Bantam Draft

[WHL 2008]

Ok Cougar fans, who do you think the Cougars are going to pick up in the Bantam draft? clrkth

[WHL Crazy]

With the Cougars picking a centerman in the first two rounds in last seasons bantam draft in Brett Connelly and Brock Hirsche. It wouldn't surprise me if they chose a defenceman with their first round pick, 11th overall in this draft. By the time the cougars pick gone will be:

Nugent-Hopkins, Benson, Rattie, St. Croix, Siemens(D), Topping(D), Hurley. Those are the Top 7 players in the draft and that doesn't include a trio of Americans in Cason Hohmann, Colin Jacobs and Shane McColgan who Everett may take a chance on with the 9th overall pick. What does this leave the your cougars with a chance to pick?

Here are some possible players:
Jesse Fosberg(D)- A good offensive defenceman with a mean streak and wicked shot.
Ryan Murray(D)- Pure power play specialist and good puck mover and very smooth skater.
Zach Hodder(D)- Played in Notre Dame this past season and rounds out the top five for defenceman in the draft.

Other defenseman to consider:
Tyler Borstmayer(D)- A big 6'3 defenceman who moves pretty well.
Tyler Wotherspoon(D)- Top defenceman from BC this season who does everything pretty well.
Zach Yuen-D- Hit and miss with him. Either could be the best defenceman in the draft of a total bust ala Ryan Kerr.

Hope this helps!

[Teacher]

Wouldn't it make more sense to trade the 1st pick, if they are going to take a defenseman, for a 19yr old, solid veteran defenseman, who can help right now? A d man would take 2 to 3 years to develop and be a contributor unless a team got lucky in the 11thspot.
A 19 year old would come in and stabilize a young defense core right now.

[the flying moose]

Wouldn't it make more sense to trade the 1st pick, if they are going to take a defenseman, for a 19yr old, solid veteran defenseman, who can help right now? A d man would take 2 to 3 years to develop and be a contributor unless a team got lucky in the 11thspot.
A 19 year old would come in and stabilize a young defense core right now.

thats what i was thinking. it looks like magnusson won't be back so that leaves thiessen as the "veteran" d-man.

[TwoBits]

Do they need to trade the first pick? There should be some good 20 year olds to scoop up after the other teams finish playing the numbers game, don't you think?

It will proably be another learning/developing year coming up. But if what the flying moose says is true, it may all be futile, if in fact these boys aren't being taught anything.

If a Sutter can fire his brother, why can't Brodsky make changes at the top?

[SectionNDeserter]

Its easy enough to say that they should do that, but there is a lot more to it than that. Skilled veteran 19 year old defensemen (that would be worth of dealing a 1st round pick for) aren't exactly growing on trees, and the teams that have them would have to be willing to part with them as well(rebuilding). After watching the Rebels blueline the last few seasons, my advice to any team that currently has skilled veteran 18/19 year old defensemen, hang on to them at all costs!

[TwoBits]

PG's picks taken from the General Discussion:

Round 1


At #11, Prince George uses Moose Jaw's pick, from the Ty Wishart trade, and picks another Saskatchewan defenceman, Jesse Forsberg. And no, he's not Peter's illegitimate child.

Jesse Forsberg

Defence - 6'0", 175 lbs GP G A PTS PIM
07-08: Warman Wildcats (CFHL AA bantam) 14 12 10 22 30
07-08: Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMHL AAA midget) 1 0 0 0 0
07-08: Warman Wildcats (KIBIHT) 7 6 7 13 10
07-08: Warman Wildcats (Western championships) 4 1 6 7 6

Captain of the 07-08 Saskatchewan bantam champs. Physical defenceman with good offensive upside including a very good point shot. Leads by example in all areas of the game.
Round 2:


At #25, it's Prince George picking Edmonton winger Caleb Belter.

Caleb Belter

Right Wing - 6'1", 195 lbs GP G A PTS PIM
06-07: Edmonton SSAC (AMBHL AAA bantam) 27 20 25 45 48
06-07: Edmonton SSAC (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF) 8 0 5 5 4
06-07: Edmonton SSAC Mustangs (REM midget 15 y.o.) 1 0 1 1 0
07-08: Edmonton SSAC (AMBHL AAA bantam) 32 37 31 68 40
07-08: Edmonton SSAC (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF) 4 2 3 5 10
07-08: Edmonton SSAC Bulldogs (REM midget 15 y.o.) 6 1 1 2 2
07-08: Edmonton SSAC (St. Albert AAA tournament) 5 4 4 8 6
07-08: Edmonton South Bruins (Alberta Cup) 5 2 1 3 6

Round 3:

No Pick

Round 4:


#69, Prince George:
Shane Pilling

Defence - 5'8", 135 lbs GP G A PTS PIM
06-07: Lethbridge Golden Hawks (AMBHL AAA bantam) 32 3 14 17 36
07-08: Lethbridge Golden Hawks (AMBHL AAA bantam) 33 6 14 20 38
07-08: Lethbridge Golden Hawks (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF) 5 1 5 6 2
07-08: South Senators (Alberta Cup) 5 0 1 1 2

Round 5:


Prince George acquired a 5th round pick from Saskatoon for future considerations. It's the pick they used to select Bryton Udy.


#108, Prince George:
Bryton Udy

Goaltender - 6'2", 135 lbs GP W L T GAA SV%
06-07: Calgary Rangers (CMHA AAA bantam) 5 0 0 0 0

07-08: Calgary Bisons (AMBHL AAA bantam) 17 11 5 1 3.36 0.884
07-08: Calgary Bisons (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF) 12 7 5 0 3.07 0.899
07-08: Calgary Bisons (Edmonton AAA tournament) 3 2 1 0 3.67 0.888
07-08: Calgary South Flames (Alberta Cup) 5 3 1 1 3.40 0.884

Round 6:



#113, Prince George:
Zac Larazza

Forward - 6'1", 165 lbs GP G A PTS PIM
P.F. Chang's (Scottsdale AZ) (USA AA midget) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

This pick is a stretch....Larazza is one of the best U.S. players available but again, there's a question of whether he's interested in the WHL. Would YOU leave Arizona to play in Prince George in December?

Round 7:

No Picks

Round 8:


#157, Prince George
Brady Goebel

Center - 5'7", 160 lbs GP G A PTS PIM
06-07: Spruce Grove Timberwolves (AMBHL AAA bantam) 33 14 24 38 22
06-07: Spruce Grove Timberwolves (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF) 13 4 4 8 2
07-08: Spruce Grove Timberwolves (AMBHL AAA bantam) 33 28 32 60 16
07-08: Spruce Grove Timberwolves (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF) 2 0 3 3 0
07-08: Spruce Grove Timberwolves (Edmonton AAA tournament) 5 6 3 9 2
07-08: Northwest Sharks (Alberta Cup) 5 2 4 6 2

Member of Spruce Grove's 06-07 Alberta champions team.

Round 9:


#178, Prince George:
Max Fiedler

Left Wing - 5'10", 175 lbs GP G A PTS PIM
06-07: Kelowna Jr. Rockets (BCAHA AAA bantam) 22 15 15 30 28
07-08: Notre Dame Hounds (SSMHL AAA bantam) 23 24 29 53 31
07-08: Notre Dame Argos (SMHL AAA midget) 1 0 0 0 4
07-08: Notre Dame Hounds (SSMHL AA midget) 2 0 1 1 2
07-08: Notre Dame Hounds (KIBIHT) 7 10 5 15 8
07-08: Notre Dame Hounds (St. Albert AAA tournament) 5 4 2 6 12

This time last year, Fiedler was being talked about as a potential #1 overall pick in 2008. So why is he being picked so much later this year? Good question.

Round 10:


#210, Prince George:
Blaine Thomson

Defence - 5'9", 166 lbs GP G A PTS PIM
06-07: Assiniboia Chiefs (South Central SK bantam A) 14 9 15 24 18
06-07: Assiniboia Stingers (SCAHL midget A) 3 1 1 2 2
07-08: Notre Dame Hounds (SSMHL AAA bantam) 22 4 8 12 14
07-08: Notre Dame Hounds (SMHL AAA midget) 1 0 0 0 0
07-08: Notre Dame Hounds (KIBIHT) 7 0 3 3 6
07-08: Notre Dame Hounds (St. Albert AAA tournament) 1 0 0 0 0


#215, Prince George:
Jared Linnell

Center - 5'9", 150 lbs GP G A PTS PIM
07-08: Fairbanks Arctic Lions (USA AAA bantam) 21 23 25 48 32

Round 11:

PASS

Round 12:

PASS