Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian: Super Buddies. Both are New Jersey Devils’ 2016 National Hockey League draft selections — McLeod the 12th overall pick, Bastian the 41st. Both have been major contributors for the Ontario Hockey League’s Mississauga Steelheads — McLeod for the past three seasons, Bastian for the past three-plus.
Both have letters stitched on the front of their Steelheads’ jerseys — McLeod the captain’s ‘C,’ Bastian the alternate captain’s ‘A.’ Both will be vying for an NHL roster spot this upcoming fall.
But before that happens, this question must be answered: Who dubbed the duo the Super Buddies?
"Our equipment manager in Mississauga (Tom Frater) started it," Bastian, 19, revealed. "Our teammates would get their last names on all of their sticks, but Mikey and I used the same stick — curve, shot, grip, everything — so instead of making two orders of the same stick, he put ‘Super Buddies’ and we took them out of the same pile."
