Magical moment for Milic

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This article was published 29/06/2023 (804 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thomas Milic was in the middle of a skating session in his hometown of Coquitlam, B.C., when all heck broke loose on Thursday.

“We have this big gym that overlooks the ice surface,” the 20-year-old goaltender told the Free Press in a telephone chat. “All of a sudden all these kids that were up in the gym start banging the glass, giving me the thumbs up.”

Milic raced from his crease to the bench, where his phone had been placed, and picked it up. The incredible news was staring him in the face: He’d just been drafted by the Winnipeg Jets.

“That was a pretty cool way to find out for me,” he said.

Unlike so many young hockey prospects, Milic wasn’t glued to a television waiting to see if his name got called out. He’d gone down that road before — in 2021 and again in 2022 when every NHL team passed on him.

Again and again and again.

Now, as an overager, he wasn’t holding his breath, even though he’d just completed a dream season in the crease.

A gold medal with Canada at the World Junior Championship, where he went 5-0-0 with a 1.76 GAA and .923 SV%. A Western Hockey League goaltender-of-the-year award, along with being named a first-team all-star, after going 27-3-1 with a 2.08 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in the regular season for the Seattle Thunderbirds.

And a WHL playoff MVP award after going 16-3 with a 1.95 GAA and .933 SV%, leading the Thunderbirds to the Memorial Cup where they ultimately lost in the final to the Quebec Ramparts. The road to the Canadian title game included beating the Winnipeg Ice in the WHL championship.

“Of course it was a little discouraging at first (to not get picked the last two years) but you know, looking back at it now, I think it was a good thing for me,” said Milic.

“I definitely used that to fuel the fire and it really didn’t set me back at all. Just continue to have success with my team down in Seattle there. I’m super fortunate how it panned out now over the three-year span. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be.”

Milic had talked to the Jets a couple times and knew they had some interest, but wasn’t sure if that would translate to a selection.

“Everyone I spoke with on their staff was awesome. Seemed to really get along with them well,” he said. “I’m super pumped it worked out the way it did.”

The humble, soft-spoken Milic said he’s been fortunate to play on some talented teams and quickly gave credit to those around him. But Jets director of amateur scouting Mark Hillier said the young goaltender has worked hard to get to this point.

“He’s one of those kids that I have the feeling he’s not going to be denied,” Hillier told reporters in Nashville following the draft.

“Traditionally goalies are bigger these days. He’s a little over six-foot, but he’s one of those kids that has had success after success. His stats are off the charts in the league. He’s one of those kids that has put in a tremendous amount of work. He’s a draft-and-sign guy (meaning) he’ll turn pro right away. We have Dom DiVincentiis coming next year. I think our goaltending looks good in the future.”

Indeed, Winnipeg now has the reigning WHL and OHL goaltenders of the year, with DiVincentiis, a 7th-round pick last year, capturing the honours out east with his North Bay Battalion.

Milic has spent the past few weeks resting up after such a marathon hockey season which only ended for him May 29. He’ll come to Winnipeg next week to get acquainted with the organization at its development camp, then likely jump right from junior to the Manitoba Moose this fall.

“I’m going do my best to continue working hard through development camp and the rest of summer,” he said. “I think that’ll be a pretty nice way to hopefully start off my pro hockey career down the road.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg