Oil Kings aim to stockpile talent at WHL Bantam Draft
The Edmonton Oil Kings are looking to add to their stable of young talent at the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft on Thursday in Calgary.
The Oil Kings will select fourth overall in this year’s draft, which presents a number of interesting options for the club.
“We go into it, obviously, we have the fourth pick, which we’re excited to have,” said Oil Kings general manager Randy Hansch. “In the end, you’re looking to take the best player available there and when you have those lotto picks, you have to take advantage of that.”
The Prince Albert Raiders won the WHL Draft Lottery in March and will select first. They’ll be followed by the Kootenay Ice, Vancouver Giants and Oil Kings. The Saskatoon Blades, Spokane Chiefs, Calgary Hitmen, Brandon Wheat Kings, Swift Current Broncos and Blades — via a trade with the Victoria Royals — round out the top 10.
The Oil Kings are going into the draft well prepared and expect to get quality players in the early rounds of the draft.
“It’s a credit to (director of scouting) Jamie (Novakoski) and his staff,” Hansch said. “They work hard throughout the year so we want to be as prepared as we can,”
Players born in 2002, who reside in Western Canada and the Western
United States are eligible for the draft. Defenceman Kaiden Guhle of Sherwood Park, forward Ethan Bowen of Chilliwack, B.C., and forward Connor McClennon of Wainwright are among those favoured to go first overall.
“There’s some high-skilled forwards and those players have had some very good years, combining that, there are also a few defencemen that we feel could slip in there,” Hansch said. “There are a couple of players that are solid, two-way players. It’s all about the combination. You have your offensive guys, you have your defencemen that could sneak in there along with a couple of players that are good, character guys.”
Often there is a notable dropoff after the top handful of picks and the rest of the first round, but Hansch said that is not necessarily the case this season.
“It’s an intriguing year, each year you do have drop-offs, but this year, I think it’s a little more consistent,” he said. “As the draft goes on there is going to be a separation, but for the first part, we feel there’s a lot of good players and a
lot of consistency before there is a drop-off.”
Unlike the NHL draft, players selected in the Bantam Draft are not eligible to play in the WHL for two years. It makes for some guesswork in terms of player growth and development.
“It’s all projection,” Hansch said. “Jamie and his staff of scouts, they work hard all year and that’s the biggest thing about it. We’re looking at the players today, but it’s where do you see them three or four years from now? You have to project when they’re going to transition into your lineup and when they’re going to have an impact on that lineup.”
WHL scouts spend countless hours on the highway and watching games in cold arenas looking for those diamonds. To them, the draft is almost like Christmas Day where all their hard work, hopefully, pays off. And like any other draft, some of the best picks are made in the later rounds.
“It’s exciting, but it’s a lot of hours in the rink and driving down the highways and it’s greatly appreciated by our group,” Hansch said. “Jamie and his staff work hard. It’s good to get out for these year-end tournaments to see these players and be reminded how hard they work.”
Currently in a rebuilding mode after winning the Memorial Cup in 2014, a good draft is critical to the Oil Kings’ success in the future. So far, the team has done well restocking the shelf after graduating every player on that championship club.
“Yeah, we’re pleased with our young group moving forward and our young group coming in,” Hansch said. “It’s very exciting and the kids we’ve taken have had some very good growth in their development and we want that to continue.”