View Full Version : Rockets Draft Two Top Rated D-men
The Kelowna Rockets have selected two highly touted defencemen with their first two selections in the annual Western Hockey League bantam draft.
Selecting 9th in the first round, the Rockets chose 5-foot-11 blueliner Jesse Lees, who played last year with the Calgary Northstar Sabres bantam AAA team.
Lees was ranked as the number one player in the draft by the Rockets heading into the day.
Kelowna then moved up to select first in the second round in a trade with Prince George. The two teams swapped positions in the second round and the Rockets gave the Cougars a pair of fifth round picks in the deal.
That allowed the Rockets to choose defenceman Madison Bowey, another 5-foot-11 blueliner that Kelowna had ranked high on their draft list. Bowey played last year with the Winnipeg Monarchs.
“We’re very happy. We feel we got the two best defencemen in the draft,” said Rockets president/general manager Bruce Hamilton.
http://www.kelownarockets.com/hockey/news-display.php?section_id=2&public_id=2104
From Gregg Drinnan's blog
Bruce Hamilton, the president and general manager of the Kelowna Rockets, could hardly contain himself Wednesday night. It was the night before the annual WHL bantam draft and it almost was as though he had cashed in a first-round pick a bit early.
“We got Colton Sissons to commit,” he said, “and we couldn’t be more thrilled.”
The Rockets acquired the rights to Sissons from the Saskatoon Blades in January, in exchange for veteran F Curt Gogol. The 6-foot-0, 173-pound Sissons, 16, played for the BCHL’s Westside Warriors, picking up 22 points in 58 games.
Hamilton fully expects Sissons, a native of North Vancouver, to be in the Rockets’ lineup next season. The Rockets also picked up a 2011 third-round bantam pick in the deal with Saskatoon.
http://gdrinnan.blogspot.com/2010/04/wednesday_28.html
Jesse Lees
Scouts say... "A player you notice every shift, aggressive, loves to rush the puck, can play physical, great work ethic, prone to turn overs and can be often guilty of doing too much."
"In addition to being an exceptional skater with a great shot, Lees is a good shot blocker with a sound physical game. Plays with attitude."
Madison Bowey
Scouts say... "Top defensive prospect to come out of Manitoba since Cam Barker."
"Big strong kid, solid on his skates, defends well, might end up as the best of the group by 18 years of age, vision and hockey sense has to improve."
"A roving defenceman in the ilk of Dan Boyle, Bowey likes to join the rush to create opportunities. He was an all-star at westerns, and the top defenceman at the prestigious Medicine Hat tournament."
Round 3
53 Tyson Baillie F Fort Saskatchewan, AB Nov 16, 1995
Scouts say... "Lead his team to within a goal of becoming provincial champions. Shoots the puck like a pro and should score at the WHL level."
"Baillie is a solid player with very few weaknesses. He isn't exceptional in any one area but he's very good in all areas. His strength is his hockey sense."
Pick Team Traded From Name POS Hometown DOB
Round 4
75 To Kootenay (for Lazaruk)
78 Red Deer (for Borejko) to Swift Current (for Guggenberger)
Round 6
113 Lethbridge (for Jung) Cole Linaker C Edmonton, AB Jul 11, 1995
Round 8
163 Hudson Fasching F Burnsville, MN Jul 28, 1995
Round 9
185 James Fisk G Airdrie, AB Jul 06, 1995
186 Moose Jaw (for ?) Jaryd Watson C Leask, SK Feb 25, 1995
Round 10
199 Prince George (via Swift Current for ?) Austin Ferguson C Abbotsford, BC Jan 11, 1995
207 Mitchell Wheaton D Sherwood Park, AB Feb 06, 1995
Round 11
229 Ryan Forbes C Kitimat, BC Jul 20, 1995
From Gregg Drinnan's blog
“We got Colton Sissons to commit,” Bruce Hamilton said, “and we couldn’t be more thrilled.”
The Rockets acquired the rights to Sissons from the Saskatoon Blades in January, in exchange for veteran F Curt Gogol. The 6-foot-0, 173-pound Sissons, 16, played for the BCHL’s Westside Warriors, picking up 22 points in 58 games.
Hamilton fully expects Sissons, a native of North Vancouver, to be in the Rockets’ lineup next season. The Rockets also picked up a 2011 third-round bantam pick in the deal with Saskatoon.
http://gdrinnan.blogspot.com/2010/04/wednesday_28.html
The Rockets give up a 5th rounder to the Blades if Scissons plays in the WHL this upcoming season.
http://reganbartel.blogspot.com/2010/04/hamilton-confirms-scissons.html
Round 3
53 Tyson Baillie F Fort Saskatchewan, AB Nov 16, 1995
Scouts say... "Lead his team to within a goal of becoming provincial champions. Shoots the puck like a pro and should score at the WHL level."
"Baillie is a solid player with very few weaknesses. He isn't exceptional in any one area but he's very good in all areas. His strength is his hockey sense."
“We got off to a great start with our first three picks,” said Lorne Frey, Rockets head scout. “We were very pleased. We got two of the top defencemen in the draft. The bottom line in this league is you don’t win without defencemen.”
With the team’s third round pick, the Rockets selected Tyson Baille, who led the Alberta bantam AAA league in scoring in the regular season and playoffs.
“He’s a great competitor with tremendous vision and he’s a leader,” said Frey of the third rounder.
By Warren Henderson - Kelowna Capital News
Lorne Frey and the defending WHL champs used their first two picks to take a pair of rearguards at Thursday’s draft of 1995-born players in Edmonton.
With the first choice, ninth overall, Kelowna scooped up Jesse Lees, a blue-liner from Calgary.
As fate would have it, the Rockets had Lees right near the top of their wish-list.
“It came down to individual preferences for a lot of teams and we were very happy that Jesse was still there,” said Lorne Frey, the Rockets director of player personnel. “He’s an excellent two-way guy, very strong, and he skates well. He’s a modern-day defenceman who can do a lot of things.”
With their second pick, the Rockets swapped second round choices with Prince George and took Madison Bowey 23rd overall. Kelowna, which also gave the Cougars a pair of fifth-round choices to get Bowey, was ecstatic to see the rearguard from Winnipeg was still available.
“(Bowey) is probably the equivalent to Jesse Lees in what he brings, skill and skating wise,” said Frey. “We think we got maybe the two most mobile defencemen in the draft.”
...
http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/sports/92453124.html
By Dan Kinvig - Abbotsford News
For Alex Orth and Austin Ferguson, Thursday’s Western Hockey League bantam draft represented a big step forward in their hockey careers.
The Abbotsford bantam Tier 1 Hawks teammates had their names called at the WHL’s annual talent lottery, held in Edmonton on Thursday.
Orth, a goaltender, was picked in the fifth round, 93rd overall, by the Red Deer Rebels. Ferguson, a winger, was a 10th-round pick by the Kelowna Rockets.
For Ferguson, draft day was a bit stressful. Hawks coach Troy Campbell thought his star forward could go as early as the second or third round, and Ferguson had heard rumblings that the Chilliwack Bruins or Medicine Hat Tigers might look to take him in the fifth round.
Ultimately, he had to wait until mid-afternoon to see his name pop up on the WHL draft website. The Rockets selected him with the first pick of the 10th round, 199th overall.
“I was expecting to go higher,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I was happy I got chosen.
“Kelowna’s a good franchise, and they came in second at the Memorial Cup last year. They’ll be good in the years to come.”
Campbell said Ferguson (6’0”, 160 pounds) has all the physical tools to become a prototypical WHL power forward. The rap on Ferguson is that he’s too nice. That’s generally an endearing character quality – during a draft-day interview, he went out of his way to express gratitude to his coaches with the Abbotsford Hawks and Yale Secondary hockey academy.
The problem is, he’s a sweetheart on the ice as well. Campbell compares him to former Vancouver Canuck and current Phoenix Coyotes winger Taylor Pyatt – a big, strong player who should be a little meaner when he laces up the skates.
“I’m a pretty laid-back guy,” Ferguson analyzed with a grin. “I don’t think I need to change my personality, but I need to change my game.”
http://www.bclocalnews.com/sports/92470824.html?c=y&curSection=/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews&curTitle=BC+Sports&bc09=true
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