PDA

View Full Version : Winter Hawks Sign First Round Draft Choice



HAF
06-21-2006, 06:22 PM
Winter Hawks Sign First Round Draft Choice

Created: Jun 20, 2006
http://cluster.leaguestat.com/download.php?client_code=whl&w=220&file_path=img/pictures/Portland.jpg (javascript:void( window.open('http://cluster.leaguestat.com/download.php?client_code=whl&file_path=img/pictures/Portland.jpg', 'News', 'width=920,height=920') ))

+ Enlarge (javascript:void( window.open('http://cluster.leaguestat.com/download.php?client_code=whl&file_path=img/pictures/Portland.jpg', 'News', 'width=920,height=920') ))

Portland, Oregon - The Portland Winter Hawks have signed first round WHL Bantam Draft pick Riley Boychuk to a Western Hockey League contract.

“He is a winger with good size, skates well, and possesses a special touch around the net,” said Portland General Manager Ken Hodge. “We felt fortunate to be able to draft him in the position we were in. He looks like he has the potential to be a gifted goal scorer with an effective one-timer shot. As he matures and his career moves forward, he should be important to our specialty teams in future years.”

Boychuk, Portland’s first selection, 10th overall, in the WHL Bantam Draft held last month, will not be eligible to play for the Hawks full time until the 2007-08 season when he becomes a 16-year-old player.

“Riley wanted to play in the WHL,” said Winter Hawks Director of Player Personnel Gord Loiselle. “I talked to Riley and his parents before the draft and they said that if Portland drafted him, it would be a good fit. When we drafted him, they were very happy about it and Riley was eager to commit to play for us.”

Loiselle says Boychuk will likely play major midget or Jr. B hockey next season.

Last year, playing AAA Bantam hockey in his home town of Abbottsford, B.C., Boychuk finished with 60 goals and 74 assists for 134 points with 112 penalty minutes in 63 games. He was also the leading scorer in the Western Canadian AAA Bantam Championship tournament held in April with (6-10-16) in 5 games as his team won the tournament. Boychuk is Portland’s second consecutive first round bantam draft choice that played on a Western Canadian Bantam Championship team. The Hawks’ 2005 first round bantam selection, Thomas Frazee (http://whl.ca/en/stats/player.php?id=24522), was on the winning team in 2005 playing for North Shore Winter Club AAA Bantams in the Vancouver, B.C. area. Frazee joined the Hawks at the end of last year’s regular season and skated a regular shift as a 15-year-old in the Hawks’ first round playoff win over Seattle and in the Western Conference Semi-Finals against the eventual WHL league champion Vancouver Giants.

“Riley looks to have some great all around tools,” said Portland coach Mike Williamson. “He has good hands, skates well, and we’re expecting him to be pushed, and to push himself, this year so he is ready to impact our team when he is 16 years old in 2007-08.”

Boychuk, a 6’2, 175 left wing, will be attending the Hawks’ main training camp to be held in the Portland area with sessions beginning on Sunday, August 27. Sites and session times will be announced on www.winterhawks.com when they are finalized and will be open to the public as they have been the last two years.