Wheat Kings prepare for import draft

Nothing ever seems easy in major junior hockey anymore, so it’s no surprise the Brandon Wheat Kings find themselves in a bit of a complicated situation as they grab a couple of players in today’s Canadian Hockey League import draft.

On paper a month ago, the Western Hockey League team had Russian defenceman Daniil Skvortsov, Finnish blue-liner Samu Alalauri and goaltender Filip Ruzicka on their roster as their three imports.

Instead, Skvortsov has been released, Alalauri has pushed up his commitment to the University of Massachusetts to this fall and Ruzicka’s former Czech club Mountfield is apparently fighting to hang onto the towering goalie.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said most importantly, the team is expecting their Czech netminder back in the fold.

“I know there is speculation out there whether he is going to be back, but we’re relying on his agent and he’s assured us it’s going to get done,” Murray said. “There is always a little bit of worry with getting transfers done, but we’ve been assured it’s going to get done but until we see him here, you’re always a little nervous.”

Brandon holds the 45th, 106th and 167th picks but won’t be using the third one since they expect Ruzicka’s return.

With NCAA schools now targeting younger, high-end European players, it adds an extra layer of intrigue to an already chaotic situation. Should a team take a chance that an extremely skilled young player with no ties to the CHL will be interested in coming, or is a safer older player the way to go?

The 18-year-old Alaulauri, who was picked 66th overall in the most recent National Hockey League draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, might be Exhibit A.

“It weighs on the player and the situation,” Murray answered. “Alalauri is a perfect example. We picked him a year ago and knew he wasn’t going to play for us last year but the hope was he was going to play for us this year. All signs indicated that way and then he made his NCAA commitment, and probably two months ago we got word the school wanted him now.

“That’s what we’re dealing with. He has a lot of schooling to do over the summer before he’s eligible, but we’re planning accordingly that he won’t be available. If it gets to a point where his schooling isn’t where it needs to be to go to college, then we have a good problem and we’ll address it then.

“Right now we’re moving without Alalauri.”

The good news for the Wheat Kings is that they’re able to put his rights on a special list, so they’ll be carrying four imports for a while.

Two of them will be determined today.

The top three picks today belong to the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes. The proceedings begin at 10 a.m.

Team can trade their picks, but any deals had to be made by Monday. A year ago, Brandon sent a sixth-round WHL draft pick in 2029 to the Portland Winterhawks for their second pick in the import draft and used it to take Czech defenceman Adam Hlinsky, who quickly got hurt, eventually headed home and was released.

On June 8, the Swift Current Broncos sent their first-round import pick, sixth overall, to the Everett Silvertips for 18-year-old defenceman Kayd Ruedig.

Murray said it’s a gamble.

“You can trade up, but is your guy there?” Murray asked. “That’s one of the biggest things. There is a little bit of risk in that. You put a lot of work in and just never know what’s going to happen. Dealing with one league is one thing, but dealing with three leagues, you just hope for the best that who you want is going to be there.”

Finding a player you’ve never actually scouted in person is another challenge. Teams depend on some help to make their picks, a process that isn’t quick or easy.

“It’s been going for months or maybe even the start of the year,” Murray said. “We get tips and obviously it heats up in the last couple of months. We get a lot of names coming across our plate through agents, through NHL networks. It’s not an easy draft. There are a lot of things up in the air.”

One rule change has been made this season, which is the second year teams have been allowed three imports.

Players in their 16-year-old seasons can only be picked in the first round, and cannot be traded or replaced by another import. If they are cut from their club’s roster, the team can only carry two for the rest of the regular season and playoffs.

Also, 20-year-old imports can be selected in any round. Murray said the impact of adding a round last year was that more teams were picking an extra player, which meant their list of names got whittled down pretty quickly.

Since the first import draft was held in 1992, more than 2,300 players from outside North America have been selected.

Overall, he said the talent level seldom varies.

“I think it’s pretty consistent,” Murray said. “There are good players out there for sure. You don’t know if players’ names are circulated across all three leagues or a few teams. That’s the challenging part of it: Once word gets out there, it spreads pretty fast and a lot of the lists are the same.

“There are situations where teams will have relationships with agents and maybe keep things under the radar. We’re navigating through all that but hopefully we can get a couple guys who can come in and play.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

 

PREVIOUS IMPORT DRAFT SELECTIONS

Round, pick number, player, position, country, regular season WHL games played.

2025

(CHL allows three players per team for first time.)

1. (43rd) Samu Alalauri, D, Finland, 0.

2. (95th) Adam Hlinsky, D, Czechia, 2.

2. (104th) Filip Ruzicka, G, Czechia, 42.

3. (165th) Pass

2024

1. (41st) Adam Belusko D, Slovakia, 53

2023

1. (18th) Dominik Petr, F, Czechia, 186.

2. (78th) Pass.

2022

1. (34th) Andrei Malyavin, D, Russia, 122.

2. (94th) Pass.

2021

1. (29th) Zakhar Polshakov, F, Belarus, 118.

2. (98th) Pass.

2020

1. (39th) Yaroslav Busygin, D, Russia, 0.

2. (99th) Pass.

2019

1. (22nd) Marcus Kallionkieli, F, Sweden, 60.

2. (82nd) Vladislav Firstov, F, Russia, 0.

2018

1. (44th) Erik Brannstrom, D, Sweden, 0.

2. (104th) Jiri Patera, G, Czechia, 89.

2017

1. (24th) Martin Kaut, F, Czechia, 0.

2. (84th) Pass.

2016

1. (54th) Linus Nassen, D, Sweden, 44*.

2. (79th) Daniel Bukac, D, Czechia, 111.

2015

1. (54th) Oliver Kylington, D, Sweden, 0.

2. (78th) Dario Winkler, F, Austria, 59.

2014

1. (25th) Ivan Provorov, D, Russia, 122.

2. Pass.

2013

1. (7th) Rihards Bukarts, F, Latvia, 192.

2. Pass.

2012

1. (35th) Richard Nejezchleb, F, Czechia, 150.

2. Pass.

2011

1. (33rd) Alessio Bertaggia, F, Switzerland, 110.

2. (62nd) Bruno Mraz, F, Slovakia, 63.

2010

1. (43rd) Mark Mieritz, F, Denmark, 31.

2. Pass.

2009

1. (14th) Toni Rajala, F, Finland, 60.

1. (23rd) Alexander Urbom, D, Sweden, 66.

2008

1. (33rd) Maxim Mayorov, F, Russia, 0.

1. (39th) Kirill Gotovets, D, Belarus, 0.

2007

1. (48th) Nikolai Lukyanchikov, D, Russia, 0.

2. Pass.

2006

1. (23rd) Juraj Simek, F, Switzerland, 58.

2. (65th) Igor Musatov, F, Russia, 0.

2005

1. (42nd) John Wikner, F, Sweden, 60.

2. Pass.

2004

1. (10th) Sami Sandell, F, Finland, 110.

1. (13th) Jakub Sindel, F, Czechia, 35.

2003

1. (51st) Traded pick to PG.

2. Pass

2002

1. (9th) Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, D, Norway, 96.

2. (54th) Richard Jasovsky, F, Slovakia, 141.

2001

1. (25th) Thomas Vanek, F, Austria, 0.

2000

1. (14th) Jiri Jakes, F, Czechia, 161.

1999 1. (39th) Angel Krstev, D, Czechia, 31*.

1998

1. (42nd) Jan Fadrny, F, Czechia, 158.

2. (69th) Julien Vauclair, D, Switzerland, 0.

1997

1. Traded pick.

2. (44th) Petr Havelka, F, Czechia, 0.

1996.

1. Traded pick.

2. (70th) Pavel Terekhov, F, Russia, 0.

1995

1. (43rd) Gerhard Unterluggauer, D, Austria, 87.

1994

1. (35th) Oleg Tverdovsky, D, Ukraine, 7.

1993

1. (34th) Ladislav Kohn, F, Czechia, 136.

1992

Didn’t make a pick.

» Linus Nassen never reported to Brandon and was redrafted a year later by Medicine Hat. Angel Krstev played 31 games with Lethbridge.