Rockets take top talent with their top pick in bantam draft
Kelowna able to land high-ranked Chilliwack product in 2nd round
The Kelowna Rockets didn’t have a first-round pick in this year’s bantam draft, so they took their chances on a first-round talent in the second round.
Kelowna selected Ethan Bowen, a high-scoring forward from Chilliwack out of the Yale hockey academy in Abbotsford, at 39th overall.
Bowen’s stat-line suggested he should have been picked higher — with 62 points, including 33 goals, in just 29 games, plus 10 goals and 21 points in six games at the prestigious John Reid Memorial tournament in St. Albert, Alta. — but the 5-foot-11 centre fell to the Rockets and highlighted their 11 new prospects from Thursday’s annual draft.
“He’s an exceptional talent,” boasted Rockets assistant general manager and draft guru Lorne Frey, adding his scouting staff watched Bowen play 25 to 30 times this season and were already tracking him last year. “Great skater and great skills. He’ll be a highly offensive guy, an elite player, and we’re fortunate enough to have him.”
Truth be told, the Rockets may be fortunate to get Bowen.
In today’s age of advanced scouting and with so many of the top prospects being showcased by academies, Bowen wasn’t flying under the radar by any means.
Turns out, teams were passing on Bowen over concerns he was committed to the NCAA development model — likely planning to play in the BCHL rather than the WHL.
“Could be steal of the draft if he doesn’t go college route. Top 10 talent in the draft,” tweeted @SullivanJLarson, an aspiring scout and blogger.
Western Elite Hockey Prospects — a popular Twitter account for draft followers (@WEHPscout) — had Bowen ranked fourth overall in this 2002-born draft class and described him as the “second of the big-three college players selected.”
That explains how Bowen landed in Kelowna’s lap.
For his part, Bowen was excited to hear his name called and reached out to the Rockets on Twitter.
“Kelowna is a great organization and I’m very happy to have a great WHL option,” Bowen said on the team’s website. “I really appreciate the opportunity to be associated with the Rockets. It’s a great organization with a great history of success.”
Frey had yet to speak to Bowen and his family — those initial conversations were slated for last Thursday evening — but was well aware of the potential recruiting battle.
“There’s options out there for every young man and it’s up to our organization to go out and sell him on our program, and hopefully we can do that and have him in a Rockets uniform in a couple years,” said Frey.
Asked if the Rockets had an inside track on Bowen — whether they had expressed interest in drafting him or got word he would report to Kelowna — Frey said: “We don’t contact anybody before the draft. We don’t have any conversations with any players or parents prior to the draft. That’s one thing our organization doesn’t do and we have our reasons and it’s worked out for us so far.” Indeed, this is hardly a first for Kelowna. Replace the “n” in Bowen’s last name with a “y” and there’s a prime example — Madison Bowey, who captained the Rockets to the 2015 WHL championship after falling to the second round (23rd overall) of the 2010 bantam draft as another top-10 talent believed to be college bound.
Bowey was the 11th defenceman drafted that year but, of that group, only Josh Morrissey (13th) and Dillon Heatherington (50th) were selected higher than Bowey (53rd) in the 2013 NHL draft.
Cal Foote, a lock to be selected in the first round of this June’s NHL draft, was another top-end bantam prospect that Kelowna stole in the second round (43rd in 2013) and lured to the Okanagan, along with his younger brother Nolan (43rd in 2015).
The Rockets have also lost out on top picks in the past, most notably Luke Moffatt — an Arizona product selected second overall in the 2007 bantam draft. He went the college route and turned into a bust, playing for the University of Michigan and barely getting drafted in 2010 — 197th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the seventh-and-final round. Moffatt is still playing, spending the past three seasons bouncing around overseas in Sweden, Norway, Australia, Italy and most recently France.
Back to Bowen, Frey was optimistic about Kelowna’s chances — especially with the proximity to his hometown.
“We’re in a good spot and we’ve had a good organization, we’ve had a lot of success over the last number of years, and I think that speaks for itself,” said Frey, who anticipates Bowen will attend rookie camp in August. “Kids, once they come here, they’re excited about our organization.”
“I think they’ll give us a good look and see what’s here. And why wouldn’t he? He’s from Chilliwack, right down the road,” Frey continued. “Then the rest will be up to us — (general manager Bruce Hamilton) and myself and the coaching staff — to sell these guys on our program here, and that’s what we’re going to have to do with Ethan.”
Kelowna traded its first-round pick to the Prince Albert Raiders — who selected 5-foot8 forward Cohner Saleski of Saskatoon at 17th overall — for Reid Gardiner, who returned from the pro ranks to lead the Rockets to the third round of the playoffs, scoring a franchise-record 15 goals in the post-season, including hat tricks in the series-clinchers against Kamloops and Portland.
Here is the full list of Kelowna’s bantam draft picks.
1) 2nd round, 39th overall. Ethan Bowen – 5’11.5, 157 lbs – Centre – Chilliwack – Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep
2) 3rd round, 61st overall. Ethan Ernst – 5’10, 160 lbs – Centre – Weyburn, SK – Notre Dame Hounds Bantam Prep
3) 4th round, 71st overall. Cole Carrier – 5’10.5, 173l bs – Centre – Strathcona, AB – Sherwood Park Flyers Bantam AAA
4) 4th round, 83rd overall. Rylan Donald – 5’10.5, 152 lbs – Defenceman – Star City, SK – North East Wolfpack Bantam AAA
5) 5th round, 106th overall. Kaeden Watkins – 6’5, 175 lbs – Defenceman – Saskatoon, SK – Saskatoon Generals Bantam AA
6) 6th round, 127th overall. Jake Poole – 6’0, 175lbs – Forward – McAuley, MB – Yellowhead Chiefs Bantam AAA
7) 7th round, 149th overall. James Bohn – 5’11, 179 lbs – Defenceman – Burnaby – Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy Bantam Prep
8) 8th round, 157th overall. Cole Tisdale – 5’10, 169 lbs – Goalie – Lethbridge, AB Lethbridge Golden Hawks Bantam AAA
9 ) 9th round, 182nd overall. Steven Kesslering – 5’7.5, 149 lbs – Forward – Yorkton, SK - Weyburn Wings Bantam AA
1 0 ) 9th round, 193rd overall. Robert Kinkaid – 5’11.5, 160 lbs – Defenceman – Barrhead, AB – St. Albert Sabres Bantam AAA
11) 10th round, 199th overall. Brody Wilson – 5’11.5, 154 lbs – Centre – Birtle, MB – Yellowhead Chiefs Bantam AAA.