OK, I know we’re supposed to read this and think “Wow, those wacky Leafs and their crazy draft interview questions”, but… does anyone else think this is just dumb?

I’ve heard about the Leafs using this question in the past, and that they believe that “I would take the pill, become a great player, and die at 30” is the right answer.

Does that just seem completely ridiculous, especially in the modern era of PEDs, concussions, etc? I like heart-and-soul competitive guys as much as anyone, but somebody who would be willing to die to win a Cup isn’t a competitor, they’re an idiot. And the Leafs shouldn’t be screening for idiots.

Maybe I’ve got it wrong. Maybe “take the pill” is the wrong answer for Toronto. I really hope so. And if not, let’s hope Burke gets rid of this nonsense.

</whiny rant>

Pick the red pill! Pick the red pill!

Here’s a reference to the Leafs asking essentially the same question at the 2008 draft:

http://www.faceoff.com/hockey/nhlnews/story.html?id=7e26f5eb-fee2-4182-a724-be259c1d8cad

(Note that in this version, taking the pill means a 50/50 chance of dying. Either they’ve toned it down to “have an accident”, or Filatov just lost something in the translation.)

Thats a wierd question, who asked that? JFJ or Fletcher

Brian Burke refuses to draft any kid that doesn’t respond with:

“I’ll take the glory and punch death in his fucking face.”

http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2009/12/4/1186217/so-would-you

There’s so much that goes behind that sort of decision – plus why you would think any 18 year old prospect would take such a question seriously is beyond me.

Obviously it’s not a REAL choice, so you pick the one you think they WANT you to pick… irrespective of what you actually would choose. On top of that, what difference does that choice make to the Leafs when selecting prospects? An untalented 18 year old would pick the same thing as a supremely talented one… why is that the dividing line?

Methinks some of you are putting too much emphasis on one question.

Is it a bit of a moronic question? Ya, sure. But any individual question out of any psychological test can be construed as moronic. No doubt this was just one of many questions, in order to as accurately as possible decipher his intention to compete in the best league in the world. It probably stood out in his mind because it may have been the most ridiculous of the bunch.

But in today’s sports, any team is looking for any edge. These types of questions, while obviously not without fault, are just another tool to use. Perhaps it’s not even as simple as yes or no, but an off the board question that would be best.

I think to judge it without context or on it’s own is just as pointless as asking this question without any others.

but tossing candy around might have been offensive to the members of the Lollipop Guild.

And what did you do?

“I took the candy…”

Attention, Bykov. Name Filatov to the Olympic team now!

According to this article, the “magic pill” question was still being used this year. It mentions Brayden Schenn being asked about it, although it doesn’t actually say whether it was the Leafs or some other team.

Schenn said no, by the way. Good kid.

I thought the whole point of questions like that was to catch them off guard so they don’t give you the answer that they’ve been coached to give by their agents. If you ask all the same questions as everyone else you get the same answers because all the prospects are prepared for them. If you ask a stupid question, it catches them off guard and you get a real, non-rehearsed answer that hopefully tells you something about them as a person, not necessarily whether or not they’d take a candy and be great.