Shea Busch experiences whirlwind NHL Draft week

While most of the country ended their night on July 4 watching fireworks and spending time with friends and family, Shea Busch ended his night curled up alone on the floor of the Los Angeles airport.

The Everett Silvertips forward had just a few hours to kill before his 6 a.m. flight back to his native North Vancouver, and after a day of delays, missed connectors and reroutes, he found a spot on the floor near his gate to get some rest before completing the final leg of his trip.

What would be a trip from hell for most was just the conclusion of a week where Busch’s lifelong dream came to fruition: The Florida Panthers selected him in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on June 28.

Busch knew the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions had interest in him based on pre-draft interviews, but was unsure if his name would be called. After speaking to half the teams in the NHL, Busch felt like his interview with Florida was the best based on how long it went and how deep they got with the questions, asking about his family as well as his experience in Everett.

“I could tell they liked me,” Busch told The Herald over the phone. “But I wasn’t sure if I was going to be drafted in the fourth round like I did. I thought if I was going to get drafted, I was going to be more of, like, a later sixth- or seventh-round pick, and maybe even undrafted. But yeah, I was super grateful (for) them picking me.”

Following his selection, Busch quickly flew out to South Florida to participate in the Panthers’ development camp from June 30-July 3. He found himself in Los Angeles at the end of the week after a series of issues getting home.

His first plane to Chicago sat on the ground for half an hour after landing while waiting for a gate assignment, since the airport was extra crowded due to the holiday. By the time he got deplaned, his connector to Vancouver had already departed. Busch was rebooked to Los Angeles, arriving just a few hours before an early morning flight home on July 5.

“(I) kind of just grabbed the floor and just slept there for a couple hours,” Busch said.

A week earlier, Busch was at his family’s cabin just north of Kamloops, B.C. with his parents, Rob and Matina; his grandparents, Michael and Elizabeth; and his sister, Dayja, to watch the draft. Given the uncertainty surrounding his landing spot, his parents told Busch how proud they were regardless of what happened. A selection would be a dream come true, but going undrafted would be “just a bump in the road.”

As the draft rolled towards the end of the fourth round, Busch’s agent, Shane Corston, called his phone. Corston was at the draft in person, and subtly broke the news to Busch since the television feed was slightly behind.

“He was like, ‘You’re watching the draft? How are you feeling?’ and stuff,” Busch said. “I hadn’t gotten picked yet, so he’s like, ‘Alright, call me back in a couple minutes. I’m pretty sure you’re going to be excited.’”

Sure enough, the Panthers made their pick and the celebration started. Rob and Matina shed some tears, and Shea took in the moment surrounded by family, filled with happiness and some shock. Just a year ago, he would not have believed he would end up an NHL draft pick out of the WHL.

After starting the season with the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL, where he scored 12 goals and 17 points in 22 games, Busch signed a Scholarship and Development Agreement with Everett on Dec. 6, shortly after CHL-NCAA eligibility rules changed. Busch is committed to Penn State, and previously would not have been eligible for the NCAA if he played in the CHL. With that restriction lifted, Busch could fulfill another childhood goal of playing in the WHL.

Busch scored 19 points in 39 games with the Silvertips through the rest of the season, but stepped up his game in the playoffs while top scorers such as Carter Bear and Tyler MacKenzie were out of the lineup due to injury.

In the first round against the Seattle Thunderbirds, Busch scored seven points in six games to help push Everett to a series win. Silvertips general manager Mike Fraser called that series Busch’s “coming out party,” and the Panthers solidified that notion with their investment in him.

“That series against Seattle, he might have been our best forward, to be honest with you,” Fraser told The Herald on June 26. “He’s another kid that has the right attitude and knows the things that he needs to work on to get better, and does it.”

Although Everett lost in seven games to Portland in the next round, Busch called this past season his “most fun year in hockey,” after not only getting a chance to play in the WHL, but also playing for a team that won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for having the best regular-season record.

“My dad always says, too, ‘A lot can happen in a year.’ … (It was) definitely a memorable one,” Busch said. “There’s no other way I’d rather it play out.”

After Florida picked him, more phone calls started coming in. In addition to a congratulatory call from Silvertips coach Steve Hamilton, Busch received calls from different members of the Panthers organization, setting the stage for the next steps. He needed to arrive in Florida the following day for development camp, meaning he had to get across the continent quickly.

After about an hour of celebrating, Busch drove back to Vancouver to get his stuff together. The Panthers arranged his flight for the following morning, and the trip there went much smoother than the way back.

In development camp, Busch got to train with and compete against his fellow Panthers prospects that came from all different levels of competition — the NCAA, professional leagues abroad, etc. — which allowed him to determine how he compared at this stage of his development.

“Good size, plays in the hard areas,” Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito said about Busch in his post-draft press conference on June 28. “There’s kind of a theme with some of these guys of getting ‘hard’ players, and hopefully having them prepared for coach (Paul) Maurice when they get here.”

Off the ice, Busch had a chance to learn more about the organization and also see members of the championship team such as Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Gustav Forsling. Every part of the experience gave him a solid impression of exactly what type of organization he was now affiliated with.

“Coming into the practice rink, I could feel, like, that they’re a winning culture,” Busch said. “They take everything super seriously, whether it’s your preparation on and off the ice, and prioritizing recovery and things like that. And I feel like those little things off the ice is what helps them be dominant.”

Now back home for the summer, Busch plans to focus primarily on improving his skating ahead of the upcoming season. Contrary to reports that he will enroll at Penn State for the 2025-26 season, Busch confirmed to The Herald that he will return to Everett, but he looks forward to playing in State College in the future.

“I’m excited. I think it’s best for my development just to play one more year in the Western Hockey League,” Busch said. “And then probably go to college after that. … I think the facilities are next to none (at Penn State), just also seeing the school part of it too, it was like a magical, magical place.”

For this upcoming season, though, Busch expressed strong belief in the Silvertips’ core. After injuries hampered Everett’s potential last season, Busch is hoping the team can make a run at the WHL Championship and earn the opportunity to play for the Memorial Cup.

“I think that we’re going to have a really good team in Everett again,” Busch said. “I’m excited to see what we can do.”