Post by MikeC on Jan 28, 2015 18:26:29 GMT -4
That "passed over in two NHL drafts" has been a rule for as long as I can remember (unless the rule has been removed in recent years) ... and Sweeney fits that description. He is still eligible for the draft ... but also eligible to a FA.
Joe Hicketts, who played for Canada and this year's WJ, went undrafted last year, but went to Detroit's camp and signed as a FA.
Josh Gorges also did this way-back-when with San Jose.
As for Draft eligibility, here is the section straight from the CBA.
8.4 Eligibility for Claim.
(a) All Players age 18 or older are eligible for claim in the Entry Draft, except:
(i) a Player on the Reserve List of a Club, other than as a try-out;
(ii) a Player who has been claimed in two prior Entry Drafts;
(iii) a Player who previously played in the League and became a Free Agent
pursuant to this Agreement;
(iv) a Player age 21 or older who: (A) has not been selected in a previous
Entry Draft and (B) played hockey for at least one season in North
America when he was age 18, 19, or 20 and shall be eligible to enter the
League as an Unrestricted Free Agent pursuant to Article 10.1(d); and
(v) a Player age 22 or older who has not been selected in a previous Entry
Draft and shall be eligible to enter the League as an Unrestricted Free
Agent pursuant to Article 10.1(d).
Sweeney does not meet any of the exception criteria. He would still be draft eligible.