WHL NOTEBOOK: Four on scouts’ radar

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This article was published 24/09/2014 (4368 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

National Hockey League scouts haven’t forgotten about Jordan Papirny, but he’s forgetting about them for now.

Papirny was one of four Brandon Wheat Kings named to the NHL Central Scouting Service’s Preliminary Players to Watch list for next year’s draft. Defencemen Ryan Pilon and Ivan Provorov and left-winger Jesse Gabrielle were given ‘B’ grades, indicating potential second- or third-round picks for the NHL draft, while Papirny earned a ‘C’ as a player who could be chosen from the fourth to sixth rounds.

But Papirny knows better than most to keep these lists in perspective. He worked his way into the draft rankings last season as a Western Hockey League rookie before being passed over in his first year of draft eligibility, and he’s focusing instead on the things he has control over.

“I did see the listing and it’s pretty cool at the time, but my focus now is all about the Brandon Wheat Kings and that’s not going to change whether I’m an ‘A’ goalie, ‘B’ or ‘C’ or not even on the list,” the Edmonton native said. “I think that’s real important and I think our success with our team is going to lead to individual success as well.”

Papirny’s approach worked on the first weekend of the WHL season. He posted a 1.50 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage as the Wheat Kings won a pair of games against the Regina Pats.

Prior to the season, Papirny went to rookie camp with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens as a free agent and he said the experience is something that should benefit him with the Wheat Kings and in the future as he pursues a pro career.

“I learned a lot,” he said. “Obviously the technical side of it, things on the ice, but more importantly I kind of soaked in seeing all the pro players, seeing how hard they work. They’re at the rink eating good food and drinking lots of water and just kind of seeing that pro side of it was really cool for me.

“I want to make that next step to be a professional goalie and seeing how guys like (veteran NHL goalies) Carey Price and Peter Budaj carry themselves was awesome for me.”

PRO DEBUTS: Wheat King right-winger Jayce Hawryluk will play his first NHL pre-season game tonight when the Florida Panthers host the Dallas Stars. The Panthers chose Hawryluk with the 32nd overall pick in this year’s NHL draft.

Centre John Quenneville, who was drafted two spots ahead of his Wheat Kings linemate Hawryluk, played with a team of New Jersey Devils prospects as they lost 4-2 to a squad of Philadelphia Flyers hopefuls on Tuesday. Elkhorn’s Travis Sanheim, chosen 17th overall in this year’s draft, had an assist for the Flyers. One night earlier, Sanheim played his first NHL pre-season game as part of a Philadelphia split squad that beat the Washington Capitals 5-4.

AROUND THE WHL: The Calgary Hitmen got down to the import and overage limits Tuesday with a pair of moves, sending RW Pavel Padakin to the Regina Pats and C Mike Winther to the Kamloops Blazers. The Pats gave up a third-round bantam draft pick in 2017 for Padakin, a 20-year-old Russian who had 27 goals and 54 points in 66 games last season. Kamloops parted with a fourth-round pick in 2015 and a sixth-rounder in 2017 for Winther, who played only 31 games last season but produced 26 points. The Pats cut German LW Max Kammerer to make room for Padakin … Swift Current C Jay Merkley is the WHL player of the week after notching five goals and two assists in two games to open the season … C Meyer Nell of Boissevain scored in Red Deer’s first game of the season, matching his goal total from his entire rookie campaign.