The wait is over for Josh Mahura.
The St. Albert product is a step closer to playing in the National Hockey League after the Anaheim Ducks selected the Red Deer Rebels’ defenceman in the third round, 85th overall, on day two of the entry draft in Buffalo.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for 13 years. It was so exciting,” Mahura told the Gazette on Monday. “It’s really indescribable. You’ve been dreaming of this day for when it happens for so long, since you were a little kid just starting to learn how to skate, and the fact that it happened to me I’m just so grateful and so excited for the opportunity.”
The greatest day of Mahura’s life played out at home with his family.
“I was sitting at the kitchen table. My mom and dad and brother were in the living room watching it on Sportsnet and I was kind of just behind the scenes minding my own business and then my phone rang and my agent was calling me. I answered it and he said the Anaheim Ducks were about to pick you and then it came up on the TV probably 10 seconds later. My agent said congratulations and my parents came over and hugged me so it was a really special moment for me and my family,” Mahura recalled. “My mom was a little emotional and my dad was really excited. It brought a little tear to my eye too. I’m not much of a crier but it was one of those situations where it’s once in a lifetime.”
The next phone call was from the Ducks.
“I talked to Todd Marchant (director of player development) and he congratulated me and told me about the development camp and I would be getting information on that.”
Mahura, 18, realized he had a shot at the draft following his second bantam AAA season with the Gregg Distributors Sabres. The former captain of the Sabres played for the 2013/14 Okanagan Hockey Academy midget and prep teams, and in a combined 58 games recorded 25 goals and 66 points. He also skated on the 2013 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup gold-medal winning Alberta team.
“It never really occurred to me NHL draft-wise until I entered my midget year. Obviously when you’re growing up you’re just looking forward to the bantam draft and once that kind of passed me it was the NHL draft and I was looking forward to it,” said the second round, 36th overall, selection by Red Deer as the ninth overall defenceman taken in the 2013 Western Hockey League bantam draft.
“For me it kind of really set in when I got into Red Deer when I was 16. I kind of didn’t have the best first half of the season and then I picked it up in the second half and I thought maybe there was a chance for me next year.”
The six-foot, 179-pound Mahura was on the Central Scouting radar screen as a B-ranked prospect going into the 2015/16 season with the Memorial Cup hosts after two goals and eight points in 51 games for Red Deer and was a member of Team Canada’s summer U18 team that won gold at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
But in the first game of the season against the Calgary Hitmen, Mahura jammed his left knee along the boards trying to make a hit. At the time it didn’t seem serious and he played the next night but still felt some discomfort. Later that week an MRI revealed he suffered a torn MCL and a partial meniscus tear.
“It was really disappointing entering a big season and the Memorial Cup. At first it was just crazy how it happened and obviously I was really upset about it. Brent (Sutter, the head coach/general manager) told me (the extend of the injury) and I was down for about a week. I was pretty disappointed. I was like, ‘Why me? What’s going on?’
“After I got my surgery two weeks later I was working and rehabbing to get towards my first game back. My mind thought was all about what was going to happen throughout the year and what I needed to do to get back into the lineup quicker than expected.”
After five months he returned for the WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup, totaling two goals and two assists in 21 games combined.
“I think I handled it well. I tried taking it kind of game by game and getting better each game. It’s tough when you miss a full season and come back with the intensity raising another level,” said Mahura, who missed the 2015 World U17 Hockey Challenge due to the injury.
The selection by the Ducks made the lengthy rehabilitation process all worthwhile.
“Absolutely. During the season I didn’t overly think too much about the draft. It was more just I wanted to start playing hockey and start playing the sport I loved and start playing with my teammates again and go into battle with them and then after the Memorial Cup, when I went out to the combine and got through my interviews, it kind of all came into perspective so it was a little bit more special. I worked really hard this year and it’s all kind of paying off right now but the hard work just starts again and I have to keep going and working hard.”
At the scouting combine in Buffalo, Mahura finished in the top 25 in bench press reps and was 23rd in the VO2 max output.
“It was another really good experience going through this whole draft process, going through the interviews and all that stuff,” he said. “It was a whirlwind right after the Memorial Cup. I pretty much flew out a couple of days after we got knocked out and got down there and got through interviews and did the testing. It was a lot of fun and a good learning experience.”
Mahura will now focus on the upcoming season with Red Deer after the Anaheim development camp.
“I want to take on a bigger leadership role because we’re losing quite a bit of the older guys so that will be a big thing for me,” he said. “Playing-wise I just want to step in again, keep contributing and getting better from last season. Obviously I didn’t play overly that much but I still want to continually improve.”
