The Virden Oil Capitals completed the 2022 MJHL Draft on Saturday, June 4th and including their auto-protect selection earlier in the week, added 8 new players to the hockey club.
Virden native Bryce Bryant was the Oil Caps auto-protect selection ahead of draft day and they got a good one. Bryant is a smooth skating forward who competes hard and has the ability to put up points. He spent the 2021-2022 season with the RHA Nationals in Winnipeg where he put up 10 goals and 12 assists in 36 games.
The Oil Caps selected 9th overall in the 1st round of the 2022 Draft and with that selection they took left-handed defenseman Cole Slobodian from Brandon. Slobodian is an extremely intelligent dman who makes a good first pass and has a ton of potential. He has tremendous character and had a great season with the Brandon U18 Wheat Kings where he had 2 goals and 16 assists in 43 regular season games and added a goal and 4 assists in 11 playoff games playing on the Wheat Kings top pairing.
The Oil Caps had 2 selections in the 2nd round and with the 23rd overall pick took forward Luke Mackenzie from Pipestone, MB. Mackenzie is a modern day power forward who can score and can be very hard to play against. Mackenzie was a key forward on a Southwest Cougar team that got all the way to the final of the Telus Cup Regional before losing to a very good Notre Dame Hounds team. Mackenzie had 14 goals and 18 assists in 41 games for the Cougars last season.
Then with the 25th overall selection the Oil Caps took forward Jeremiah Warkentine from Linden, MB. Warkentine is another big body who works extremely hard and plays with a physical presence. Warkentine spent most of the season with the Eastman Selects U17 team where he had 7 goals and 19 assists in 20 games but also suited up in 18 games for the U18 Selects where he had a very respectable 5 goals and 2 assists.
The Oil Caps 3rd round pick, 35th overall was forward Jaxson Fillion from Winnipeg. Fillion is a consistent competitor with a great work ethic and is not afraid to go to the hard areas of the ice. His energy and character will be an asset that will allow him to succeed at any level. Fillion had 14 goals and 20 assists in 35 games with the U17 Winnipeg Bruins.
The Oil Caps then selected Rhylan Baxter in the 4th round, 51st overall. The big defenceman from the U17 Winnipeg Wild is a physical presence and plays a sound defensive game. He makes a good first pass, can put up some numbers and has very high potential. Baxter had 11 goals and 10 assists in 30 games for the U17 Wild.
The Oil Caps did not have a 5th round pick but had 2 selections in the 6th round where they took goaltender Ethan Simcoe 79th overall and forward Campbell Epp 84th overall.
Simcoe from Lac du Bonnet is agile, aggressive and great at tracking pucks. The Swift Current Bronco draft pick played last season with the RHA Nationals where he posted a 3.50 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 19 games.
Epp, from Winnipeg, is a big body who has a very high IQ and has a natural ability to score goals. He suited up last season for the Westwood Collegiate Warriors where he had 14 goals and 12 assists in 23 games and added another 4 goals and 4 assists in 8 playoff games for the Warriors.
With the Oil Caps only making 1 auto-protect selection in Bryant they received an additional 8th round pick where they selected forward Parker Rolston 106th overall. The big bodied forward from Winnipeg has great character, loves to compete and plays a grinding type game. He played last season with the U17 Winnipeg Wild and had 10 goals and 6 assists in 30 games.
GM and Head Coach Tyson Ramsey was very pleased with the day. “It was a very good day for our organization. Our scout group, led by our Head Scout Brian Elder, put together a great list as always and we were able to make selections that were high on our list. We addressed some things we thought we needed to focus on in terms of some size and skill and we also got some depth at each position. It was a great day and we are looking forward to getting these guys on the ice for our prospect camp in August.”
Next up for the Oil Caps is the annual prospect camp in early August and all the new faces will be on the ice for fans to come and check out.
Oil Capitals 2022-2023 season tickets are now on sale and available by visiting the Oil Caps office at Tundra Oil & Gas Place, calling the office at 204-748-4848, or emailing marketing@oilcapshockey.com