Quite the crazy opening round to the 2019 W-H-L Bantam Draft!
There were five trades involving eight teams. Nine players and 14 draft picks changed hands…eight of the draft picks were first rounders…either this year or for future years. Of the 22 first round draft picks this year, 16 were moved at some point. Prominent names as Jett Woo, Jake Lee, Dillon Hamaliuk and Vladislav Yeromenko changed addresses.
The Saskatoon Blades were involved in the first trade, sending the third overall pick they had acquired last year from Regina, plus 20-year-old defenceman Reece Harsch, to the Winnipeg ICE for the ninth overall selection, the 24th choice…or second pick in the second round…a second round pick in 2020 and a fifth rounder in 2021. With the ninth overall choice, the Blades took centre Brandon Lisowsky from Port Coquitlam, B-C and the Burnaby Winter Club. The ICE ended up with the first two choices in the Draft, taking Edmonton-area forward Matthew Savoie first overall…even though he has committed to attend the University of Denver.
With the 10th overall selection, the first Saskatchewan-born player was chosen as Seattle took defenceman Kevin Korchinski from the Saskatoon Generals. Following are the news releases from the Blades and the W-H-L…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Red Deer, Alta. – The Saskatoon Blades have completed a trade with the Winnipeg ICE acquiring four draft picks in exchange for one draft pick and a player.
The Blades will receive the ninth overall pick and 24th overall pick in today’s draft. Saskatoon also receives and second and fifth round pick in next year’s bantam draft.
In exchange, the Winnipeg ICE receive the third overall pick today, along with 1999 born defenseman, Reece Harsch.
The second round pick Saskatoon receives in 2020 originally belonged to Red Deer. The ninth overall pick today also originally belonged to Red Deer; and the fifth round pick in next year’s draft is Saskatoon’s property and was sent to Winnipeg earlier in the 2018-19 season for 2000 born forward Cyle McNabb.
The Saskatoon Blades would like to thank Reece Harsch for his time with our organization and wish him all the best next season in Winnipeg.
WHL COMPLETES FIRST ROUND OF 2019 WHL BANTAM DRAFT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 Red Deer, Alta. – The Western Hockey League completed the first round of the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft this morning at the Cambridge Hotel & Conference Centre in Red Deer, Alta. After retaining the first-overall pick from the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft Lottery, the Winnipeg ICE used the pick to select forward Matthew Savoie (St. Albert, Alta. / Northern Alberta Xtreme Bantam Prep). Of the 22 players selected there were 14 forwards and eight defencemen. Of those, 11 came from British Columbia, with seven from Alberta, three from Manitoba, and one from Saskatchewan. A total of 13 players were selected from Canadian Sports School Hockey League teams in the first round. Players eligible for the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft were 2004-born players residing in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Click HERE for a complete list of all players selected, including vitals. Photos of players can be found via this Dropbox link. Please credit all photos to the CSSHL. 2019 WHL Bantam Draft Results – First Round #1 – Winnipeg ICE Name: Matthew Savoie Position: Forward Hometown: St. Albert, Alta. Previous Team: Northern Alberta Xtreme Midget Prep Stats: 31 GP – 31G – 40A – 71PTS – 53 PIM #2 – Winnipeg ICE Name: Conor Geekie Position: Forward Hometown: Strathclair, Man. Previous Team: Yellowhead Bantam AAA Chiefs Stats: 31 GP – 49G – 37A – 86PTS – 58 PIM #3 – Prince George Cougars Name: Keaton Dowhaniuk Position: Defence Hometown: Sherwood Park, Alta. Previous Team: OHA Edmonton Bantam Prep Stats: 25 GP – 8G – 27A – 35PTS – 34 PIM #4 – Prince George Cougars Name: Koehn Ziemmer Position: Forward Hometown: Mayerthorpe, Alta. Previous Team: OHA Edmonton Bantam Prep Stats: 29 GP – 37G – 39A – 76PTS – 16 PIM #5 – Brandon Wheat Kings Name: Nate Danielson Position: Forward Hometown: Red Deer, Alta. Previous Team: Red Deer Bantam AAA Rebels Stats: 29 GP – 26G – 33A – 59PTS – 16 PIM #6 – Brandon Wheat Kings Name: Tyson Zimmer Position: Forward Hometown: Russel, Man. Previous Team: Okanagan Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Stats: 26 GP – 22G – 30A – 52PTS – 27 PIM #7 – Kamloops Blazers Name: Mats Lindgren Position: Defence Hometown: North Vancouver, B.C. Previous Team: Burnaby Winter Club Bantam Prep Stats: 27 GP – 4G – 22A – 26PTS – 20 PIM #8 – Seattle Thunderbirds Name: Jordan Gustafson Position: Forward Hometown: Ardrossan, Alta. Previous Team: Fort Saskatchewan Bantam AAA Rangers Stats: 33 GP – 31G – 39A – 70PTS – 16 PIM #9 – Saskatoon Blades Name: Brandon Lisowsky Position: Forward Hometown: Port Coquitlam, B.C. Previous Team: Burnaby Winter Club Bantam Prep Stats: 26 GP – 32G – 17A – 49PTS – 50 PIM #10 – Seattle Thunderbirds Name: Kevin Korchinski Position: Defence Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask. Previous Team: Saskatoon Bantam AA Generals Stats: 31 GP – 10G – 37A – 47PTS – 34 PIM #11 – Moose Jaw Warriors Name: Denton Mateychuk Position: Defence Hometown: Dominion City, Man. Previous Team: Eastman Bantam AAA Selects Stats: 36 GP – 23G – 38A – 61PTS – 12 PIM #12 – Medicine Hat Tigers Name: Oasiz Wiesblatt Position: Forward Hometown: Calgary, Alta. Previous Team: Calgary Bantam AAA Bisons Stats: 28 GP – 19G – 36A – 55PTS – 94 PIM #13 – Calgary Hitmen Name: Grayden Siepmann Position: Defence Hometown: Abbotsford, B.C. Previous Team: Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Stats: 29 GP – 8G – 21A – 29PTS – 14 PIM #14 – Swift Current Broncos Name: Matthew Ward Position: Forward Hometown: Richmond, B.C. Previous Team: Delta Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Stats: 30 GP – 24G – 40A – 64PTS – 42 PIM #15 – Spokane Chiefs Name: Ben Thornton Position: Forward Hometown: Abbotsford, B.C. Previous Team: Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Stats: 30 GP – 13G – 32A – 45PTS – 28 PIM #16 – Brandon Wheat Kings Name: Rylen Roersma Position: Forward Hometown: Raymond, Alta. Previous Team: Lethbridge Bantam AAA Golden Hawks Stats: 29 GP – 23G – 21A – 44PTS – 30 PIM #17 – Regina Pats Name: Layton Feist Position: Defence Hometown: Coldstream, B.C. Previous Team: North Zone Bantam AAA Kings Stats: 20 GP – 8G – 14A – 22PTS – 14 PIM #18 – Edmonton Oil Kings Name: Caleb Reimer Position: Forward Hometown: Surrey, B.C. Previous Team: Delta Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Stats: 30 GP – 18G – 27A – 45PTS – 12 PIM #19 – Victoria Royals Name: Jason Spizawka Position: Defence Hometown: Victoria, B.C. Previous Team: Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Stats: 28 GP – 2G – 23A – 25PTS – 26 PIM #20 – Kamloops Blazers Name: Connor Levis Position: Forward Hometown: Vancouver, B.C. Previous Team: St. George’s School Bantam Prep Stats: 26 GP – 24G – 38A – 62PTS – 22 PIM #21 – Swift Current Broncos Name: Tyson Jugnauth Position: Defence Hometown: Richmond, B.C. Previous Team: Central Zone Bantam AA Rockets Stats: 16 GP – 8G – 6A – 14PTS – 12 PIM #22 – Prince Albert Raiders Name: Niall Crocker Position: Forward Hometown: Delta, B.C. Previous Team: Delta Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Stats: 30 GP – 18G – 27A – 45PTS – 36 PIM
