Wheat Kings ready to pick up prospects

While the first overall pick appears at a glance to be a no-brainer, how Thursday’s Western Hockey League Bantam Draft in Calgary plays out beyond that is anyone’s guess.

The Seattle Thunderbirds hold the first pick after winning the WHL’s draft lottery and the expectation is they will choose highly-talented centre Matthew Barzal, who is already drawing comparisons to fellow Burnaby Winter Club product and current National Hockey League standout Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Beyond that, the field is relatively wide open, and Brandon Wheat Kings director of player personnel Al Macpherson believes that the talent is spread out enough that his team will have quality options by the time their pick rolls around at No.12.

"The popular consensus seems to be that (Barzal) will go very high in the draft," Macpherson said. "I think it’s safe to say that there are several other players who are not all that far behind him as far as a lot of other people are concerned, and there’s a good crop of players available."

After their 12th choice, the Wheat Kings don’t pick again until the third round, 50th overall. The first-round pick (13th overall) they acquired from Saskatoon in the 2011 Brayden Schenn trade was flipped to the Victoria Royals in the deal that brought Kevin Sundher to Brandon, while their second-rounder was part of the package that went to the Blades for Darian Dziurzynski last fall.

While the first couple of rounds might be quiet for Brandon, the team has eight picks in the top six rounds and after taking in the elite provincial tournaments over the last month, Macpherson is confident that there is a solid group of 1997-born players available this year.

"As it’s turned out, I think it is a deep draft," he said. "Some of the camps that we’ve been to over the last three or four weeks here have made that quite evident that it’s probably going to be a better draft than maybe we thought a couple months ago."

And it’s those picks deeper in the draft where Brandon has really shined. While even high picks can be hit or miss when it comes to choosing players who can’t even become WHL regulars for two years, this season’s Wheat Kings featured players like Mark Stone (fifth round, 2007 draft), Brenden Walker (11th round, 2007) and Ryan Pulock (seventh round, 2009) who were absolute steals on draft day.

"It’s so important if you can, in those top rounds, to get players that may become star players," Wheat Kings general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. "At the same time, I really feel that to acquire depth in an age group hinges on how successful you are in the mid to late rounds of the draft. I think that ideally you want six to eight players that will end up playing on your team as they get older."

There are plenty of wild cards in today’s draft, particularly with four teams (Seattle, Prince George, Lethbridge and Victoria) who have two picks in the first round, perhaps giving them the opportunity to take a chance with one of their selections. Gamblers might look at Burnaby Winter Club forward Adam Musil, a potential second overall pick who could slide because of concerns he only wants to play for Vancouver where his brother David plays.

Closer to home, forwards Colt Conrad of St. Alphonse and Boissevain’s Meyer Nell are among the top prospects in this area. Goalie Tyson Verhelst and forward Jordan Stallard are good prospects from Brandon, while forward Rylee Zimmer of Russell could also be chosen relatively early.

» rhenders@brandonsun.com

SCOUTING REPORT:

The Brandon Sun’s list of possible first-round selections in Thursday’s WHL Bantam Draft, compiled from interviews with scouts from across the league (team selecting in parentheses):

1. (Seattle) C Matthew Barzal, 5-10, 160 pounds,

Burnaby (B.C.) Winter Club Bantam AAA Bruins

2. (Prince Albert) C Giorgio Estaphan, 5-11, 165,

SSAC (Edmonton) Bantam AAA Lions

3. (Prince George) C Jansen Harkins, 5-11, 155,

North Vancouver Bantam AAA Winterhawks

4. (Lethbridge) C Nick Merkley, 5-9, 160,

Calgary Bantam AAA Bisons

5. (Swift Current) LW Jayden Halbgewachs, 5-7, 152,

Prairie (Sask.) Bantam AA Storm

6. (Red Deer) C/RW Adam Musil, 6-1, 165,

Burnaby Bantam AAA Bruins

7. (Everett) D Tate Olson, 6-0, 170,

Saskatoon Bantam AA Stallions

8. (Victoria) C Tyler Soy, 5-11, 160,

Cloverdale (B.C.) Bantam AAA Colts

9. (Kelowna) RW Glenn Gawdin, 6-0, 172,

Seafair (B.C.) Bantam AAA Islanders)

10. (Kootenay) D Ty Schultz, 6-0, 160,

Burnaby Bantam AAA Bruins

11. (Prince George) D Thomas Lenchyshyn, 6-1, 185,

Eastman Midget AAA Selects

12. (Brandon) C Regan Nagy, 5-11, 155

Weyburn (Sask.) Bantam AA Wings

13. (Victoria) D Joe Gatenby, 6-0, 160,

Program of Excellence (Kelowna, B.C.) Bantam AAA

14. (Spokane) D Parker Wotherspoon, 5-11, 160,

Cloverdale Bantam AAA Colts

15. (Vancouver) C Brad Morrison, 5-9, 150,

OHA (Penticton, B.C.) Bantam AAA Red

16. (Medicine Hat) D Ethan Bear, 5-11, 180,

Kelowna POE Bantam AAA

17. (Calgary) C Colt Conrad, 5-8, 150,

Pembina Valley Bantam AAA Hawks

18. (Lethbridge) D Chazz Reddekopp, 6-2, 190

Kelowna POE Bantam AAA

19. (Kamloops) D Brady Reagan, 6-2, 190,

OHA Bantam AAA Red

20. (Seattle) RW Ty Ronning, 5-7, 140,

Burnaby Bantam AAA Bruins

21. (Tri-City) D Keoni Texeira, 5-11, 192,

L.A. Bantam AAA Selects

22. (Edmonton) D Brennan Riddle, 6-1, 175,

Prairie Bantam AA Storm

Other candidates: C Chris Seto, 5-10, 160, Cloverdale Bantam AAA Colts; D Troy Murray, 6-0, 155, Prairie Bantam AA Storm; D Tanner Browne, 5-11, 190, Kelowna POE Bantam AAA; G Nick McBride, 6-2, 165, Burnaby Bantam AAA Bruins; C Robby Jackson, 5-8, 160, L.A. Bantam AAA Selects.

MANITOBA’S TOP 10:

1. D Thomas Lenchyshyn, 6-1, 185,

Eastman Midget AAA Selects

2. C Colt Conrad, 5-8, 150,

Pembina Valley Bantam AAA Hawks

3. C Jackson Keane, 5-7, 120,

Winnipeg Bantam AAA Monarchs

4. D Ryan Gardiner, 5-11, 165,

Winnipeg Bantam AAA Sharks

5. RW Keegan Kolesar, 6-1, 195,

Winnipeg Bantam AAA Hawks

6. C Braden Purtill, 5-10, 171,

Winnipeg Bantam AAA Sharks

7. C Meyer Nell, 5-9, 147,

Westman South Bantam AAA Cougars

8. G Tyson Verhelst, 5-10, 175,

Brandon Bantam AA Wheat Kings

9. C Kirkland Lycar, 5-10, 160,

Eastman Bantam AAA Selects

10. C Rylee Zimmer, 6-0, 150,

Notre Dame (Sask.) Bantam AAA Hounds

Other candidates: C Jordan Stallard, 5-8, 135, Brandon Bantam AA Wheat Kings; G Cole Kehler, 5-11, 150, Pembina Valley Bantam AAA Hawks; LW Garrett Armour, 6-2, 184, Winnipeg Bantam AAA Hawks.

WESTMAN’S TOP 8:

1. C Colt Conrad, 5-8, 150,

Pembina Valley Bantam AAA Hawks

2. C Meyer Nell, 5-9, 147,

Westman South Bantam AAA Cougars

3. G Tyson Verhelst, 5-10, 175,

Brandon Bantam AA Wheat Kings

4. C Rylee Zimmer, 6-0, 150,

Notre Dame (Sask.) Bantam AAA Hounds

5. C Jordan Stallard, 5-8, 135,

Brandon Bantam AA Wheat Kings

6. LW Wyatt Kalynuk, 5-8, 125,

Westman South Bantam AAA Cougars

7. D Cole Oliver, 5-10, 163,

Westman South Bantam AAA Cougars

8. D James Shearer, 5-6, 165,

Brandon Bantam AA Wheat Kings

Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 2, 2012