PHOTO COURTESY CALGARY FLAMES
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Andrew Basha meets with Calgary Flames hall-of-famer Jarome Iginla after being drafted 41st overall by the NHL Club on June 29.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Andrew Basha went into the draft with aspirations to be a first-round pick. He had to wait just nine picks later for two childhood dreams to come true.
The Medicine Hat Tigers forward wasn’t picked in the first round but was able to look past that, being selected 41st overall by his hometown team, the Calgary Flames, on the second day of the NHL Draft in Las Vegas on June 29.
With the selection, Basha is also the first player from the South Alberta Hockey Academy to be drafted into the NHL.
He spoke with the News after being selected and had a difficult time summarizing the excitement of the moment.
“Growing up, being a Flames fan and everything, it makes it that much more special,” Basha said. “It’s just super exciting, there’s not many words for it.”
Basha entered the draft with late first-round, early second-round projections after putting up 30 goals and 85 points in 63 games in his third WHL season in Medicine Hat. He was a fifth-round, 105th overall pick by the Tigers in the 2020 WHL draft, and four years later, shared the moment with friends and family in Las Vegas as his NHL dream got its first official legs.
“I’m just very excited and proud of myself,” Basha said.
He shared his first hug with his dad before moving through the rest of family and friends before entering the draft floor and meeting the Flames’ staff in attendance.
The only family member not in Vegas at the Sphere was Basha’s grandpa Herb, who passed away Jan. 4. The first three games after his passing, Basha had two goals and six points, highlighted by a two-goal second period in a 10-4 win over the Spokane Chiefs on Jan. 7. He pointed to the sky after scoring the first goal.
At the draft, Basha shared the moment with his grandma Shirley and says his grandpa would have enjoyed the moment more than he did.
“He’s watching above me and I’m happy that I was able to have my grandma here, it’s amazing,” Basha said. “I obviously wish he could have been here but I know he’s watching.”
Basha is taking part in the Flames’ development camp that started on Wednesday and is joined by Tigers’ goaltender Ethan McCallum who earned himself an invite to the camp.
Basha enjoyed watching three other Tigers get drafted throughout the weekend and was looking forward to seeing others, like McCallum, get their opportunities at camps.
“Knowing that so many guys will be at NHL camps and getting lots of experiences is so good for our group, it’s just really exciting,” Basha said. “We’re very, very excited, I’m just so happy to be able to share this with my teammates.”
