nivek_wahs
05-04-2007, 09:34 AM
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/sports/story.html?id=33628432-8317-4819-be5f-44b22d9928e4
Hitmen select defender at No. 14
Madaisky nabbed to shore up club's blueline
John Down, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, May 04, 2007
Calgary Hitmen fans can start getting ready to cheer another "ski."
But it's doubtful Austin Madaisky will be joining Brendon Rowinski and Devon Kalinski to fill out the Western Hockey League club's rookie Killer-ski line that took form this season.
Madaisky is a six-foot-one, 165-pound defenceman from Surrey, B.C., and was the Hitmen's first-round pick, 14th overall, during Thursday's annual WHL bantam draft held at the Roundup Centre.
The 22 teams used 15 rounds to draft 241 western Canadian and western U.S. players who were born in 1992. Most teams passed after the 12th round.
The process took 71/2 hours.
Moose Jaw swapped it's fifth overall pick to Portland to grab the leadoff spot and made left winger Quinton Howden of Oakbank, Man the No. 1 choice.
Kelowna snared American centre Luke Moffatt at No. 2 and Edmonton, which will rejoin the WHL for the 2007-08 season, hauled in defenceman Mark Pysyk of Sherwood Park at No. 3.
Twenty-eight players were Calgary based, with defenceman Erik Fleming the only first-rounder, going to the Seattle Thunderbirds at No. 16.
Six Calgarians went in the first four rounds.
Given past history, Madaisky, the first defenceman taken by the Hitmen in Round 1 since Johnny Boychuk in 1999, is all but a sure bet to join the club for the 2008-09 season.
That could be at a time when the club loses such stalwarts as Karl Alzner and Alex Plante.
"There's always needs and this year we felt a defenceman was in order," smiled Hitmen head coach and general manager Kelly Kisio.
"Brad kind of had him picked out right from the get-go. He figured he (Madaisky) might fall into our area and it worked out for us."
The Hitmen also grabbed Madaisky's western Canadian bantam champion Burnaby Bruins defensive partner, Tim Daly of Maple Ridge, and three other rearguards among their 11 selections.
Among other top picks, the Hitmen took five-foot-10, 165-pound centre MacKenzie Royer of Spruce Grove in the second round and six-foot, 140-pound right winger Cody Beach of Kelowna in the third round.
Beach is the younger brother of Everett Silvertips forward Kyle Beach, who was named the WHL rookie-of-the-year on Wednesday. Although not nearly his brother's size of six foot three and 180 pounds, the younger Beach is still a growing lad.
"They (scouts) say he's improved quite a great deal, grown quite a bit, plays hard and that's what we want in our organization," said Kisio. "If we get 90 or 95 per cent of Kyle in Cody, he'd be pretty damn good."
The Hitmen also chose G Chase Kamistek 80th, D Zach Sweet of Winnipeg 102nd, Daly 124th, C Cody Sylvester of Kelowna 168th, D Reid Howe of Assiniboia, Sask., 190th, LW Luke Hill of Souris, Man., 212th, D Derek Lashuk of Winfield, B.C., 234th and C Willy Sakal of Calgary 256th.
"Players you like are always going to be drafted before you get the chance so it's tough that way but that's the nature of the draft," summed up Hitmen head scout Brad Whelan. "We feel we've got a good combination of size and skill and character so we're pretty happy."
The next order of business for the Western Hockey League is the expansion draft on June 5, at which the Edmonton Oil Kings will raid clubs for unprotected players. The import draft goes June 27.
This and That: Talk about an automatic. The Brandon Wheat Kings drafted Wheaton King, a centre, from Brandon in the sixth round. They also took RW Brandon Regier of Abbotsford in the first round and LW Brendan Rouse of Langley in the fifth round . . . Tongue twister award goes to Vancouver Giants for their selection of D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen of Chilliwack in the sixth round . . . Cody Sylvester, taken by the Hitmen in Round 8, is a brother to Kootenay Ice pest Dustin Sylvester.
jdown@theherald.canwest.com
Hitmen select defender at No. 14
Madaisky nabbed to shore up club's blueline
John Down, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, May 04, 2007
Calgary Hitmen fans can start getting ready to cheer another "ski."
But it's doubtful Austin Madaisky will be joining Brendon Rowinski and Devon Kalinski to fill out the Western Hockey League club's rookie Killer-ski line that took form this season.
Madaisky is a six-foot-one, 165-pound defenceman from Surrey, B.C., and was the Hitmen's first-round pick, 14th overall, during Thursday's annual WHL bantam draft held at the Roundup Centre.
The 22 teams used 15 rounds to draft 241 western Canadian and western U.S. players who were born in 1992. Most teams passed after the 12th round.
The process took 71/2 hours.
Moose Jaw swapped it's fifth overall pick to Portland to grab the leadoff spot and made left winger Quinton Howden of Oakbank, Man the No. 1 choice.
Kelowna snared American centre Luke Moffatt at No. 2 and Edmonton, which will rejoin the WHL for the 2007-08 season, hauled in defenceman Mark Pysyk of Sherwood Park at No. 3.
Twenty-eight players were Calgary based, with defenceman Erik Fleming the only first-rounder, going to the Seattle Thunderbirds at No. 16.
Six Calgarians went in the first four rounds.
Given past history, Madaisky, the first defenceman taken by the Hitmen in Round 1 since Johnny Boychuk in 1999, is all but a sure bet to join the club for the 2008-09 season.
That could be at a time when the club loses such stalwarts as Karl Alzner and Alex Plante.
"There's always needs and this year we felt a defenceman was in order," smiled Hitmen head coach and general manager Kelly Kisio.
"Brad kind of had him picked out right from the get-go. He figured he (Madaisky) might fall into our area and it worked out for us."
The Hitmen also grabbed Madaisky's western Canadian bantam champion Burnaby Bruins defensive partner, Tim Daly of Maple Ridge, and three other rearguards among their 11 selections.
Among other top picks, the Hitmen took five-foot-10, 165-pound centre MacKenzie Royer of Spruce Grove in the second round and six-foot, 140-pound right winger Cody Beach of Kelowna in the third round.
Beach is the younger brother of Everett Silvertips forward Kyle Beach, who was named the WHL rookie-of-the-year on Wednesday. Although not nearly his brother's size of six foot three and 180 pounds, the younger Beach is still a growing lad.
"They (scouts) say he's improved quite a great deal, grown quite a bit, plays hard and that's what we want in our organization," said Kisio. "If we get 90 or 95 per cent of Kyle in Cody, he'd be pretty damn good."
The Hitmen also chose G Chase Kamistek 80th, D Zach Sweet of Winnipeg 102nd, Daly 124th, C Cody Sylvester of Kelowna 168th, D Reid Howe of Assiniboia, Sask., 190th, LW Luke Hill of Souris, Man., 212th, D Derek Lashuk of Winfield, B.C., 234th and C Willy Sakal of Calgary 256th.
"Players you like are always going to be drafted before you get the chance so it's tough that way but that's the nature of the draft," summed up Hitmen head scout Brad Whelan. "We feel we've got a good combination of size and skill and character so we're pretty happy."
The next order of business for the Western Hockey League is the expansion draft on June 5, at which the Edmonton Oil Kings will raid clubs for unprotected players. The import draft goes June 27.
This and That: Talk about an automatic. The Brandon Wheat Kings drafted Wheaton King, a centre, from Brandon in the sixth round. They also took RW Brandon Regier of Abbotsford in the first round and LW Brendan Rouse of Langley in the fifth round . . . Tongue twister award goes to Vancouver Giants for their selection of D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen of Chilliwack in the sixth round . . . Cody Sylvester, taken by the Hitmen in Round 8, is a brother to Kootenay Ice pest Dustin Sylvester.
jdown@theherald.canwest.com