Number of Saskatchewan players top picks in 2020 WHL bantam draft

Saskatchewan lived up to its reputation of being a hockey-mad province during Wednesday’s 2020 WHL bantam draft.

Six of the first 13 picks hail from the land of living skies.

North Vancouver’s Connor Bedard, a centre who was the first player ever granted exceptional status in the WHL, was taken first overall by the Regina Pats.

But it wasn’t long for a Saskatchewan-born player to be selected, with Saskatoon left-winger Riley Heidt going second overall to the Prince George Cougars. The 5-foot-8, 150-pound winger scored 17 goals and recorded 20 assists in 44 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts during the 2019-20 season.

“Just letting it sink in that all the time and the hard work has paid off,” the 15-year-old said. “There has been a lot of attention, but it’s good. You’ve just got to sink all of it in but it’s just another day. As soon as you get drafted then it’s behind you and then you can focus on your future.”

The very next pick saw the Moose Jaw Warriors select Heidt’s teammate with the Contacts, 15-year-old centre Brayden Yager.

“It’s a huge honour to be drafted and I think having the opportunity to play for an organization like Moose Jaw will be pretty special,” said Yager, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound Saskatoon product who recorded 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) during the 2019-20 season.

Yager wasn’t surprised to see so many Saskatchewan players get taken early in the draft.

“It’s a physical brand of hockey out here and I think that’s what (scouts) are looking for — being able to be a tough player and able to play in any situation,” Yager said.

He’s also looking forward to lining up against Heidt in the future.

“I think it will be a cool moment playing (with) each other for a long time and then seeing each other on opposite sides will be pretty cool,” Yager said.

Two players from Regina also went in the first round.

Sam Oremba was selected seventh overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds. The 5-foot-10, 155-pounder recorded 75 goals and 133 points in 31 games with the Regina Monarchs during the 2019-20 season.

“Once I heard my name called, it was awesome. I was super happy and it was a sigh of relief that I made it. But it’s only starting,” Oremba said.

Oremba said he has known the Saskatchewan 2005-born players were going to be a strong group for a few years now.

“We keep getting better,” he said. “It’s exciting to watch and hopefully we all get (even) better soon.”

Brady Birnie went 21st overall to the Swift Current Broncos. The 5-foot-6, 120-pound centre had 56 goals and 72 assists in 31 games with the Monarchs last season.

Oremba said he spoke with Birnie after Swift Current made its pick.

“Both of us were thrilled that we both went in the first round and we’re very, very happy,” Oremba said.

Two other players from southern Saskatchewan — Shaunavon’s Kalan Lind (sixth overall, Red Deer Rebels) and Weyburn’s Quinn Mantei (13th overall, Brandon Wheat Kings) — also were picked in the first round.

Lind knew exactly what to expect when it came to the WHL draft; his older brother Kole was taken by the Kelowna Rockets in the fourth round (86th overall) of the 2013 bantam draft.

“He was always there, nagging on me to get better and work my hardest. You don’t know if it’s ever going to pay off but when it does, it’s awesome,” the younger Lind said.

Lind said a lot of the players drafted were on the Saskatchewan team at the 2015 Brick Invitational, a tournament that saw the talented group lose in the final.

“It was just a winning culture from that team and once they took that back to their own leagues, we were all leading scorers and our teams were at the top of the divisions. It was just awesome for each player,” Lind said.

Yager, Heidt, Lind and Mantei were all members of the 2015 Saskatchewan Jr. Pats team at the tournament.

Pats draft nine players, trade for goalie during draft

The Regina Pats landed nine bantam-aged players Wednesday, but they also got a 20-year-old.

The Pats used the draft to stock the system with younger players, starting with Bedard.

But the Pats also made a trade, acquiring overage goalie Roddy Ross from Seattle for a second-round pick in 2020, a fourth-round pick in 2022 and a conditional second-round pick in 2024.

Ross, who hails from Meadow Lake, was a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NHL draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He appeared in 49 games with Seattle in 2019-20, posting a 20-21-4-3 record, a 3.17 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.

As for Bedard, having been granted exceptional player status, the 5-foot-8, 165-pounder can play in every game with the Pats as a 15-year-old next season.

Last season with West Vancouver Academy’s midget prep team, Bedard had 43 goals and 41 assists in 36 games en route to being named the Canadian Sports School Hockey League’s most valuable player.

It wasn’t a secret that the Pats were going to select Bedard; they signed him to a standard WHL player agreement on Tuesday.

In the second round (41st overall), the Pats selected centre Matthew Wood. A product of Nanaimo, B.C., the 6-foot-1, 157-pound Wood put up 40 goals and 31 assists in 30 games last season with West Van’s bantam prep squad.

The Pats didn’t have a third-round pick, but they took three players in the fourth round.

Defenceman Carter Herman (71st overall) hails from Swift Current. During the 2019-20 season, he recorded 13 goals and 26 assists in 27 games with the Swift Current Broncos bantam team.

With the 73rd pick, the Pats selected left-winger Tanner Howe from Prince Albert. He had 38 goals and 75 points with the Prince Albert Pirates during the 2019-20 campaign.

At No. 74, Regina took defenceman Ty Plaisier from Virden, Man. As a member of the Southwest Cougars, he recorded 29 points — including 10 goals — last season.

With their fifth-round selection (93rd overall), the Pats selected goaltender Florian Wade from Anchorage, Alaska. He posted a 22-2-0 record with a 2.56 GAA and one shutout at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School last season.

In the seventh round (137th overall), Regina selected centre Owen Beckner. A product of Victoria, Beckner put up 11 goals and 37 points with St. George’s School during the 2019-20 season.

Regina used its ninth-round selection (181st overall) to take left-winger Brady Milburn from Kamloops. During the 2019-20 season, he recorded 15 goals and 30 assists for the Yale Hockey Academy prep team.

In the 10th round (203rd overall), the Pats selected goalie Kenneth Marquart. He went 23-5-0 with a 3.36 GAA and one shutout over 28 games with the Monarchs last season.

Regina passed on its final five picks.

Other players from southern Saskatchewan were taken in the draft.

Lockwood’s Bauer Dumanski (second round, 26th overall, Prince George), Bethune’s Ben Riche (second round, 33rd overall, Moose Jaw), Swift Current’s Anthony Wilson (third round, 59th overall, Victoria Royals), Swift Current’s Nolan Stevenson (fourth round, 67th overall, Swift Current) and Willow Bunch’s Van Eger (fourth round, 88th overall, Swift Current) went within the first five rounds.

Regina’s Keelan Mansuy (eighth round, 156th overall, Moose Jaw), Arcola’s Carson Birnie (eighth round, 160th overall, Red Deer), Weyburn’s Ty Mason (ninth round, 184th overall, Kelowna), Ebenezer’s Matthew Ronn (ninth round, 185th overall, Saskatoon Blades), Moose Jaw’s Rowan Calvert (ninth round, 187th overall, Saskatoon), White City’s Noah Asmundson (ninth round, 189th overall, Brandon), White City’s Boston Harkness (10th round, 204th overall, Red Deer) and Melville’s Carter McKay (10th round, 213th overall, Prince Albert Raiders) were selected in the next five rounds.

Pilot Butte’s Harper Lolacher (11th round, 222nd overall, Moose Jaw), Kyle’s Rylan Williams (11th round, 236th overall, Lethbridge Hurricanes), Regina’s Wyatt Homeniuk (12th round, 250th overall, Kelowna) and Yorkton’s Jaxon Sperling (13th round, 278th overall, Winnipeg Ice) went in the final three rounds.