Wheat Kings ready to make hay with top picks

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This article was published 01/05/2018 (2895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Wheat Kings head into this morning’s annual Western Hockey League bantam draft in Red Deer with four selections in the first 41 picks.

Wheat Kings general manager Grant Armstrong said it’s a great time for he and the team’s scouts, who are led by Darren Ritchie.

“It’s always exciting for everybody involved,” Armstrong said. “You go into the draft looking for those opportunities to make your hockey club better. We still feel that every draft contributes to our long-term success and with the amount of picks that we have this year, we should continue to make our team better and give ourselves a chance to be highly competitive and win.

“At the end of the day, that’s what this business is about, winning. We feel our scouts doing all the legwork certainly helps us and makes us go into the draft well prepared and essentially in a great position to make sure that we get the players who we feel are future Wheat Kings.”

The 22 WHL teams will be picking players born in 2003 from across Western Canada and the American states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The Wheat Kings have their own pick in the first round and then three in the second round, giving them a good chance to find some impact players in what’s considered a deep draft with a handful of top talents.

The first pick overall may be Carson Lambos of Winnipeg, the younger brother of Wheat Kings prospect Jonny.

The six-foot, 180-pound defenceman from Winnipeg could be the fifth Manitoban to be selected overall, following in the footsteps of Chris Nielsen of Goodlands (1995, Calgary Hitmen), Jonathan Toews of Winnipeg (2003, Tri-City Americans, never reported), Quinton Howden of Oakbank (2007, Moose Jaw Warriors) and Stelio Matheos of Winnipeg (2014, Wheat Kings).

When asked about potentially being taken first, the 15-year-old told Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press that nothing is certain.

“I don’t know, I’m going to have to wait till (today) to find out,” he said. “Nothing’s for sure until it happens. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Brandon has 12 picks in the first 10 rounds this year, but won’t be picking in the fourth, seventh and ninth rounds after past deals.

“There’s a little bit of everything,” Armstrong said of this year’s group of players. “I think there’s a handful of good quality young defencemen who will garner a lot of attention early in the draft. Also, sprinkled in are all the good offensive forwards. At this point, it’s an interesting draft because I don’t think that anybody really has captured the mindset of what the draft will end up being. There’s some consideration to a depth draft more than a concensus top 10 group.

“I think there is a lot of variance on teams’ lists and I think that’s where it’s really important that you do your work and have everything really laid out in proper sequence in relation to what the individual needs of your team are.”

A couple of the teams who were buyers at the trade deadline will be sitting for a while, with the Swift Current Broncos making their first selection in the fifth round with the 91st pick overall and the Regina Pats waiting until the sixth round with the 130th overall selection.

It will be a quieter year for players from Brandon.

After the Wheat City had players picked in the first round in 2017 (Daemon Hunt, 15th overall, Moose Jaw), in 2016 (Trent Minor, 20th overall Vancouver Giants) and in 2015 (Calen Addison, second overall, Lethbridge Hurricanes), there’s potential that no players will be selected at all this year.

However, a number of picks may be made from the Southwest Cougars, Yellowhead Chiefs and Parkland Rangers.

Armstrong said the draft is spread out geographically across the four provinces, with Alberta and B.C. likely to lead the way again.

But he added that Manitoba players will be selected.

“I would expect that Manitoba will get the number normal of players (drafted),” Armstrong said. “This province continues to produce good players and there has been a lot of emphasis on skill development and quality opportunities for players. The numbers will speak for themselves. We don’t expect it to be any less than has happened in the past few years.”

Manitoba had 36 players taken in the 2013, 2015 and 2016 drafts, 34 in 2014, 31 in 2012 and 26 in the 2017 event.

After picking defenceman Braden Schneider with their top choice in 2016 and adding forward Ridly Greig in the first round in 2017, the Wheat Kings have the ability to select whatever remains with their 15th pick today.

Just one goaltender, Lochlan Gordon of Edmonton, is looked at as a first-round prospect.

“It’s always our hope to get the best players available where we’re picking and build upon the success model that we had with the type of players that we acquired last year in the draft,” Armstrong said. “It’s important to us to continue to focus on skill and hockey sense and players that do it the right way.

“We also want players who are of strong character, and depend on our scouts, through their researching and gathering all the information that they can, to tell us about the players who are available as we pick.”

The Wheat Kings do have some bright days ahead at the draft table as well.

After deadline deals that sent veterans Kale Clague and Tanner Kaspick away at the trade deadline, the Wheat Kings have three first-round selections in the 2019 and 2021 drafts, including their own and those belonging to Moose Jaw and the Victoria Royals.

Armstrong is happy to add that responsibility to his 14-man scouting crew, which is spread across Western Canada.

“We have an outstanding crew,” Armstrong said. “They’re dedicated to the Brandon Wheat Kings and they are our biggest fans. They take a lot of pride in our approach and our appearance in rinks. They really are the lifeline of the organization. Without them and their vision, you have a real difficult time picking the right kind of players.

“They understand what we see and the value we see in the players and the degree that we look for, and they’re out there wearing it proudly and displaying what it is and what it takes to be a Brandon Wheat King.”

The draft begins at 9:30 a.m.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson

FIRST ROUND

1. Edmonton Oil Kings

2. Kootenay Ice

3. Prince Albert Raiders (from Prince George)

4. Calgary Hitmen

5. Kamloops Blazers

6. Saskatoon Blades

7. Red Deer Rebels

8. Lethbridge Hurricanes

9. Prince George Cougars (from Prince Albert)

10. Seattle Thunderbirds

11. Medicine Hat Tigers

12. Vancouver Giants

13. Victoria Royals

14. Tri-City Americans

15. Brandon Wheat Kings

16. Red Deer Rebels (from Regina)

17. Spokane Chiefs

18. Kelowna Rockets

19. Portland Winterhawks

20. Edmonton Oil Kings (from Everett)

21. Prince George Cougars (from Swift Current)

22. Moose Jaw Warriors

TOP PLAYERS

•Carson Lambos (RHA)

D, 6-0, 180, Winnipeg

•Logan Stankoven (Yale)

F, 5-7, 166, Kamloops, B.C.

•Zack Stringer (Lethbridge midget AAA)

F, 6-0, 150, Lethbridge, Alta.

•Dylan Guenther (Northern Alberta Xtreme)

F, 5-11, 155, Edmonton

•Sean Tschigerl (OHA Edmonton)

F, 5-10, 165, Whitecourt, Alta.

•Graham Sward (Yale)

D, 6-2, 165, Abbotsford, B.C.

•Jayden Grubbe (Calgary Bisons)

F, 6-1, 170, Calgary

•Cole Sillinger (OHA Penticton)

F, 5-9, 154, Regina

•Nolan Allan (Humboldt bantam AA)

D, 6-1, 166, Davidson, Sask.

•Zack Ostapchuk (Northern Alberta Xtreme)

F, 6-2, 175, St. Albert, Alta.

•Trevor Wong (St. Georges Academy)

F, 5-8, 135, Vancouver

•Dylan Guenther (Northern Alberta Xtreme)

F, 5-11, 155, Edmonton

•Jake Chiasson (Yale)

F, 5-6, 150, Abbotsford, B.C.

•Marc Lajoie (Northern Alberta Xtreme)

D, 6-2, 205, St. Albert, Alta.

•Eric Alarie (RHA)

F, 6-0, 175, Winnipeg

•Brett Hyland (Northern Alberta Xtreme)

F, 5-11, 155, Edmonton

•Lochlan Gordon (Northern Alberta Xtreme)

G, 6-0, 165, Edmonton

•Zack Stringer (Lethbridge midget)

F, 6-1, 152, Lethbridge, Alta.

•Matt Smith (Delta Prep)

D, 5-11, 140, Edmonton

•Devin Aubin (Grand Prairie Storm)

D, 5-6, 140, Falher, Alta.

•Nolan Bentham (Yale)

D, 6-2, 178, Victoria

•Corson Ceulemans (OHA Edmonton)

D/F, 6-0, 170, Beaumont, Alta.

•Ethan Samson (Delta Prep)

D, 5-11, 143, North Delta, B.C.

•Tyson Laventure (OHA Edmonton)

F, 6-0, 155, Lloydminster, Alta.

•Hayden Wilm (Swift Current midget)

F, 5-8, 165, Central Butte, Sask.

BRANDON SELECTIONS

•1st round — One selection.

— Have their own pick (15th).

•2nd round — Three selections.

— Have their own pick (37th overall), plus the 24th pick and the 41st pick. The 24th pick, which originally belonged to Prince George, came to Brandon from Moose Jaw as part of the Kale Clague deal on Jan 10, 2018. Moose Jaw acquired it in the Nikita Popugaev deal on Jan 5, 2017. The 41st pick, which originally belonged to Portland, came in the Rihards Bukarts deal on Oct. 29, 2015.

•3rd round — One selection.

— Have their own pick (59th). Sent a pick they had earlier acquired from Victoria to Portland for Evan Weinger on Oct. 10, 2017.

•4th round — No selection.

— Traded their pick (81st) to Swift Current as part of the Jordan Papirny deal on Jan. 10, 2017, and the pick then went to Saskatoon and ended up in Victoria.

•5th round — Three selections.

— Traded their pick (103rd) to Victoria, in a deal that involved Brandon acquiring Dylan Myskiw for Hunter Arps on Sept. 7, 2017. They have the 95th pick, the 101st pick and the 108th pick. The 95th pick came in a deal with Edmonton for Travis Child on May 30, 2017. That pick originally belonged to Lethbridge. The 101st pick, which originally belonged to Victoria, came to Brandon on Dec. 1, 2017 in the Kade Jensen trade. The 108th pick, which originally belonged to Everett, was acquired in a deal on Oct. 11, 2016 for Bradly Goethals.

•6th round — One selection.

— Have their own pick (125th).

•7th round — No selection.

— Traded their pick (145th) to Victoria for Jordan Wharrie on Sept. 2, 2016. The pick subsequently went to Everett.

•8th round — One selection.

— Have their own pick (169th).

•9th round — No selection.

— Traded their pick (191st) to Red Deer on Dec. 6, 2016 for Meyer Nell.

• 10th round — Two selections.

— Have their own pick (213th), plus the 218th pick, which originally belonged to Everett, as part of a pick swap during the 2017 bantam draft.

• 11th round — One selection.

— Have their own pick (235th).

• 12th round — One selection.

— Have their own pick (257th).

WESTMAN PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. Grady Lane, F (Southwest)

2. Brandt Young, D (Yellowhead)

3. Braeden Lewis, F (Southwest)

4. Briley Wood, F (Yellowhead)

5. Aidan Brook, F (Parkland)

6. Colby Wotton, F (Yellowhead)

7. Keaton Ziprick, G (Parkland)

8. Wyatt Tweet, D (Parkland)

9. Sloan Stanick, F (Yellowhead)

10. Avery Kirkup, F (Southwest)

11. Tresor Wotton, G (Yellowhead)

12. Hunter Wallace, F (Southwest)

TOP MANITOBA PLAYERS

1. Carson Lambos, D (RHA)

2. Eric Alarie, F (RHA)

3. Hudson Thornton, D (RHA)

4. Conner Roulette, F (Winnipeg Hawks)

5. Owen Weihs, F (RHA)

6. Rory Neill, D (Winnipeg Hawks)

7. Tyler Brennan, G (RHA)

8. Kieran Cooke, D (RHA)

9. Cabrel LaBossiere, F (Eastman)

10. Nate Goodbrandson, F (Winnipeg Hawks)

11. Carter Halamandaris, F (Winnipeg Monarchs)

12. Skylar Bruce, F (RHA)

2017 WHEAT KING PICKS

1. (8) Ridly Greig

2. (27) Vincent Iorio

2. (30) Anthony Kehrer

3. (56) Nolan Ritchie

4. (74) Jack Zayat

5. (96) Cameron MacDonald

7. (140) Braden Fischer

8. (162) Bode Hagan

8. (171) William Highet

9. (184) Owen Gallatin