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nivek_wahs
05-04-2007, 08:38 AM
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/sports/story.html?id=813a91f8-b151-48ff-a344-5fd826a2f9a8

Local product first-ever Oil Kings player
GM Green grabs Strathcona's Pysyk with third pick in bantam draft
Scott Petersen, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, May 04, 2007

EDMONTON - The expansion Edmonton Oil Kings only had to look as far as their own backyard for the first player in franchise history. And they looked often.

The team selected Strathcona County's Mark Pysyk third overall in the Western Hockey League's bantam draft held in Calgary Thursday. Between Oil Kings general manager Bob Green and his scouting staff, the Oil Kings didn't miss many of the 15-year-old defenceman's games with the Strathcona Warriors.

They came away impressed for good reason, according to Warriors coach Shawn Martin.

"He's going to be the face of that franchise," said Martin, who had Pysyk for two years. "I've coached a lot of players who are good players now in the WHL, but he's got that extra something.

"He's obviously a very skilled defenceman with good size and he's got great hockey sense."

Pysyk can attend the Oil Kings' training camp but can't play in the WHL until he's 16. That should put him in midget hockey for most of the Oil Kings' inaugural season.

The six-foot, 160-pound player registered 15 goals and 49 points in 33 games in 2006-07 and was a co-winner of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League's top defenceman award. The Florida Panthers' Jay Bouwmeester is among the award's previous recipients.

"We had Mark at the top of our list and are very pleased to have gotten him with the third pick," said Green in an Oil Kings press release.

"Mark is a big, strong, defenceman with a high skill level who should be a big part of our future."

The draft started with Portland dealing the first overall pick to Moose Jaw. They selected Oak Bank, Man., forward Quinton Howden, who had 197 points in 51 games last year. Kelowna then added Scottsdale, Arizona's Luke Moffatt, considered the prize of the draft if he plays major junior. That cleared the way for Edmonton to take Pysyk.

Martin debunked any thoughts that the Oil Kings had to stretch to take a local player as high as they did.

"I think they made the right pick," he said. "They got lucky that there was a local guy this good. If it wasn't them taking him at No. 3, another team would've taken him in the same spot."

Other early Oil Kings selections in the 15-round draft included Slave Lake's T.J. Foster in the second round, Saskatoon's Colton Stephenson in the third round and Beausejour, Man., native Devin Balness to start the fourth. Edmonton selected 11 players in total, also including defenceman Philip Samuelsson, the 15-year-old son of noted former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson.

Foster led a Spruce Grove team in scoring with 60 points in 33 games last year, en route to a provincial championship. He then added a six-goal, eight-point effort in a game at the Western Canada Championships. Stephenson had 97 points in 42 games, and his brother Logan is a defenceman with Tri-City.

Among local products, Bill Ranford's son Brendan, a top-tier scorer and co-winner of top forward honours in the AMBHL, went 15th overall to Kamloops. And a pair of local goalies rounded out the first-round action, with Tyler Bunz of St. Albert going to Medicine Hat with the 21st pick and Kent Simpson of Edmonton to Everett at 22nd.

Oil Drops: The Oil Kings originally surrendered their third-round pick to Medicine Hat for hiring Green from their organization. But they swung a deal with Regina to swap picks in the second round, nab a third-rounder and get an unnamed player in the coming expansion draft.

spetersen@thejournal.canwest.com

BUILDING A CLUB

The WHL Bantam Draft is the first step in the creation of the Oil Kings roster.

It's a way of transferring bantam-aged players to teams' protected lists.

Players can be selected from the four western provinces, Yukon and Northwest Territories, and the western United States.

The Oil Kings' draft selections will be among the players invited to the team's development camp that will run May 19-20 at the Servus Credit Union Place in St. Albert.

The team will continue to build their roster of players through the league's expansion draft June 5 and import draft June 27, in which they have the first selection.




© The Edmonton Journal 2007

nivek_wahs
05-05-2007, 07:41 AM
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/sports/story.html?id=7f3bd13c-f6ef-4279-abc9-929d31b08062

Pysyk will grow into Oil Kings jersey
First-round draft pick from Sherwood Park is six-foot, 165 pounds at age 15

Scott Petersen, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Saturday, May 05, 2007
EDMONTON - Mark Pysyk only had to flash three fingers at his classmates Thursday for them to decipher his big grin.

Pysyk was passed a note in class from his father Terry, the vice-principal at Sherwood Park's Clover Bar junior high, giving him the rundown of the Western Hockey League's bantam draft.

There at No. 3 overall was his name beside the hometown Edmonton Oil Kings.

"I was sitting in my chair shaking, I was so excited," said Pysyk. "I looked over at all my friends and I gave them the 'three' and they all knew what I was talking about. They were happy. I was happy. It was perfect."

The six-foot, 165-pound defenceman swam in his new Oil Kings jersey at the team's press conference Friday.

At 15, he will only be able to play with the team as an affiliate player next season, and again at the conclusion of his midget season, giving him more time to prepare for the physical rigours of the WHL in the weight room and at the dinner table.

"Even I was skinny when I was 15," said Oil Kings general manager Bob Green, "but Mark will work hard at it to fill out that jersey nicely."

Pysyk reportedly dominated the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League during the past two seasons with the Strathcona Warriors, immediately filling the role of power play quarterback and No. 1 defenceman. He had 15 goals and 49 points in 33 games last year and was named a co-winner of the league's top defenceman award.

Green likens him to the Nashville Predators' Shea Weber, a WHL grad who's currently playing with Canada at the world championship in Russia.

"Mark is an exceptional player at both ends of the rink and he's got a physical edge to him as well," said Green. "Mark has the potential to be that type of player, but really it's up to Mark to reach it."

The Oil Kings' second-rounder, Slave Lake's T.J. Foster, was also introduced to the media. The curly-haired forward also discovered his destination while sitting in class, allowed to constantly refresh the WHL web site for updates.

"I just got a rush, it was awesome," said Foster, who Green compares to Buffalo Sabres prospect Clarke MacArthur.

"It's going to be awesome. Hopefully,

I can work hard enough to play here one day."

The new Oil Kings will be invited to a development camp May 19-20 at St. Albert. Meanwhile, the expansion team will continue to build their roster through the expansion draft, import draft and trades in the coming months.

COACH SEARCH: The Oil Kings have yet to name a head coach, though it could be the next thing on their franchise to-do list. The club has received about 20 applications for the vacant position, said Green, and are still waiting for a few more to trickle in. They'll start narrowing down the list next week to five or six candidates they'll interview.

spetersen@thejournal.canwest.com




© The Edmonton Journal 2007