Written by Ted Clarke
Citizen staff
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Saturday, 27 June 2009 |
Cougars Viedensky joins Shark tank
Steve Yzerman would understand.
As far as Ryan Howse is concerned, the Detroit Red Wings are no longer tops on his list.
Howse became a diehard Calgary Flames supporter early Saturday morning when agent Gerry Johansson phoned him to say the Flames had used their third-round pick (74th overall) to select him in the NHL entry draft in Montreal.
"I didn't get much sleep last night," said Howse, 17, who monitored the progress of the draft on his computer in Prince George.
"It's obviously every kid's dream to get drafted into the National Hockey League and say you're part of an NHL team. Since I was young I always wanted to be like my idol, Steve Yzerman. Detroit was always my favourite team, but not now. That changed today.
"The Flames said they didn't want to wait too much longer because they knew teams were going to start picking players like me and they wanted to try to get me. It's a good sign when a team trades up for you that they want to get you."
Of all the 30 teams that could have picked him, Calgary's selection was the most popular choice for Howse and his family. His father Jason, a former Spruce Kings goalie, is from the Stampede City, and the Flames already rank No. 1 among the extended Howse clan.
"They're my grandma's favourite team and most of my family's favourite team, so I'm pretty happy," Ryan said. "With the Flames' farm team in Abbotsford and me playing in Chilliwack, I could find myself in the Fraser Valley for a long time yet. It's nice and close to home in Canada and today there's no place I'd rather be. Hopefully all goes well and I end up a Calgary Flame soon but that's still a ways away. I have to work for a contract this year and continue to be successful with my hockey career."
In other draft news, Prince George Cougars centre Marek Viedensky was picked in the seventh round (189th overall) by the San Jose Sharks.
The native of Slovakia tied for third in Cougars' scoring last season with 16 goals and 40 points in 59 games. The six-foot-four, 185-pound Viedensky is the first Cougar selected in the draft since winger Dana Tyrell was picked in the second round (47th overall) in 2007 by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Howse led the Chilliwack Bruins in scoring last season with 31 goals and 44 points in 61 games. The Flames wanted him badly enough to move up 10 spots in combined deal that also involved Buffalo. In return, Calgary sent its 84th and 107th picks to the Los Angeles Kings.
"Going into today we wanted to get a couple of scoring wingers, and Ryan Howse has got really
good offensive skills," said Flames head scout Tod Button, on the Flames website.
Chilliwack general manager Darryl Porter predicts Howse will become an impact player with the Flames..
"I think the Flames got an absolute steal in the third round," Porter told the Calgary Herald. "On our team, we got dealt some really hard breaks early last year. Oscar Moller went to the NHL and a number of other things happened where Ryan's linemates weren't with the team.
"So we ended up being a very, very young team, and Ryan had to basically produce all by himself last year. He's an explosive player. He's from a down-to-earth, blue-collar family, and that's really what Ryan is as well."
Howse improved his NHL Central Scouting ranking on the list of available North American skaters from 51st at midseason to 37th at the end of the season. The Hockey News had him ranked him 75th overall.
Howse, an assistant captain with the Bruins last year, will likely return to Chilliwack as a third-year WHL veteran. He'll attend the Flames' rookie camp in Calgary, July 19-25, then prepare for the Bruins camp in late August before returning to the Flames' main camp.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 )
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