T-Birds Select Defenseman and Center In First Round

The Seattle Thunderbirds selected defenseman Dante Fabbro in the first round, 8th overall, of the 2013 Bantam Draft Thursday morning in Alberta, Canada.

Fabbro, is 6’0 and 170 pounds, and played with the Burnaby Winter Club this past season.

“We really like him as a player,” said T-Birds Director of Player Personnel Colin Alexander from the Bantam Draft. “He’s a impact defenseman who is very competitive and when you combine skill and competitiveness you get a special player.”

“He is a very exciting offensive defenseman and can be a game changer all by himself,” said T-Birds general Manager Russ Farwell from the Bantam Draft.

The T-Birds selected center Kaden Elder with their second first round pick, 22nd overall. Elder, at 5’9 and 160 pounds, played for the Notre Dame Hounds last season. He had 64 points on 27 goals and 37 assists in 33 games.

“He is a hard working, high scoring forward with a great shot”, said Farwell.

“He’s a really talented centerman who played a lot of game at the midget level this season,” said Alexander. “He proved he could score at that level and he performed very well.”

The T-Birds selected left wing Nolan Volcan in the second round, 27th overall. Volcan, from Edmonton, Alberta, is 5’7 and 175 pounds. He played 32 games for the Edmonton MLAC Bantam AAA team last season and had 76 points on 40 goals and 36 assists with 66 penalty minutes.

“Volcan is a high energy forward with a good shot. He’s got great character,” said Farwell.

The T-Birds did not have a pick in the third or fourth rounds of the draft. They traded their third round pick to Calgary last season for goalie Brandon Glover. They traded their fourth round pick to Moose Jaw this season for center Andrew Johnson.

In the fifth round the T-Birds selected defenseman Brandon Schuldhaus from Bearspaw, Alberta. Schuldhaus is 6’1 and 166 pounds and he played 33 games with the Airdrie Xtreme Bantam AAA team. He had three goals and 12 assists for 15 points with 38 penalty minutes.

“He is a good skating defenseman with huge potential. He has a good shot and is a hard worker,” said Farwell.

The T-Birds selected Jagger Williamson from Lumby, British Columbia, in the sixth round, 122nd overall. Williamson, 5’7 and 150 pounds, played for the Vernon Bantam A1 team.

“He is a creative player that works hard and can score,” said Farwell about Williamson.

Right wing Spencer Hunter from Vancouver, British Columbia, was the T-Birds seventh round pick in the draft. Hunter is 6’2 and 170 pounds and he played for the Vancouver Thunderbirds Bantam A1 team.

“He is a rugged, hard working forward with very good hockey sense. His team won the BC Cup,” said Farwell.

The T-Birds selected right wing Colton Thomas in the eighth round, 159th overall, in the bantam draft. Thomas, from Williams Lake, British Columbia, is 5’8 and 140 pounds. He played with the Williams Lake Bantam Tier 2 team last season.

“He is a good two way responsible forward who can score and play in all situations,” said Farwell.

In the ninth round, 181st overall, the T-Birds took defenseman Shavan Khaira. Khaira is 6’1 and 196 pounds and played for the Okanagan Hockey Academy Bantam Tier 1 team.

“He makes great decisions with the puck. He has great size and could be a very good player,” said Farwell.

In the 10th round the T-Birds selected goalie Devon Fordyce with the 209th overall selection. Fordyce played four games with the Prince George Cougars last season. He was dropped by the Cougars from their player list prior to them making their ninth round selection, which was the 178th overall selection. By league rule teams cannot select a dropped player in the draft until after the next selection of the team that dropped the player. The Cougars next selection was the 200th overall selection.

Fordyce also played 13 games for the Brooks Bandits in the AJHL last season He had 10 wins, 2 losses and 1 overtime loss with a goals against average of 1.61 and a save percentage of .933.

The T-Birds selected center Caleb Griffin in the 12th round, 247th overall. Griffin, from Regina, Saskatchewan, played 26 games with the Regina Silver Foxes last season. He had 37 goals and 25 assists for 62 points with 38 penalty minutes. Griffin is 5’9 and 160 pounds.

“He is a great skater with really good vision. He plays hard and has a ton of offensive upside,” said Farwell.

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