Travis Ewanyk’s childhood dream was realized Saturday when his name was announced at the National Hockey League entry draft.
After waiting out the festivities of the first round of the draft, Ewanyk was selected in the third round by the Edmonton Oilers.
“It’s definitely an honour because of the hometown aspect. I would have been happy with it being any of the 30 teams but to have it be the Oilers makes it that much more special,” said Ewanyk.
As the 74th overall pick, Ewanyk joins the ranks of Clarke MacArthur, Dave Elliot and Sergei Fedorov who were picked in the exact same position.
The assistant captain with the Edmonton Oil Kings will now focus his attention on the upcoming Oilers’ camp.
“I’m going to play my game and see what happens,” said Ewanyk. “I’ll probably go back to the Oil Kings and we’re going to have a great young team this year. It’s a great group of guys and we’re going to have a chance to win a championship in the next couple of years. I’ll enjoy that and keep working on my game and go from there.”
Ewanyk, 18, is coming off a breakthrough performance with the Oil Kings, which earned the versatile forward a roster spot on Team Canada at the U18 worlds in Germany. His 16 goals and 11 assists in 72 games, including a robust 126 penalty minutes, raised his WHL totals to 17-15-32 in 116 games.
Playing minor, junior and pro hockey in the same area is an opportunity that is not lost on the St. Albert product.
“It has kind of worked out like that. With the Oil Kings drafting me and now with the Oilers, you don’t see that too often. I can just say that I’m really privileged and really fortunate,” said the former bantam AAA Sabre and midget AAA Raider.
As for life after the WHL, Ewanyk is looking ahead to joining the roster of a dynamic group of young players in Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Linus Omark, Magnus Paajarvi and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the number-one pick in the draft from the Red Deer Rebels.
“Living here and seeing what the team has gone through lately, how many great young players they have and with the new rink they have coming, it’s a very exciting time,” said Ewanyk, the Oil Kings’ unsung hero award winner who drew rave reviews for his defensive play in checking Nugent-Hopkins in the opening playoff round.
