Nico Myatovic did not have to wait long to learn where his NHL future lies.
With the first pick of the day Thursday morning, the Anaheim Ducks resumed the draft proceedings in Nashville Thursday morning and selected the 18-year-old Prince George native in the second round 33rd overall.
“When I heard my name called there it was an unbelievable feeling and to share it with my family here is pretty special,” said Myatovic. “I had good conversations with (the Ducks) throughout the year and at the combine and I thought, maybe. But there were some teams picked right after them that I thought had interest, so it was a bit of surprise but I’m all for it.”
Myatovic, a winger, scored 30 goals and had 30 assists in 68 regular season games with the T-birds. He also had four goals and three assists in 19 playoff games and scored a third-period penalty-shot goal that clinched the WHL championship for Seattle in Game 5 of the final against Winnipeg.
“I think that helped a lot, playing for such a good team and winning that championship was huge for sure,” said Myatovic.
Five of Myatovic’s Seattle teammates - Gracyn Sawchyn, Sawyer Minio, Scott Ratzlaff, Thomas Milic and Jeremy Hanzel – were also picked in the draft.
Myatovic met with Ducks GM Pat Verbeek and head coach Greg Cronin and also was introduced to former captain Ryan Getzlaff.
From Nashville, Myatovic will fly Sunday to the Ducks’ development camp in Anaheim, which runs next week from Monday to Friday.
He was the second northern B.C product picked in the draft.
On Wednesday, Saskatoon Blades defenceman Tanner Molendyk of McBride was picked in the first round, 24th overall, by the Nashville Predators.
With the final pick of the second round, the Minnesota Wild chose Prince George Cougars centre Riley Heidt, 64th overall.
Heidt, 18, was in the stands at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to hear his name called and he walked up to the stage to meet Wild management and try on a Minnesota jersey.
Heidt scored 25 goals and had a WHL-leading 72 assists (tied with Connor Bedard).
Then in the third round, 78th overall, the Los Angeles Kings selected Cougar right winger Koehn Ziemmer. Ziemmer, an 18-year-old native of Mayerthorpe. Alta., scored 41 goals and added 48 assists for 89 points in 68 games last season for the Cougars.
Cougar defencemen Hudson Thornton and Viliam Kmec, both 19, were also considered potential draft prospects this year but were not selected in the seven-round draft.
