It was quite the Saturday for Kamloops native Johnny Ludvig who realized his life-long dream.
The 6'1" Czech-Canadian defenseman for the WHL's Portland Winterhawks was drafted into the National Hockey League. After being selected in the third round, 69th overall, Ludvig explained he wasn't the first person to know he was drafted.
"I was at home, watching a stream that was about five minutes behind," said Ludvig. "I was sitting there, wasn't paying too close attention as it was the earlier rounds so I wasn't really expecting to be up there, and then my phone was on the ground and it started buzzing like crazy and my heart dropped. I got a call from my agent and he told me to 'get my sunglasses and sunscreen ready,' and I had no idea what he was talking about, and so I was asking him what team and he told me 'Florida.' It was a crazy moment."
Ludvig mentioned he hadn't spoken with Florida prior to the draft but noted Sunrise wouldn't be the worst spot to start a career.
"It feels good. I didn't really expect it, but I'm happy to be a Panther now. I hadn't talked to any teams at all actually leading up to the draft so I wasn't even sure if I was going to get drafted but they called me and said they wanted to keep things quiet and keep me off the radar so that's what they did."
With the 69th overall pick, the #FlaPanthers select defenseman John Ludvig. pic.twitter.com/fMG2AUeIfB
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 22, 2019
Ludvig adds that getting the chance to skate with the likes of Panther stars Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad would only add to his dream.
"It's going to be awesome. It's a dream come true, definitely."
Ludvig is the highest drafted Kamloops skater since Ryan Gropp was taken 41st overall by the New York Rangers in 2015.
"It's awesome, he's a good guy, good player, so I'm happy to be with him."
Ludvig went on to say he hopes his game will translate to the NHL level and he's happy to get the chance to explore Florida.
"Well, I think it's definitely a dying breed, the way I play, so I'm going to try and bring it back because I think it's important and teams need more grit which has started going away from the game, but I'm not going to change my game, I'm going to play hard and keep that style going."
"I'm going to try and get a good tan there for the summer, I'm heading there this week for camp and I'm going to try and get some tanning hours in there."
🚨DRAFTED🚨
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) June 22, 2019
Congratulations on being selected 69th overall by the Florida Panthers!
We’re proud of you, Johnny! pic.twitter.com/WhJO0xk4Xp
Last season, Ludvig finished with 18 points in 58 games with the Portland Winterhawks. He had the highest +/- in the WHL's Western Conference among defensemen with a +38 and was named the Winterhawks' Paul Gaustad Fitness Award winner for achieving the highest fitness results on the team.
Hey @FlaPanthers Fans 👋
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) June 22, 2019
Here's what you can expect from @jludzz! pic.twitter.com/OW20T79eEP
