Wheat Kings trade up for defenceman

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This article was published 06/05/2016 (3654 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Wheat Kings traded up and selected a Saskatchewan defenceman with the 12th pick in Thursday’s Western Hockey League bantam draft.

Braden Schneider, a six-foot-one, 185-pound rearguard who played last season with the Prince Albert Bantam AAA Raiders, is thrilled to be a Wheat King.

“Great players seem to come out of there,” Schneider said of Brandon on Thursday. “They have great coaching and a great organization.”

He admitted the draft was in the back of his mind all season but he tried not to dwell on it. His goal is to play in the WHL eventually.

Brandon dealt its picks in the first, third and sixth rounds — 21st, 65th and 131st overall — to move up nine spots to grab Schneider, the first Saskatchewan player they’ve selected in the first round since they scooped up Eric Roy in 2009.

Wheat Kings director of scouting Wade Klippenstein said the team had stockpiled forwards in the last draft, including Caiden Daley and Rylan Bettens. As a result, defence was the team’s focus this time around.

“As things started to unfold, we realized that to get a real elite defenceman we might be able to move up so we approached a couple of teams about the possibility and caught Moose Jaw’s ear … that afforded us the chance to take Braden Schneider and that was a real exciting time at our table,” he said.

“This was a player that everyone on our staff really likes. He was one of the top defencemen in the draft and a guy that teams aren’t going to enjoy playing against.”

Since he was Brandon’s guy, it was a timely move withSchneider’s hometown Raiders picking next. They selected defenceman Rhett Rhinehart instead.

Moose Jaw then grabbed forward Brayden Tracey of the Calgary Bantam AAA Northstar Sabres with Brandon’s pick.

In the second round, Brandon selected Ben McCartney of Portage la Prairie, a forward playing in Penticton, B.C., at the Okanagan Hockey Academy. He was skating when a buddy told him the news.

The forward, who said he is a two-way player who can find the net, was elated by the news that he was drafted so close to home.

“I’m fully committed to the WHL,” McCartney said. “If I stare a contract in the eye, I’m going to sign it.”

With no third rounder after the trade with Moose Jaw, the Wheat Kings drafted Winnipegger Kyle Bettens, the younger brother of current prospect Rylan, in the fourth round. The two-way forward, who said he is a hard worker, was happy with the news.

“I was kind of waiting to hear my name pop up,” Bettens said. “I saw my name and got really excited.”

There was no shortage of intrigue on draft morning, with eight of the 21 picks in the first round — Portland forfeited its ninth overall choice for contravening league rules — being selected by a team it didn’t originally belong to. There were four trades on Thursday morning during the first round.

After a 12-win season, the Kootenay Ice picked in the top spot for the first time in two decades when they grabbed Steve McCarthy in 1996 and Jarrett Stoll in 1997. This time they selected Peyton Krebs, a five-foot-10, 154-pound forward with the Rocky Mountain Bantam Raiders

“He’s got an ability to change the pace of the game,” Kootenay head scout Garnet Kaziuk told the live WHL broadcast. “He makes players better around him.”

In a swap of picks with the Vancouver Giants, the Saskatoon Blades moved up a spot to No. 2 to pick Kirby Dach, who played midget with the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers. Vancouver then selected the first defenceman in the draft, Bowen Byram, a six-foot, 163-pounder who played with the Lethbridge Bantam AAA Golden Hawks.

The first American taken was Luke Toporowski, the son of Kerry, a former Spokane Chief. Luke was selected eighth by the team. His brother is also in the organization.

Six forwards, three defencemen and a goalie went in the top 10. Brandon netminder Trent Miner was the only Manitoban chosen in the first round, with 36 players from the province picked overall.

“It was a bit of a tough year in Manitoba in the early part of the draft but we were very happy with the Manitoba guys that we were able to select,” Klippenstein said. “It was a real good day all around. It’s a good mix of players positionally, forwards, defence, a goaltender. A lot of good things.”

The rookie camp is traditionally held at the end of May, and gives Brandon fans their first chance to see the new draft class in action, although the date might change this year.

Schneider, the first rounder, will almost certainly be in the spotlight.

Dennis Warkentine, Schneider’s bantam coach in Prince Albert last season, said Brandon picked a good one.

“Braden is a defenceman who can really fill a lot of roles,” he said. “He’s got a real physical side and an aggressiveness to him but he’s a good skater who can jump up into the play and create offence as well. Probably the best part of his game would be that physical aggressiveness. For us, he played against team’s top lines in a defensive role as well as jumping up too.

“As a person, he’s a really good kid. He was our captain, a really great leader and really good off and on the ice.”

WADE KLIPPENSTEIN ON THE NEWEST WHEAT KING PROSPECTS

1. (12th) Braden Schneider, Prince Albert, Sask.

Prince Albert Bantam AA Raiders

6-1, 185 pounds (30 gm, 7g, 13a)

“Top pairing guy …can play any style of game … hard guy to play against.”

2. (43rd) F Ben McCartney, Portage la Prairie

Okanagan H.A. Bantam Prep

5-9, 152 pounds (23gm, 18g, 15a)

“Maybe the hardest working guy in the entire draft … good size, physical, loves to go the net … strong power forward-type player.”

4. (87th) F Kyle Bettens, Winnipeg

Winnipeg Bantam AAA Warriors

5-10, 149 pounds (34gm, 17g, 38a)

“Good two-way guy … going to have some great size … couldn’t let that player slide by.”

5. (109th) G Ethan Kruger, Sherwood Park, Alta.

Sherwood Park Bantam AAA Flyers

5-11, 168 pounds (14gm, 1.63 gaa, .931 sp)

“Championship-calibre goaltender …competitive … reminds me a lot of Jordan Papirny in a very positive way.”

7. (153rd) D Neithan Salame, Edmonton

Edmonton KC Bantam AAA Squires

5-11, 178 pounds (34gm, 6g, 24a)

“Very good skating defenceman … can play a physical game … a good two-way guy … a steal of a pick where we got him.”

8. (175th) F Jonny Hooker, Winnipeg

Winnipeg Bantam AAA Monarchs

5-9, 157 pounds (26gm, 12g, 23a)

“He’s an energy guy … plays hard, plays fast, easy guy to notice … very intense player, good forechecker and penalty killer.”

9. (197th) F Carter Cockburn, Swan River

Parkland Bantam AAA Rangers

5-10, 151 pounds (36gm, 38g, 24a)

“Came on in the second half … can score … expect him to keep progressing.”

10. (219th) D Timber Lewis, Terrace, B.C.

Okanagan H.A. Bantam

5-8, 141 pounds (22gm, 1g, 9a)

“A bit undersized but looks like he’s going to grow … one of the best skating defenceman in the draft.”

11. (241st) Justin MacDonald, St. Albert, Alta.

St. Albert Bantam AAA Sabres

5-9, 160 pounds (31gm, 4g, 14a)

“Another skilled defenceman … can be a power-play guy … has good skills.”

12. (263rd) Dylan Halliday, Brandon

Brandon Bantam AAA Wheat Kings

6-0, 197 pounds (34gm, 43g, 46a)

“He’s a local guy that we have a lot of time for … scores, has elite skill, one of the top players in Manitoba bantam scoring wise..”

13. (285) Kolton Shindle, Carman

Pembina Bantam AAA Valley Hawks

5-8.5, 169 pounds (31gm, 46a, 29a)

“Has a lot of potential … expect him to physically mature and be a strong guy whose hard to play against.”

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