Ethan MacKenzie was at home in Peachland, B.C.
watching the NHL draft on Saturday when his phone started buzzing.
“I decided to stay home and be around the people that helped me get to the places where I got to this year,” the 19-year-old Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman said.
“I had family, my grandpa, grandma, uncle, aunts, like everyone over.
I had a bunch of my close family and friends and I was just sitting in the living room and ended up getting texts from some people that are at the draft that said, ‘Congrats,’ and my name wasn’t up on the screen yet, so I didn’t even know.
I was like, all right, well, who’s next?” The Toronto Maple Leafs were on the clock in the third round.
“I saw Toronto at 69 and I was like, well, I guess I’m going to Toronto,” MacKenzie told TSN with a big smile.
“I was pretty, pretty honoured and it was so special.” After being passed over in the previous two NHL drafts, MacKenzie finally heard his name called.
“A great story, and a good testament to the scouts to continue evaluating players,” said Leafs assistant general manager (player evaluation) Judd Brackett.
“It is not just in their first year.