Ty Smilanic of Elizabeth finally heard his name called 12 picks into the third round Wednesday, going 74th overall to the Florida Panthers during Day 2 of the NHL draft.
Smilanic, an 18-year-old freshman at Quinnipiac, was expected to go much earlier. The former midget triple-A star for the Colorado Thunderbirds was ranked 24th among North American skaters and was hoping to be selected in Tuesday night’s first round.
“It was really long,” Smilanic said of the wait he shared with his family at a hotel in Camden, Conn., outside the Quinnipiac campus.