, Dale Hunter, Ray Bourque, Lindy Ruff, and the late Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, who perished in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crash.  23 players from that class became Stanley Cup Champions -- of course, Guy was one of them.