Moose Jaw Warriors forward Jagger Firkus and his incredible Western Hockey League season might not have translated into a first round selection in the National Hockey League Draft, but he didn’t have to wait long on day two.
Firkus was the third player selected on day two of the Draft, going in the second round, 35th overall to the Seattle Kraken on Friday morning at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Firkus turned heads the second he stepped on the ice with the Warriors back in the 2019-20 campaign, where even as a 15-year-old he showed the kind of skill that would make him a bona fide WHL standout two seasons later.
The Irma, Alta. product had six goals and 14 points in 23 games in the East Division Hub in 2021, and then came the Firkus Circus in 2021-22. Not only did Firkus score 36 goals and 80 points in 66 games, he did so with such style that his draft stock rose incredibly quickly, eventually settling at 12th overall among North American skaters.
He joins fourth-overall selection Shane Wright in giving the Kraken a dynamic offensive connection for the foreseeable future.