Sometimes, getting a front-row seat to a major moment in sports is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Just ask Swan Valley’s Will Munro.
When Tij Iginla was drafted sixth overall by the (newly relocated) Utah hockey team at last month’s NHL entry draft, Munro was there to share in the moment.
Iginla, son of NHL great Jarome Iginla, was a teammate of Munro’s last year with the Kelowna Rockets, and the two clicked almost immediately. This paved the way for Munro to be at the high profile hockey event in Las Vegas.
“When Tij first got traded from Seattle (back in 2022), they (the Kelowna Rockets management) put us together as we have a lot of the same interests,” said Munro. “We don’t do too much outside of hockey, and kept a low profile. Then we started to become fast friends, rode the bus together, and we started to hang out.”
Munro says with having such a high-profile father, Tij much preferred to keep a low profile, and stay out of the spotlight.
“But he’s serious about his hockey,” said Munro about Iginla, who put up 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games last year. “And if he wanted someone to talk to about things, I was there for him.”
Which led to last month’s NHL draft, which has become more elaborate as years have gone by. This year the league held the draft in the Sphere, the newest entertainment destination which includes a 360 degree video experience that has to be seen to believe. And as it happens, the Iginla family had one extra ticket for this year’s event.
“So Tij called me and said I have an extra ticket if you want to come down,” said Munro. Talk about a no-brainer.
“It was a chance to be part of an experience of a lifetime, so I hopped in on that,” he said.
As for draft day, Munro called it a “crazy experience”.
“You look behind you and there’s video – it’s 360,” he said. “We all sat down, and I met his father and his family. So when Tij was drafted, there was a big picture up on the screens of all of us. And there was one of me and him together on the screen, so that was a cool experience.”
Munro also got the chance to meet several hockey greats past and present at the draft.
“When we were on the plane coming back from Calgary I looked back and there was Adam Lowry, the Jets’ captain, on the plane,” he said. “I also got to the meet the owner (Ryan Smith) and general manager (Bill Armstrong) of Utah, so that was pretty cool.”
The three-day trip to Vegas was a bit of a whirlwind for the entire party. But of course being under the age of 21, Munro and Iginla couldn’t quite go everywhere in Las Vegas.
“I just kept a low profile, hung out at the hotel and enjoyed the hot weather – it’s a lot different from Swan River,” says Munro.
But, being part of the draft day experience with his friend was just the start of his adventure. The day he was to fly home, WestJet employees went on strike, leading to a bit of a diversion.
“I got the call around 5 a.m. from my mom saying your flights are cancelled except the one to Calgary, so we hopped on the flight to Calgary, and got stuck there for a minute as our connecting flight was to Kelowna,” he said. “Then we had to go downtown to rent a car (as the airport was sold out) and made the eight hour drive to Kelowna.
“When we got there I was able to see my billet family, which was good,” he added.
Munro then waited while WestJet dealt with their backlog, and ended up driving back to Calgary, only arriving back home in the Valley this past Saturday.
As for Munro’s hockey futures, that remains a bit of an unknown as his rights were released by the Rockets last week.
“I’m not too sure what I’m doing right now – I’m just waiting to see where everything falls into place,” says the 19-year-old. “I’m just going to keep doing my regular regiment and working hard. And when I find a place to play I’ll move forward with that. And what I really wanted was a fresh start and that’s what I’m going to get.”