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Draft picks an interesting mix |
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Written by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
Defenceman Jesse Forsberg, a 14-year-old from Waldheim, Sask., captained the Warman Wildcats to a berth in the Western Canadian bantam championship this past season. The Prince George Cougars selected him 11th overall in last week’s bantam draft. (Submitted photo)
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General manager Dallas Thompson feels there are future impact players among the nine selected last Thursday in the league’s annual claim day for bantam prospects. First and foremost is defenceman Jesse Forsberg, a 14-year-old who captained the Warman Wildcats to the Saskatchewan bantam title despite trying times.
Warman’s coach, veteran Saskatoon hockey man Ted Priel, died of cancer the night the Wildcats won the provincial crown.
“Jesse is very happy to be a Cougar, and we’re glad to have him ,” said Thompson, who used the 11th overall choice acquired in the Ty Wishart-Justin Maylan trade with Moose Jaw to select Forsberg.
“(Cougars scouts Daryl Lubiniecki and Scott Schoneck) got to watch him play a whole bunch this year, and we had him rated 10th overall. He is a good kid and he obviously helped that team get through some tough times when their coach passed away. To be the captain and go through that with your team, and win a championship like they did, obviously you have to do a very good job.”
Forsberg, six-foot and 175 pounds, moved to Waldheim, Sask., which is a half-hour north of Saskatoon, more than a year ago. He spent most of his childhood in Martensville, which is minutes outside Saskatoon. Waldheim used to have a small ice surface, located in a glorified barn, but it has been replaced by a shiny new Olympic-sized ice sheet.
Forsberg’s father Blaine runs elite hockey camps and owns an art shop in Waldheim.
“I’m a solid defensive defenceman who can play both ends of the ice,” said Forsberg, describing his play.
“I’m very excited. I know Mr. Lubiniecki, and I’ve heard good things about the city and the fans.”
Thompson said Forsberg was the best player on the table when the Cougars picked. With how they’ve been burned in the past by players refusing to come to Prince George for a variety or reasons, there wasn’t a prospect they stayed away from due to concerns such as NCAA scholarship aspirations.
The Cougars did swing for the fence with their choice in the sixth round. Thompson will meet with centre Zac Larazza, a six-foot-three, 165-pounder from Arizona, this week and hopes to sway his plan of staying stateside.
“With Larazza, there’s a lot of interest from the U.S. national program for him but I think we can work our way through that,” said Thompson.
“It may not be for his 16-year-old year, but maybe some point after that. It’s the same with Jared Linnell (a centre from North Pole, Alaska taken in the 10th round), we feel we can get both of those players to camp.”
Linnell’s father Derek played four seasons of pro hockey after an NCAA stint at Alaska-Fairbanks.
In the second round, the Cougars took large-body right-winger Caleb Belter (6-1, 195), an Edmonton product who was the sniper on the wing for Mark McNeill, who went fifth overall to Prince Albert. With no third-round choice, the Cougars waited until the fourth-round to gamble on defenceman Shane Pilling of Lethbridge. Only five-eight and 135 pounds, Pilling was described by one scout as having “the best feet in the draft, and so strong a skater he’ll play in the league even if he doesn’t grow.”
“Every time we watched Belter, he and McNeill provided almost all their offence, and we talked to him and he’s someone who is very involved in his community,” said Thompson.
“I watched Pilling a number of times, including their playoffs, and he’s a very good skater. He’s only going to get better -- he’s small, but with the way he skates he could probably play pretty soon.”
The other interesting pick came in the ninth round and the 178th spot. Kelowna-raised winger Max Fiedler was, according to WHL blogger Alan Caldwell, “This time last year, Fiedler was being talked about as a potential #1 overall pick in 2008.”
Fiedler scored 24 times and had 53 points in 23 games for the Notre Dame, Sask., bantam Hounds, but went into the draft with a reputation not unlike the one that caused Everett star Kyle Beach to fall 10th overall in his draft year. Whispers about discipline problems dropped Fiedler’s stock.
“We’re happy to get Fiedler, and obviously when somebody falls that far in the draft some teams have some concerns,” Thompson said of the strong-framed Fiedler, five-10 and 190 pounds.
“We watched him quite a few times this winter, and we’ve talked to Max and talked to his dad, and we feel comfortable he’ll address those things. He was fine with everything and he said he would start working on some of that stuff the day after the draft.”
Brady Goebel, a right-winger from Stony Plain, Alta., is the son of a Regina Pats scout. The younger Goebel, the Cougars’ seventh-round pick, ran his team’s power play and plays with a bit of an edge, according to Thompson.
Blaine Thomson was chosen in the 10th round. The five-foot-nine, 166-pound defenceman was the captain of the same Notre Dame team that Fiedler played for.
“We had Thomson rated higher, and a lot of us know his coach and know the kind of coaching he’s had,” said the GM. “His coach couldn’t believe how far Thomson fell, and at that spot we were looking for another defenceman.”
To make room for all the picks, the Cougars dropped forwards Jan Kupec, Lane Menage and Kenny Tanaka from the protected list. Next priority for Thompson is to find three overagers -- one might be an old one from last season.
“There was talk of guys wanting to get draft picks for their (20-year-olds), but I didn’t like the quality of those 20s,” said Thompson, who realizes a need for improvement on the blueline.
“We’re looking at some guys who maybe aren’t in our league right now and we’ll see what we can get to camp. There aren’t many 20-year-old defencemen around for this year. We may still have Patrik Magnusson back, too, so we have to let that play out.”
n The Cougars will pick ninth overall in the CHL import draft, set for June 26.
n Trainer Chris Linder, who held the job for one season, will not be back with the team. Plans are to have a replacement named within a month.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 May 2008 )
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