Heart emojis, brother, deliver dream news

With the 2024 NHL Draft Days 1 and 2 about to unfold at the end of this month for a new class of selections, our ‘My Draft Days’ series will look back at the never-forget-it day for members of the Seattle of 2021, 2022 and 2023. concept lessons. In his own words, Tyson Jugnauth, a lefty defenseman who was an integral part of the Portland Winterhawks’ advance to the Western Hockey League finals this season, reflects on July 8, 2022, when he was selected 100.^e general.

On the day of the draft, my brother Colton and I woke up early to do our usual 7 a.m. group workout off the ice. Colton is a year and a half younger than me. He’s a goalie (who played for Surrey in the British Columbia Hockey League last season) and we’re super close.

When we got back to our house, the second round was underway and we went into the living room with my mom and dad (Eleonara and Anand, both doctors in Kelowna, BC) to watch. I’m a player known for staying calm on the ice and that transferred to how I felt on draft day. I slept well the night before and then woke up hoping my name would be called. I didn’t know exactly what to expect.

Sometime between 10 and 11 a.m. (Kelowna time) the fourth round started. We all just sat on the couch. The TV analysts examined one thing after another, and suddenly my brother stood up and said, “I think I just heard your name!”

My parents and I stood up and I said, “I didn’t hear it,” and we all wondered. The TV analysts were talking about an earlier choice. Then my name appeared on the screen and we all hugged. I hugged Colton and then my mom and my dad. They were all super happy for me. It was just a crazy moment. You don’t actually forget that feeling.

It turned out that my dad and I both got a text message in a group chat from a friend who was attending the draft in Montreal. It was just a bunch of hearts and it came in right before Colton said he heard my name and then my name rolled on the TV screen maybe 30 seconds before we knew it. We didn’t really have time to figure out the heart emojis and what they meant until later.

It was just surreal. I was thinking maybe the fourth, fifth or sixth round; maybe my name would be called (he was the third player picked in the fourth round). But I wasn’t sure.

Right after the pick was announced on TV, my phone started blowing up with text messages from friends and teammates. Shortly after the texts started, (Kraken GM) Ron Francis called me, which was pretty cool. He’s a Hall of Famer, and he welcomed me, and we talked about development camp. I flew to Seattle the next day. It was all just crazy.

I took time to think about my family (three hockey-playing younger brothers and the three oldest, including Tyson, whose youngest brother Braden, 13, I thought was the phenom in the family). My parents are both doctors, and we have five children in the family (four sons, including Logan, 16, and twin sister, Gabby, the accomplished figure skater in the family). When I look back, what my parents had to do, like drive us around to different rinks. On the weekends, when the three of us were traveling to play, one of us might be in Vancouver, and another might be in Calgary. We always split up and went to different cities and rinks.

Colton and I have always been close and have pushed each other a bit throughout our lives (we have played organized hockey since I was 5 and have a lot of family shinny). I am grateful for my brothers and sisters; they all helped me get picked by Seattle. I’m just so grateful for my family.

I really hoped I would be chosen. But if I didn’t, my attitude was ‘just move on, there’s always next year to prove teams wrong.’ So I wasn’t really nervous, but more hopeful knowing that either way I can still be a great hockey player (WHL Portland fans can attest to a puck-patient, high hockey IQ D-man who joined the team mid-season and departed NCAA Wisconsin scored seven goals and 34 assists for 41 points in 41 regular season games, then produced four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in a deep 18-game playoff run).

That evening we went out to dinner early with the family and my grandfather. He’s from Germany and doesn’t really know much about hockey. But my grandfather was super happy for me and proud. He drove me to many games and practices himself and saw me play all the time. He is my mother’s father and it was fun to celebrate with him. That meant a lot to me.

The next day I’m on a plane to Seattle. I couldn’t wait to get there. One minute I’m being picked up by Seattle and in the blink of an eye I’m on a plane to development camp. It happens immediately. I was so excited to meet people and see the facilities. I’ve been to some nice facilities before, but nothing beats Seattle (Kraken Community Iceplex and Climate Pledge Arena).

Plus then getting on the ice with the coaches and other prospects. I was sitting on that plane thinking, “I’m on a flight to an NHL camp, not really thinking about it a few days before.” It’s been a great 24 hours.