The Brandon Wheat Kings are hoping the sons of a pair of former Western Hockey League stars will soon make their own names north of the border.
The Wheat Kings grabbed forward Jake Stuart with the second-overall pick during the U.S. Priority draft on Wednesday, and then added defenceman Carson Craig of Las Vegas with the 43rd pick in the third annual event.
The five-foot-six, 130-pound Stuart is a product of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and the son of former WHL and National Hockey League player Brad Stuart, while the five-foot-seven, 120-pound Craig is the son of former Wheat Kings captain Ryan Craig.
Wheat Kings director of player personnel Chris Moulton said Stuart brings a lot of skill.
"Jake is an offensive-minded player who is very creative and does really good things with the puck," Moulton said. "He’s the type of player who reads the play well and understands when to attack and when to save time and space.
"For me, he looks like a player who has the ability to make the players around him better. He does a great job on the power play when he gets opportunities. He’s a guy who can do some really slick things with the puck and create offence. We need some skill, and when we have the second overall pick in the U.S. draft, we are big proponents of picking skill and he brings that."
Stuart, who played last season with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings 14-and-under team, scored 43 goals and added 38 assists for 81 points in 61 games.
Brad Stuart skated with the Regina Pats from 1996 until he was traded to the Calgary Hitmen during his final season in 1998-99. He played 16 NHL seasons, appearing in 1,198 regular season and playoff games with six teams, and retiring after the 2015-16 campaign as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
"Being Brad Stuart’s son, that gives us another opportunity," Moulton said. "Here’s a guy who had a lot of success in our league, is from Western Canada, understands the league, so that hopefully gives us an extra leg up that we can possibly get this player."
Statistics were more difficult to come by on Craig, who had two goals and an assist in four showcase games with the Vegas Jr. Golden Knights 14U AA, and a goal and an assist in eight regular season games. The left-handed shot is listed as five-foot-seven and 120 pounds on the North American Prospects Hockey League website.
"Carson is a mobile, puck-moving defenceman who plays with a competitive nature," Moulton said. "It seems that wherever he goes, he plays a leadership role on his hockey team. For us, if you can make plays and move the puck but also battle and compete both offensively and defensively, that’s a commodity that we value.
"And once again, it’s similar to Stuart but even closer to home, knowing what kind of player and pedigree Ryan Craig was and knowing Carson has family close by. It was such a great fit for us. Not only do we get a great player that is only getting better, we get a guy who is familiar with our program."
Ryan Craig spent five seasons with the Wheat Kings from 1998 to 2003, playing 198 NHL games over eight seasons. He currently serves as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.
Moulton spoke to both families prior to the draft, and also watched as much video as he could find. Ultimately, Brandon landed two players it coveted prior to the draft.
"We liked a bunch of other players too but I had a group of eight kids I really, really liked and these guys were in the top three, which is just great," Moulton said. Brandon hasn’t had much luck yet in bringing its U.S. priority draft players north to Canada.
In 2020, the Wheat Kings grabbed forwards Zach Nehring of Minot, N.D., with the 17th pick and Ty Henricks of Mission Viejo, Calif., with the 28th selection. Both have since committed to Western Michigan University.
In 2021, the Wheat Kings selected forward Colin Frank of Ladera Ranch, Calif., with the 13th choice and defenceman Ethan Gonyeau of Flower Mound, Texas, with the 32nd pick. Neither has committed anywhere yet.
The next step in the recruitment process is trying to bring the youngsters to the team’s prospects camp, which runs from May 27 to 29. The following opportunity is rookie camp, just before main camp in late August.
"It’s very short notice for every ’07, never mind the ones who have more to travel," Moulton said. "We’re hoping to get them up here, but if not, we’ll continue communication and hopefully have them here in August."
Players who were born in 2007 and come from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming were eligible for the draft.
The Edmonton Oil Kings took defenceman Blake Fiddler with the first-overall pick. He is the son of former WHLer and NHLer Vernon Fiddler.
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