Two Tigers get the call at NHL draft

By RYAN MCCRACKEN on October 8, 2020.

Medicine Hat Tigers forward Lukas Svejkovsky makes a breakout pass during a Western Hockey League game against the Everett Silvertips at the Canalta Centre on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. -- NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken

A pair of Medicine Hat Tigers had their draft dreams come true on Wednesday afternoon.

First forward Lukas Svejkovsky beat the projections by a country mile, going 108th overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round, then goaltender Garin Bjorklund joined him on the board when the Washington Capitals came knocking in the sixth with the 179th selection in the NHL Entry Draft.

Svejkovsky – a 5-foot-10, 165-pound right-shot out of Point Roberts, Wash. – entered the draft ranked 165th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, but just 15 picks into the fourth round the Penguins came knocking in a dramatic leap up the ladder.

The 17-year-old forward joined the Tigers in a four-player trade with the Vancouver Giants last December. After compiling five goals and five assists over his first 18 games of the year in the B.C. Division, Svejkovsky found a new gear in the Gas City and closed out his campaign with 13 goals and 15 helpers in 34 games with the Tigers.

The 38-point season put Svejkovsky onto the U.S. national program’s radar, as well as Pittsburgh’s, as he recently earned a spot at his country’s junior team evaluation camp, slated to kick off tomorrow in Plymouth, Mich.

Bjorklund entered the draft as the WHL’s top-ranked goaltender by NHL Central Scouting at fifth among North Americans.

The 6-foot-2, 173-pound Grande Prairie product closed out his rookie campaign in Medicine Hat with a .897 save percentage, a 2.91 goals against average and a 20-5-1-0 record before adding the title of Washington Capitals draft pick to his resume.