You’ll have to excuse Moose Jaw Warriors forward Jagger Firkus if he seemed a little wide-eyed and in awe over the last couple weeks.
There aren’t very many 18-year-olds who go through what he’s been through since the beginning of the month without being a little bit overwhelmed with the whole thing.
Every since the Irma. Alta. product was selected in the second round, 35th overall by the Seattle Kraken in the National Hockey League Draft back on July 2, it’s been a constant stream of meeting the NHL team’s staff, going through his first development camp and just getting immersed in the world of elite professional hockey.
A dream come true, and one that he continues to live through.
“It’s been a big whirlwind, and if I’m being honest, it hasn’t all sunk in completely,” Firkus said on Wednesday afternoon. “It’s still kind of a shock and I don’t really know how to explain it, it’s really cool that it happened and I’m super-excited for the future.”
It all started on Day 1 of the Draft, which took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Firkus was right there in the stands when future teammate Shane Wright slipped to fourth, current teammate Denton Mateychuk was selected 12th overall and all 32 teams passed on him in the first round.
All that meant was having to put on the suit, go back to the arena the next day and spend all of 15 minutes waiting before Seattle called his name.
“I wasn’t too worried, it wasn’t the fact that I didn’t go in the first round, it was more about going to a team that believed in me and I really feel that Seattle believes in me,” Firkus said. “That’s all I really care about and for me personally, it’s just part of what happens. Not everything is going to go your way and it’s going to push me a bit harder going into the future. And just from what I’ve seen so far, it’s going to be awesome being in Seattle.”
That’s not to say that hearing his name called still wasn’t an absolutely surreal experience.
“There’s a lot of emotions that go through your head, but for me, I just kind of blacked out, it just didn’t seem real to me,” Firkus admitted. “It’s something you always dream about as a kid and now that it’s really happened, it’s a lot cooler than I expected as a kid, too.
“Then I had my whole family that came down and lots of buddies who were there, so we got to celebrate with them and that was great, they’ve been a big part of where I am and what I’m going to be doing.”
Firkus barely had a chance to have that experience register before he was on a flight out to the west coast for his first NHL Development Camp with the Kraken. There, he took the with the likes of Wright and his fellow 2022 Draft picks as well as many more of the club’s up-and-coming talent.
“Going out there and getting to see Seattle’s facilities and then playing against those guys who are top-end players was special,” Firkus said. “And then there was a shocking amount of fans at practice, so it was all something else… it’s something you’ve always kind of thought about, and now that it’s happened it’s great to be a part of.”
Firkus immediately drew comparisons to Toronto standout Mitch Marner from Seattle brass, giving an indication of how well camp went.
“I think I did pretty well, the coaches were happy with me and I was happy with how things went so I can’t complain,” Firkus said. “It was just a couple skates and some fitness testing and that was about it, it wasn’t too much and it wasn’t too hard. They were trying to teach us some things about nutrition and little things on the ice that we can bring back for the summer to work on.”
Odds are that unless something very interesting happens, Firkus will be back in a Warriors uniform this fall. He’ll find himself in a far, far different role compared to the previous two seasons, though, as is the case with any player selected as high as he was in the Draft.
“I’m super pumped,” he said. “This year I know I’m going to be a big part of the leadership group and I’m super excited about that. I have lots of good teammates and unbelievable guys in the room that I can lean on if I want to ask questions or how we’re going to do things, and Moose Jaw’s culture in the room, it’s next to none. There’s nothing like it and it’s a special group to be around. I love it in Moose Jaw.”
Of course, there’s one more little bit of business to attend to first -- the World Junior Summer Camp, which acts as the first step to landing a spot on the National Junior team this December. The camp runs from July 23 to 27 at Winsport Arena in Calgary.
“It’s pretty cool, and I’m looking forward to that, too,” Firkus said. “it’s something you work your whole life for and getting these opportunities is pretty awesome. I’m really excited for this camp coming up and I hope I can play well and show what I need to show.”
Season tickets for the 2022-23 WHL season are currently on sale, visit www.mjwarriors.ca for more information.
