Jeremy Swayman’s draft day in 2017 didn’t quite go as expected.
Swayman was taken in the fourth round, 111th overall by the Boston Bruins. But it was another Original Six team that he was expecting to hear from that day.
During an appearance on the “Empty Netters” podcast, the goaltender said that the Toronto Maple Leafs had their eye on him while he was playing in the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. Swayman’s agent thought that he was likely going to be a Maple Leaf by the end of the draft.
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman makes a save against the Winnipeg Jets in March. John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP
That was until Toronto picked goaltender Ian Scott. After the pick, Swayman lost hope of playing in a Maple Leafs jersey.
“The fourth round came and Toronto was up 110 and they picked a goalie,” Swayman said. “It was like ‘All right, maybe not this year,’ that kind of thing. Kind of bummed but at the same time hopeful still cause I talked to other teams.”
The 24-year-old did not have to wait much longer for that hope to pay off — as the Bruins wound up taking him one pick later. However, the Bruins were not the ones to break the news to him.
“I get a text and it’s from my buddy actually from Alaska,” Swayman said. “He was at the draft and he said, ‘Congrats Sway,’ and I’m like, ‘What?’”
Swayman knew the next pick was the Bruins. His agent also called him to say he was going to Boston. The problem was he was not convinced because he had still not seen the Bruins choose him.
“My phone starts blowing up and it’s real,” Swayman said. “Finally, I’m like reloading this thing on and on and on and it shows up.”
Swayman’s disappointment quickly turned into a celebration with his family.
“We had a pretty good celebration. It was totally unexpected, which is the coolest part, I think,” Swayman said. “You’re so devastated for one second and the next second it’s like a new world opens up. That was a pretty cool experience to share with them, and I’m glad it turned out the way it did.”
Over the past three seasons in Boston, Swayman has appeared in 88 games in net. Over that time, he’s gone 54-23-7 with a .920 save percentage and 2.24 goals against average.
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