nivek_wahs
05-02-2007, 01:33 AM
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories.php?id=41688
Rockets face draft-day decisions
By Doyle Potenteau
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
The Kelowna Rockets are going fishing on Thursday. The WHL‘s annual bantam draft is set for Thursday in Calgary, and the Rockets are hoping to land a top-notch prospect. Which, with the second overall pick, they should. Which fish they hope to land, though, is the big question.
Scouts and pundits across Western Canada have pegged this year‘s draft as being deep in first-round selections, with Luke Moffatt, a 5-foot-11 centre from Phoenix, being the unanimous top selection. After that, it‘s anyone‘s guess, though the Edmonton Sun recently released a list with forward Kevin Sundher of Burnaby in second and defenceman Mark Pysyk of Edmonton in third.
The Portland Winter Hawks will select first, followed by Kelowna, then the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings. Under normal circumstances, the first team usually lands the top pick. But in this case, it‘s not yet clear if Moffatt will play for Portland. As an American who holds dual citizenship, Moffatt has many choices in front of him, including eventually suiting up for the U.S. national junior development program out of Ann Arbor, Mich.
According to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, the Hawks‘ top brass, including general manager Ken Hodge and owner Jack Donovan, visited Moffatt this past weekend in Arizona. He stands to be only the second American picked first in the WHL draft. The Medicine Hat Tigers made California-born Ryan Hollweg the top pick in 1999.
“We‘re still working out how the whole process will work, but they‘re interested and we‘re interested,” Moffatt‘s father, Kenny, told The StarPhoenix on Monday while his son skated. “Portland is a place that‘s reasonably close to Phoenix as far as visiting goes.”
Later on, Kenny Moffatt told the SP that “Our only concern is that (the Winter Hawks) got the first pick because they were in last place. We‘re hoping it‘s a team that‘s going to develop and go in the opposite direction in the future.”
So, where does this leave Kelowna? In uncertain territory. Say the Hawks draft Moffatt, the Rockets will likely select a forward, though like a good poker player, Kelowna president Bruce Hamilton has kept his cards close to his chest. The likely draftees are Kevin Sundher of Burnaby; Connor Redmond of Burnaby and Quinton Howden of Winnipeg.
But if Portland passes on Moffatt, do the Rockets take a chance on landing a player who‘s described as the draft‘s most complete player? Or do they play it safe and draft a sure thing?
Sundher captained Burnaby Winter Club to provincial and Western Canadian championships this season. At the Westerns, he was named the tournament‘s top forward. Howden, meanwhile, is listed at 6-2 and 185 pounds. As they say in WHL circles, you can‘t teach size.
“The guys who see (Howden), they just drool over him,” Chilliwack Bruins scout Ned Sanders told the Winnipeg Free Press. “And then (there‘s seventh-ranked, 5-10) Charles Inglis, who I‘ve watched since he was an eight-year-old, and he‘s just getting better and better and better. He‘s kind of got the ‘wow‘ factor and he‘s pretty much a man now. . . . He could play in our league now.
“Both Quinton and Charles are the talk of Western Canada right now. It‘s exciting to have Manitoba kids kind of be the talk of the draft, it‘s pretty heady stuff.”
As for Pysyk, that defenceman from Edmonton, expect the Oil Kings to snap him up. The Rockets are already eyeballs-deep in good defencemen, led by Luke Schenn and Tyler Myers, and what Kelowna truly needs is offence.
“He‘s a big, lanky defenceman who‘s a good skater,” Oil Kings GM Bob Green told the Edmonton Sun. “It looks like he‘s going to grow a bit more, as well. He‘s got good offensive skills. He does a good job running the power play and has a good shot from the point. He put up good numbers in the Alberta triple-A bantam league this year.”
Closer to home, at least five players from Kelowna‘s bantam 3A squad may be drafted. Players that can expect to be called are LW Michael Betz, C Ryan Harrison, D Daniel Medland-Marchen, RW Cody Beach (brother of current WHLer Kyle Beach) and G Keith Hamilton, who was called arguably B.C.‘s best puck stopper by one WHL insider.
Notably, Moffatt, Hamilton and Harrison all excelled for their teams at a late-December tournament in Burnaby. At the 44th annual Burnaby Winter Club tourney, Moffatt led his Phoenix Firebirds in a 4-3 win over the host Bruins in the championship game, while Kelowna placed third among 16 teams. Moffatt was named the top forward and to the first all-star team, as was Hamilton, who was also named the tourney‘s top goalie. Harrison was named to the second all-star team.
While Burnaby may have lost the gold medal that day, the Bruins should be the big winner on Thursday, with predictions suggesting that five players may be selected in the first round, led by Sunder, Redmond and D Alex Theriau.Of course, with the WHL Rockets having placed 20th out of 21 this past season, it‘s integral that they find a scorer who will start paying dividends two seasons from now. Because in 2008-09, the Rockets will be in peak form, looking for another title run. Who they land to help them make that run is what makes this draft quite interesting.
Rockets face draft-day decisions
By Doyle Potenteau
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
The Kelowna Rockets are going fishing on Thursday. The WHL‘s annual bantam draft is set for Thursday in Calgary, and the Rockets are hoping to land a top-notch prospect. Which, with the second overall pick, they should. Which fish they hope to land, though, is the big question.
Scouts and pundits across Western Canada have pegged this year‘s draft as being deep in first-round selections, with Luke Moffatt, a 5-foot-11 centre from Phoenix, being the unanimous top selection. After that, it‘s anyone‘s guess, though the Edmonton Sun recently released a list with forward Kevin Sundher of Burnaby in second and defenceman Mark Pysyk of Edmonton in third.
The Portland Winter Hawks will select first, followed by Kelowna, then the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings. Under normal circumstances, the first team usually lands the top pick. But in this case, it‘s not yet clear if Moffatt will play for Portland. As an American who holds dual citizenship, Moffatt has many choices in front of him, including eventually suiting up for the U.S. national junior development program out of Ann Arbor, Mich.
According to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, the Hawks‘ top brass, including general manager Ken Hodge and owner Jack Donovan, visited Moffatt this past weekend in Arizona. He stands to be only the second American picked first in the WHL draft. The Medicine Hat Tigers made California-born Ryan Hollweg the top pick in 1999.
“We‘re still working out how the whole process will work, but they‘re interested and we‘re interested,” Moffatt‘s father, Kenny, told The StarPhoenix on Monday while his son skated. “Portland is a place that‘s reasonably close to Phoenix as far as visiting goes.”
Later on, Kenny Moffatt told the SP that “Our only concern is that (the Winter Hawks) got the first pick because they were in last place. We‘re hoping it‘s a team that‘s going to develop and go in the opposite direction in the future.”
So, where does this leave Kelowna? In uncertain territory. Say the Hawks draft Moffatt, the Rockets will likely select a forward, though like a good poker player, Kelowna president Bruce Hamilton has kept his cards close to his chest. The likely draftees are Kevin Sundher of Burnaby; Connor Redmond of Burnaby and Quinton Howden of Winnipeg.
But if Portland passes on Moffatt, do the Rockets take a chance on landing a player who‘s described as the draft‘s most complete player? Or do they play it safe and draft a sure thing?
Sundher captained Burnaby Winter Club to provincial and Western Canadian championships this season. At the Westerns, he was named the tournament‘s top forward. Howden, meanwhile, is listed at 6-2 and 185 pounds. As they say in WHL circles, you can‘t teach size.
“The guys who see (Howden), they just drool over him,” Chilliwack Bruins scout Ned Sanders told the Winnipeg Free Press. “And then (there‘s seventh-ranked, 5-10) Charles Inglis, who I‘ve watched since he was an eight-year-old, and he‘s just getting better and better and better. He‘s kind of got the ‘wow‘ factor and he‘s pretty much a man now. . . . He could play in our league now.
“Both Quinton and Charles are the talk of Western Canada right now. It‘s exciting to have Manitoba kids kind of be the talk of the draft, it‘s pretty heady stuff.”
As for Pysyk, that defenceman from Edmonton, expect the Oil Kings to snap him up. The Rockets are already eyeballs-deep in good defencemen, led by Luke Schenn and Tyler Myers, and what Kelowna truly needs is offence.
“He‘s a big, lanky defenceman who‘s a good skater,” Oil Kings GM Bob Green told the Edmonton Sun. “It looks like he‘s going to grow a bit more, as well. He‘s got good offensive skills. He does a good job running the power play and has a good shot from the point. He put up good numbers in the Alberta triple-A bantam league this year.”
Closer to home, at least five players from Kelowna‘s bantam 3A squad may be drafted. Players that can expect to be called are LW Michael Betz, C Ryan Harrison, D Daniel Medland-Marchen, RW Cody Beach (brother of current WHLer Kyle Beach) and G Keith Hamilton, who was called arguably B.C.‘s best puck stopper by one WHL insider.
Notably, Moffatt, Hamilton and Harrison all excelled for their teams at a late-December tournament in Burnaby. At the 44th annual Burnaby Winter Club tourney, Moffatt led his Phoenix Firebirds in a 4-3 win over the host Bruins in the championship game, while Kelowna placed third among 16 teams. Moffatt was named the top forward and to the first all-star team, as was Hamilton, who was also named the tourney‘s top goalie. Harrison was named to the second all-star team.
While Burnaby may have lost the gold medal that day, the Bruins should be the big winner on Thursday, with predictions suggesting that five players may be selected in the first round, led by Sunder, Redmond and D Alex Theriau.Of course, with the WHL Rockets having placed 20th out of 21 this past season, it‘s integral that they find a scorer who will start paying dividends two seasons from now. Because in 2008-09, the Rockets will be in peak form, looking for another title run. Who they land to help them make that run is what makes this draft quite interesting.