Williamson takes advantage of late WHL draft

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This article was published 06/01/2022 (1539 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

During a Western Hockey League draft in which the Brandon Wheat Kings landed four players six-foot-two or taller, they simply had to take Drew Williamson. 

Brandon grabbed the five-foot-five, 135-pound product of Airdrie, Alta., with their final selection on Dec. 9, which was in the seventh round with the 152nd overall pick.

Brandon Wheat Kings director of player personnel Chris Moulton said Williamson is utterly relentless.

“He plays the game the right way,” Moulton said. “He is smart in his own end, he has the ability to create offence, he stops on pucks, he creates turnovers and he’s not the biggest guy but he’s never afraid to engage while playing in the high-traffic areas.”

The 15-year-old forward agreed.

“I contribute offence but I think I also contribute in the D zone,” Williamson said. “I’m really good at stealing pucks from people and I think I’m good at puck protection and finding open guys.”

At the same time, he’s focusing on getting faster to prepare for junior, and also has his shot on his to-do list.

“I feel like working on my shot would be really useful,” Williamson said. “I feel like at the next level that’s also a really useful thing. Those are the two big ones right now.”

There is lots of hockey in his family, which includes father Russell, mother Kimberley and an older brother and younger sister. All of them played except his mom.

Drew started skating around age three and began playing a year later.

“When I was little I actually liked goalie too,” Williamson said. “I actually played goalie a lot.”

He doesn’t play any other sports now, although he was into lacrosse when he was younger. Instead he is focused on moving up on the ice.

“I’ve always wanted to play junior hockey, ever since I was little,” Williamson said. “I actually started to feel like I might be able to when I was in peewee AA. It was confidence.”

He didn’t watch the WHL much growing up, instead focusing on the National Hockey League. However, he went to a few Calgary Hitmen games.

He got a better sense of what lied ahead from the career of Everett Silvertips defenceman Ronan Seeley, who recently played on Team Canada at the world junior championship with Wheat Kings forward Ridly Greig.

“My family is really good friends with the Seeleys,” Williamson said. “When Ronan got drafted that was a pretty cool day, and he ended up making it as a first year.”

Williamson also attended spring camps with current WHL players such as Edmonton Oil Kings forward Jake Neighbours.

When the WHL draft got moved back from May to December after much of the 2020-21 season was cancelled, Williamson wasn’t disappointed.

“I approached it as an opportunity,” Williamson said. “Even last year, I don’t think I would have gotten drafted if there wasn’t this lockdown. I feel like the lockdown benefited me because then I could kind of regroup, gain some confidence and just start playing hockey. Last year I was just too stressed so I had to work on my mental game so that I could be successful this year.”

He wasn’t completely convinced he would get drafted, although people around him assured him it would likely happen.

When his name did pop up on Dec. 9, he was on the drive home from the rink after practice.

“I looked at the thing one more time and my name was there so it was pretty cool,” Williamson said. 

He said his phone immediately blew up with support from teammates, family and friends.

Now that the draft is over, Williamson is enjoying his time on the ice a lot more.

“It’s so nice,” Williamson said. “You can just play free. It’s really nice just having none of that stress on you. Even the first game back from the draft, I just felt amazing. I had no stress on me, I could just play hockey and not worry about anything else.”

He did take a big step up this year, moving into the ultra-competitive Alberta Elite Hockey League, where his under-18 AAA Airdrie CFR Bisons are in fourth place in the South Division with a record of 10-7-6. 

In 23 games, he has six goals, 15 assists and 16 penalty minutes.

“I honestly think it suited me perfect,” Williamson said. “It wasn’t very hard for me transitioning. It took one game, but after that I felt like I was there and could play with these guys. I feel like the style of hockey in AAA suits me really well.”

He’s hopeful his hockey path leads him to major junior, suggesting his top goal now is to be a WHL player.

Naturally, he’s eager to make his first trip to Brandon in the spring.

“I’m super excited,” Williamson said. “I’m even just excited to see what the future holds. For now, I’m really excited.”

ICINGS: Brandon signed 22nd overall pick Caleb Hadland to a standard player agreement on Wednesday. The team has now officially added all three of their first round selections from last month’s WHL draft to the system, as Charlie Elick and Roger McQueen inked deals with the Wheat Kings last month. 

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