Joey LaLeggia recieved an early birthday gift.
Saturday, on the eve of turning 20, LaLeggia got a wake-up call from the Edmonton Oilers telling him he was the second pick in the fifth round of the NHL draft.
LaLeggia received another call a few minutes later from one of his best friends, Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
“We’ve talked about how awesome it would be if I got to go to the Oilers,” said LaLeggia, a 5-foot-9, 182-pound sophomore defenseman at the University of Denver.
“One of my best friends in life is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins,” LaLeggia said from his home in Burnaby, British Columbia. “I’ve known him forever, so it’s great to be with the same organization as him.”
Nugent-Hopkins, last year’s No. 1 pick by the Oilers,
grew up playing hockey with LaLeggia at the Burnaby Winter Club and on the Northwest Giants midget hockey team.
Draft eligibility in the NHL is from 18 to 20 years old.
LaLeggia was disappointed he wasn’t chosen in the 2010 and 2011 drafts and said if he wasn’t picked in his final year of eligibility, he’d put his hopes in free agency.
But in his first season with the Pioneers, LaLeggia made his name hard to ignore.
After leading the nation’s defensemen in points, goals and assists — with 38, 11 and 27, respectivley — LaLeggia was named the 2012 NCAA and Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s rookie of the year.
Having been passed over in the NHL draft twice previously, LaLeggia didn’t bother to wake up early Saturday to see when, where or even if his name would be called.
“This is my third year in the draft, and I’m one to know you never count your chickens before they hatch,” LaLeggia said.
Out of all the years he entered the draft, LaLeggia was confident this year was his best chance, and he knew teams were interested in him.
“I was just hoping that if I was to de drafted that it would be to the right team and the right place and the right situation, and I believe all those things came true to me today,” LaLeggia said.
Ros Dumlao: 303-954-1295 or rdumlao@denverpost.com
