Photo Courtesy Perry Bergson/Brandon Sun Cayden Glover, a second-round pick by the Medicine Hat Tigers Thursday, skates with the puck in this undated photo.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Tigers selected 15-year-old centre Oasiz Wiesblatt to lead a class of 11 prospects by calling his name at 12th overall in Thursday’s Western Hockey League bantam draft in Red Deer.
Wiesblatt is coming off a prolific year with the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League’s Calgary Bisons, racking up 19 goals and 36 assists with a whopping 94 penalty minutes in just 28 games.
“He’s a ball of fire, an energy guy,” Tigers director of player personnel Bobby Fox said of the left-handed centre, in an interview on the WHL’s live broadcast of the draft. “He wears his emotions on his sleeve but he also has high-end skill and I think that he’s going to be an excellent Tiger.”
The Winnipeg Ice – formerly Kootenay – made a few big splashes right off the hop Thursday morning by selecting highly touted centre Matthew Savoie with the first overall pick then making a few trades to take centre Conor Geekie at second.
The Ice acquired the third overall pick from Saskatoon along with defenceman Reece Harsch in exchange for the ninth overall selection, a second round pick and two more picks in 2020. Winnipeg immediately traded the third overall pick to Prince George, along with a third round pick in 2020, to move up a spot in the draft and take Geekie.
Savoie, a St. Albert product, was denied exceptional status to the WHL earlier this year and subsequently committed to the NCAA. While that would prevent Savoie from competing with the Ice, he can still make the decision to join the WHL.
In a likely effort to sweeten the pot, Winnipeg made a move to acquire the rights of Savoie’s brother, Carter, last month.
By the end of the draft, a total of nine trades had been completed – two fewer than on deadline day – though none involved Medicine Hat.
“I’ve never seen that much movement,” said Tigers general manager Shaun Clouston. “The game, from the managerial level, is changing a little bit. I think it’s trending to where there are a few more teams that are willing to do bigger things, so I think that’s one thing. I think with Kelowna hosting (the Memorial Cup) this year, obviously that factored into it, and I think there were some identifiable players that obviously teams felt strongly enough about to give up assets to move up.”
The Tigers went on a total of five forwards, five defencemen and one goaltender, with six of their 11 picks coming in the first three rounds.
“It was real important for us to make sure that we were prepared going in. The guys that were next up on our list, I think they were a really good bunch of players,” he said. “The exciting part of it, all through the draft right to the end, we were able to pick guys that we really liked.”
Second round
The Tigers put three picks to use in the second round, selecting Brandon-based left-winger Cayden Glover at 25th overall, then Delta Hockey Academy teammates Henry Smith and Brayden Boehm at 34th and 37th, respectively.
“I was shocked,” Glover told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun. “I had to rewind the tape to make sure it was me, and then I told my tablemates because I was sitting with my best friends. We all just kind of high-fived and smiled.”
Glover closed out his bantam draft season just shy of the 50-goal plateau. Despite only playing in 36 games, the 5-foot-9, 162-pound forward piled up 47 goals and added 19 assists with his hometown Wheat Kings, of the Winnipeg Bantam AAA league. Glover’s 66-point total was more than any two of his Wheaties teammates combined.
While the selection is a thrilling accolade at the end of an impressive season, Glover says he understands there’s even more work ahead if he hopes to earn a full-time role with Medicine Hat in the future.
“It means a lot to me. It means I’ve achieved something but it’s not done yet,” he said. “I’m not done all the hard work I need to get to the next level, it’s just one step.”
Smith – a left-shooting blueliner who stands 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds – proved himself as a capable two-way player by closing out his 29-game season in Delta with 11 goals and 19 assists. Up at centre, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Boehm chipped in with 16 goals and 24 assists through 30 contests to help Delta to an impressive 23-4-3 record.
Third round
The Tigers made use of back-to-back picks in the third round, taking Albertan blueliner Ryan Nolan at 56th overall then opting for Arizona-based forward Oren Shtrom at 57th.
Nolan – a 5-foot-11, 140-pound left-shot blueliner from Calgary – hit the net eight times and added 16 assists in 31 games with his hometown Northstar Sabres, of the AMBHL, this season.
Shtrom managed to work his way onto Medicine Hat’s radar with the Phoenix Junior Coyotes bantam AAA squad. The 5-foot-7, 133-pound forward closed out a short 12-game season with three goals and 11 assists.
Fifth round
The Tigers were without a selection in the fourth round, but went back on the clock in the fifth to take goaltender Dylan Silverstein at 95th overall.
The 5-foot-11, 150-pound Shrewsbury, Mass. product closed out his bantam season as a member of the Islanders Hockey Club with a 3.46 goals against average, an .885 save percentage and a 10-2-0-0 record.
Sixth round
Medicine Hat used two picks in the sixth round to take forward Tyler MacKenzie at 122nd overall, then left-shot defenceman Ben Bonni with the 129th selection.
MacKenzie – a 5-foot-6, 138-pound playmaker with a nose for the net – closed out his season as a member of the AMBHL’s Red Deer Rebels with 20 goals and 31 assists in just 32 games.
Bonni chipped in at both ends of the ice with the Winnipeg Sharks bantam AAA squad this season. The 5-foot-8, 149-pound blueliner finished with six goals and 15 assists in 33 games while limiting himself to 18 penalty minutes.
Seventh round
The Tigers went back to the blue line in the seventh round to take Lethbridge Golden Hawks right-shot defenceman Emanuel Hudson at 144th overall.
The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Lethbridge product recorded eight goals and 11 assists in 33 games with the Golden Hawks this season.
Eighth round
Medicine Hat stayed on the back end in the eighth round, selecting right-shot defenceman Will Sinclair at 166th overall.
The 5-foot-10, 145-pound Fullerton, Calif. product closed the book on his bantam draft season after compiling four goals and six assists in 30 games with the Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Roughriders.
The Tigers opted to pass on their ninth-round selection at 188th overall.
Medicine Hat’s 11 new recruits will join the Tigers for orientation camp from May 24-26.
