A pair of Coquitlam hockey champions have earned tickets to the big leagues.
Goaltender Thomas Milic and defenceman Jeremy Hanzel were both selected in the later rounds of the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville today (June 29).
Milic was taken by the Winnipeg Jets in the fifth round — 151st overall. Hanzel was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the sixth round, 187th overall.
Both played their junior hockey with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League.
But they could soon become rivals as both the Jets and Avs are in the Central Division in the NHL's western conference.
The announcements were likely a big relief for Milic and Hanzel, as the 20-year-olds were in their final year of draft eligibility.
Milic, a Coquitlam minor hockey alumnus, posted a remarkable senior season, which included a gold medal with Canada at the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championships.
Milic was also awarded most valuable player of the WHL playoffs, as he and Hanzel helped lead Seattle to its second league championship in franchise history.
But the team's quest for its first Memorial Cup national title fell just a game short, as the Thunderbirds lost 5-0 to the Québec Remparts in the final, played earlier this month in Kamloops.
Milic could find himself in an opportune position in Winnipeg as rumours continue to run rampant the team's current netminder, Connor Hellebuyck, might be traded.
The Dr. Charles Best Secondary grad recorded a .928 save percentage (SV%) and 2.08 goals-against average (GAA) in 33 regular-season games, resulting in a 27-3-1-1 record and four shutouts.
In the playoffs, he surged to 16 wins in 19 starts, as well as a 1.95 GAA and .933 SV%.
Milic was the 14th of 26 goalies drafted to the NHL this year, which was a significant improvement from his 28th North American ranking heading into Nashville.
Hanzel, who played 41 games with the Tri-Cities'-based U18 Vancouver North East Chiefs and was once an affiliate player with the Coquitlam Express in the BC Hockey League (BCHL), joins a Colorado organization that won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
The Avalanche also recently acquired Port Moody NHLer Ryan Johansen in a trade with Nashville.
On the blue line, Hanzel was second among Thunderbirds d-men with 48 points in 66 regular-season games, including 13 goals and 35 assists, and added 22 more points in the playoffs.
The lefty was ranked 124th among the North American skaters heading into the 2023 entry draft.
