Development camp invite gives undrafted D-man a foot in the door

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This article was published 07/07/2023 (882 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Much is written about the young hockey players who hear their names called out on draft day each summer. What about the ones who don’t?

“I didn’t know where or even which round, but I was pretty confident,” 18-year-old defenceman Jordan Tourigny told the Free Press on Friday about attending the most recent NHL talent showcase last week in Nashville.

Seven rounds came and went, with a total of 224 teens officially joining the 32 NHL organizations. Tourigny was not among them.

“I had family and friends with me. I think that was what was pretty hard,” said the Quebec product, who put up 41 points (six goals, 35 assists) in 67 games with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season

“After, I just stayed calm in my hotel room and kept myself on the ground. There’s maybe a reason why it happened. It just brought me to a different mindset. And I’m not here trying to prove to everybody I belong.’

“Here” is the Winnipeg Jets development camp, where Tourigny is among the 10 invited skaters joining 17 drafted prospects on the ice this week at the hockey for all centre.

“Right after the draft ended I just wanted to go back to my hotel. My agent grabbed me and said the Winnipeg Jets want to talk to you,” said Tourigny.

“So, a person came in the stands. That was something I could hold on to.”

Just like being selected is no guarantee of ever playing in the NHL, not getting called isn’t the end of pro hockey dreams. Tourigny’s older brother, Miguel, was passed over in his draft year, and again the following season, before the Montreal Canadiens took him in the seventh round last summer.

“I’ve seen him grow up with this and keep working, so I know anything’s possible,” said Tourigny. “When all my disappointment went down and then when I heard the Jets wanted me to come here I was really happy. The Jets have a great organization, the fans are good, the city is good. Just being here in camp is awesome.”

Whether it’s a one-off or ultimately leads to a contract offer (or future draft selection) down the road remains to be seen. But it’s a foot in a door that must have seemed to have been slammed shut just a week ago.

At 5-11 but just 165 pounds, Tourigny knows he has to put on some additional muscle. His team reached the Memorial Cup in 2022 and then an appearance at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup which, he says, limited his training and may have cost him in the short-term.

“I’m just focusing on gaining weight, getting more physique and then I think things will go well,” he said.

Unlike Tourigny, Evan Friesen did not head to Music City last week, nor was he expecting to get drafted. The 18-year-old forward from Winnipeg, who put up 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) with the hometown Ice of the Western Hockey League last year, was just as thrilled to get the invite.

“It’s a great feeling. Grew up watching the Jets, so couldn’t have been happier,” he said Friday.

Friesen was actually in Czechia when he got the call from his agent, as he was one of the nine Manitobans to lead Canada to a gold medal in the ISBHF World U20 Ball Hockey Championship.

“That was a great experience. It was my first time in Europe. I’ll cherish everything that happened there, remember everything that happened there,” said Friesen. “Obviously, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Friesen is headed back to junior this fall, but it won’t be in his own backyard. The Ice were recently sold to a group that is re-locating them to Wenatchee, Wash.

“It was a little bit of a shock. Kind of came out nowhere to people,” said Friesen. “I’m a little bit disappointed that I don’t get to play at home, live at home. I’ve played in Winnipeg my whole life. But I’m kind of excited to experience the whole billet situation and play hockey in a different town. I think it’s going to be fun.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg