‘The biggest exhales out ever:’ Meet the last player taken in this year’s NHL draft
Global News
Nova Scotia's Tyler Peddle was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the last pick of the 2023 NHL entry draft in Nashville, Tenn. He calls it the best moment of his life.
Tyler Peddle of Antigonish, N.S. spent four or five hours “holding his breath” while he sat inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena — anxiously hoping to hear his name selected during this year’s NHL Draft — as a once-packed room slowly began to clear out on Thursday.
As time dragged on, Peddle admitted he began to experience some doubts as the draft progressed into the last round.
“I did think it was a possibility … that I would slip through the draft,” he said on Friday. “But you can’t react because you don’t know what will happen.”
It wasn’t until the very last call of the draft — in Round 7 — that his patience paid off.
“It was the best moment of my life,” he said.
“For the next hour, I think I was letting the biggest exhales out ever.”
The 18-year-old, who spent his last two seasons with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the 224th overall pick.
