Braylon Shmyr doesn’t know much about Brandon, but he’s excited to find out.

The Wheat Kings made the 14-year-old Calgarian their first selection in the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft on Thursday, choosing the skilled forward with the 12th overall pick in the first round.

Shmyr said he didn’t have any expectations going into the draft and was thrilled to be chosen as early as he was.

“I was just on the tablet watching (the draft) live and all of a sudden the Brandon Wheat Kings come along and I was just wondering ‘oh, who is Brandon going to pick?’,” said Shmyr, a 5-foot-8, 130-pound natural centre who played mainly left wing last season for the Calgary Bisons of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.

“Then, as soon (Wheat Kings GM Kelly McCrimmon) came on and said my name, I was like ‘holy cow, that’s amazing.’ I was just totally in shock, but at the same time very excited.

“I’m very excited just to experience something new. That’s what hockey’s all about, to experience new places.”

Playing on a line with Nick Merkley, who went three picks earlier in the draft to the Kelowna Rockets, Shmyr finished fourth in the AMBHL with 38 goals and 69 points in 33 games. He added eight goals and a team-leading 16 points in nine playoff games as the Bisons won the South Division final before losing in the championship series to Edmonton’s SSAC Lions.

If Shmyr takes after his older brother and sister, the Wheat Kings could have a speed demon on their hands. His sister, Courtney, is a Canada Games gold medal winner in short track speed skating, while his brother, Tyler, is also a former elite speed skater who is now involved in mountain bike and BMX racing.

“We’re very competitive,” Shmyr said of his relationship with his siblings, who also include hockey-playing younger brother Cayden.

The Wheat Kings followed in the second round by using the 35th overall pick —acquired from Saskatoon in a trade that sent veteran Brenden Walker to the Blades — to select defenceman Tanner Browne of Kelowna, B.C.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Browne had 22 goals and 55 points in 63 games for Pursuit of Excellence, the same hockey academy that produced current Wheat Kings blue-liner Ayrton Nikkel.

In the third round (50th overall), the Wheat Kings chose 5-foot-11, 157-pound right-winger Dakota Boutin of Moosomin, Sask., who had 24 goals and 48 points in 19 games for the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League this season.

“We added some real good players to our organization,” McCrimmon said. “There’s a lot of depth. We drafted 14 players, which is a high number, and really every different stage of the draft we liked the players we were picking from and the selections that we made.

“With Braylon Shmyr, we get tremendous skill and offensive upside with our first pick. Tanner Browne is a big, strong physical defenceman with our second pick. Dakota Boutin we think is a real talented player (and) has good size, good skill.”

Players picked aren’t eligible to play full-time in the WHL until 2013-14. Others selected by the Wheat Kings were:

•Kirklan Lycar (fourth round, 78th overall) — a 5-foot-10, 166-pound centre from the Eastman Bantam AAA Selects.

•Mark Matsuba (fourth, 81st) — a 5-foot-11, 156-pound defenceman from the St. Albert Bantam AAA Sabres.

•Jesse Gabrielle (fifth, 100th) — a 5-foot-10, 184-pound left-winger from Moosomin, who played for Maple Grove high school in Minnesota.

•Mark Taraschuk (sixth, 112th) — a 5-foot-10, 168-pound defenceman from the Winnipeg Bantam AAA Warriors.

•Tristen Elder (sixth, 116th) — a 6-foot-1, 159-pound right-winger from the North East Bantam AA Wolfpack in Saskatchewan.

•Logan Thompson (sixth, 122nd) — a 5-foot-11, 154-pound goalie who played with Shmyr on the Bisons.

•Wade Allison (seventh, 144th) — a 5-foot-10, 147-pound right-winger from the Pembina Valley Bantam AAA Hawks.

•Conner Lukan (eighth, 166th) — a 5-foot-9, 147-pound centre from the Spruce Grove Bantam AAA Saints in Alberta.

•Liam MacLeod (ninth, 188th) — a 5-foot-10, 170-pound left-winger, who played with Allison on the Hawks.

• Aaron Kellogg (10th, 210th) — a 5-foot-11, 195-pound defenceman from the Fort Saskatchewan Bantam AAA Rangers.

•Evan Werle (11th, 232nd) — a 5-foot-7, 147-pound defenceman with the Notre Dame Bantam AAA Hounds in Saskatchewan.

» rhenders@brandonsun.com

First Round:

1. Seattle, C Matthew Barzal, 5-9, 160 pounds,

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

2. Prince George, C Jansen Harkins, 5-10, 145,

North Shore (B.C.) Bantam AAA Winterhawks

3. Prince Albert, D Brendan Guhle, 6-1, 157,

Sherwood Park (Alta.) Bantam AAA Flyers

4. Lethbridge, C Giorgio Estephan, 5-11, 168,

Edmonton SSAC Bantam AAA Lions

5. Swift Current, C Glenn Gawdin, 6-1, 170,

Seafair (B.C.) Bantam AAA Islanders

6. Red Deer, C Adam Musil, 6-1, 160,

Burnaby Winter Club Bantam AAA Bruins

7. Prince George, C Brad Morrison, 5-9, 130,

Okanagan (B.C.) Bantam AAA Red

8. Victoria, C Tyler Soy, 5-11, 155,

Cloverdale (B.C.) Bantam AAA Colts

9. Kelowna, C Nick Merkley, 5-9, 162,

Calgary Bantam AAA Bisons

10. Kootenay, D Troy Murray, 5-11, 162,

Prairie (Sask.) Bantam AA Storm

11. Everett, D Kevin Davis, 5-11, 155,

Kamloops Bantam AAA Blazers

12. Brandon, C Braylon Shmyr, 5-8, 130,

Calgary Bantam AAA Bisons

13. Victoria, D Chaz Reddekopp, 6-2, 188,

Program of Excellence (B.C.) Bantam AAA

14. Spokane, D Evan Fiala, 6-2, 171,

Sask Valley Bantam AA Vipers

15. Vancouver, RW Ty Ronning, 5-5, 130,

Burnaby Winter Club Bantam AAA Bruins

16. Medicine Hat, D Ty Schultz, 5-11, 150,

Burnaby Winter Club Bantam AAA Bruins

17. Calgary, D Brennan Riddle, 6-1, 164,

Prairie Bantam AA Storm

18. Lethbridge, D Thomas Lenchyshyn, 6-0, 178,

Eastman Midget AAA Selects

19. Kamloops, C Jayden Halbgewachs, 5-7, 148,

Prairie Bantam AA Storm

20. Seattle, RW Keegan Kolesar, 5-11, 209,

Winnipeg Bantam AAA Hawks

21. Tri-City, D Parker Wotherspoon, 5-10, 142,

Cloverdale Bantam AAA Colts

22. Edmonton, G Patrick Dea, 5-10, 148,

St. Albert (Alta.) Bantam AAA Sabres

Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 4, 2012