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View Full Version : Winter Hawks Sign Four Draft Picks



Stay-Puft
07-19-2007, 05:37 PM
http://www.whl.ca/news/?id=7198

Created: Jul 19, 2007

The Portland Winter Hawks, fresh off their most successful Prospects Camp in team history in June, have signed four of their top draft picks from May’s WHL Bantam Draft to Western Hockey League contracts.

Portland signed second round choices Kyzen Loo and Keith Hamilton along with fourth round choice Taylor Peters. The Hawks had earlier announced the signing of first round draft pick Brad Ross. This is the first time in team history that the Hawks have signed so many of their top draft picks for any one draft year.

“Our staff put together very good presentations to the players and their parents regarding the advantages of playing in the WHL, and especially of playing in Portland,” said Principle Owner/Director of Hockey Operations Jim Goldsmith. “It looks like we have a lot of terrific players with a lot of potential at the 1991-born and 1992-born age levels. With our nucleus of returning players from last year’s team, that include six 1990-born players, we are making a lot of strides at setting ourselves up to be a very good team over several seasons once these players mature and gain experience.”
Loo, a left wing from Richmond, B.C., was the top scorer in the elite Kamloops International Bantam Tournament last spring. Hamilton, a goaltender from Kelowna, B.C., was chosen 39th overall in the draft, the second highest selection for a goalie in Hawks’ history behind current goaltender Kurtis Mucha, chosen 25th overall in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft. Peters, who projects as a power forward, had 37 goals and 148 penalty minutes in 72 games of AAA Bantam hockey in his home town of South Delta, B.C., last season. Ross, a left wing from Lethbridge, Alberta, chosen 5th overall in the draft, signed a contract right before the Prospects Camp. Ross scored 41 goals and 82 points in just 31 games of AAA Bantam hockey in Lethbridge last season.

“Our staff was very, very impressed with this particular group of players at this year’s Prospects Camp, and we may be signing more of them to contracts as the summer evolves into our training camp in Portland in late August,” Goldsmith said.

The players that signed contracts from this draft year are too young to play, full time, for the Hawks until 2008-09. Every player at this age level who signs a contract with any team in the Western Hockey League is guaranteed a four-year WHL college scholarship if they suffer a career ending injury this coming season on their minor hockey teams. Once they join the WHL, every player that does not sign a professional contract receives the guarantee of a one-year WHL scholarship for each season they play in the league. The Canadian Hockey League, which is comprised of the 22-team Western Hockey League, the 20-team Ontario League, and the 18-team Quebec League, develops nearly 60% of all of the players who ever play in the National Hockey League.