ROUND 1- PICK 5: BRAY ROOKES (DEFENSE)
Team: Yellowhead Chiefs (Bantam AAA)
Hometown: Manson MB
Height: 6
Weight: 197
GP 44, G 19, A 29, P 48, PIM 85
SCOUTS COMMENTS:
We are very pleased to be able to add Bray to our grouping of defensemen that we have selected for the last two years. He is a character kid, a team first player, who is physical and very hard to play against. He definitely adds some grit and leadership to our depth chart.
ROUND 3- PICK 27: BROCK MOROZ (GOALTENDER)
Team: Pembina Valley Hawks (Bantam AAA)
Hometown: La Salle MB
Height: 5 ‘8’
Weight: 125
GP 35, GAA 3.23, PCT .896
SCOUTS COMMENTS:
Brock was a player that we felt was a must for us to select. His performance throughout the season and especially in the rural provincial championships made our group feel very confident about selecting a goaltender earlier than we ever have. His team played with confidence in front of him because of his mental toughness.
ROUND 5- PICK 45: DRAYDEN KURBATOFF (FORWARD)
Team: Eastman Selects (Bantam AAA)
Hometown: Grunthal MB
Height: 5 ‘9’
Weight: 135
GP 20, G 3, A 6, P 9, PIM 12
SCOUTS COMMENTS:
Drayden made a big impression on us at our draft eligible camp this spring. He thinks the game offensively and has the ability to score goals many different ways. Drayden missed much of the season due to injury, but looked more and more comfortable down the stretch. We feel he can be a 200 foot guy that can play in traffic and provide offence, especially come playoff time.
ROUND 5- PICK 47: RILEY ZIMMERMAN (FORWARD)
Team: Winnipeg Monarchs (Bantam AAA)
Hometown: Winnipeg MB
Height: 5’6’
Weight: 170
GP 31, G18, A 13, P 31, PIM 74
SCOUTS COMMENTS:
Riley has been a player that has continued to improve through out the season. He gets around the rink very well, competes night in, night out, and gets in on top of opposing teams D. He creates opportunities for himself and his line mates. He was excellent at the Western Canada Bantam Championships. We are excited to add Riley to our group.
ROUND 6- TYLER THOENDEL (FORWARD)
Team: Winnipeg Monarchs (Bantam AAA)
Hometown: Winnipeg MB
Height: 5’6’
Weight: 125
GP 34, G 23, A 25 P 48, PIM 16
SCOUTS COMMENTS:
Tyler is a very skilled guy who can generate offence off the rush and off of the cycle. He is good in small spaces, plays a two on one type of game and makes everyone around him better. He thinks the game extremely well and we feel he will be an offensive player down the road.
OUR AUTO PROTECTS
HUNTER ANDREW (FORWARD)
Team: Southwest Cougars (Bantam AAA)
Hometown: Virden MB
Height: 5 ‘9’
Weight: 140
GP 36, G 10, A 14, P 24, PIM 32
SCOUTS COMMENTS:
Hunter is a very individually skilled guy. He gets around the rink very well, can play forward or D, and has the ability to score. The younger brother of listed player Tanner, Hunter showed good progress throughout the season.
RYAN COLON (FORWARD)
Team: Southwest Cougars (Bantam AAA)
Hometown: Virden MB
Height: 5 ‘7’
Weight: 140
GP 36, G 10, A 9, P 19, PIM 8
SCOUTS COMMENTS:
Ryan had a really good finish to his season. After Christmas, He started to contribute regularly, scored big goals and played more and more physical every game. Ryan has always had the ability to score, poses good puck skills and sees the ice very well.
We are excited to have both of these local players as our auto protects.
“We feel very good about the draft. With not having all of our picks, and large gaps between picks, the players that we selected certainly were who we were targeting. For those players to be available when we were selecting certainly made our group feel excited, and definitely filled some needs within our depth chart. “
I would like to thank my group of guys for all the miles they put on during the course of the season identifying players. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by a dedicated group of people that care about our organization very much. They do an excellent job.