If none of the 15-year-old Prince George hockey players eligible for today's Western Hockey League draft are selected they should not give up hope.
If they are anything like the two guys who coached the Farr Fabricating bantam Tier 1 Cougars last season there's hope on the horizon.
Head coach Mirsad Mujcin emerged from the obscurity of minor hockey in Yellowknife to play three seasons in the WHL at centre with the Tri-City Americans and Regina Pats, while Cougars' assistant coach Tyler Brough also went undrafted before he caught on as a face-off guy with the Prince George Cougars.
"It's tough because they put a lot of weight on these kids who all develop at different stages," said Mujcin, who had to ask coach Chico Resch for an invitation to the Americans' camp. "The kids from the North are maybe sometimes a step behind in the development process compared to the kids from Vancouver. Down south, they have more access to competition and play more.
"It's a risk because they draft a 14-year-old hoping they're going to be around at 17 or 18. Well that's three years away."
Defenceman Dan Hamhuis and centre Blair Betts, both former Prince George Cougars, are among dozens of ex-WHL players who made it to the NHL after getting bypassed in the WHL draft.
Brough was eventually listed by the Cougars but there was plenty of disappointment in the Brough household in Grande Prairie when he went undrafted.
He says when scouts are narrowing their choices they typically don't talk to the players, preferring to sound out coaches and parents to learn their character traits.
"I think that's good," said Brough, who played three seasons with the Cougars from 1996-99. "I was approached by a lot of scouts, which kind of gets in the head of a 16-year-old, especially if it's a tournament and you've got more games to play that weekend. It can take away from team play."
Sometimes, those conversations with parents can be quite revealing.
"The scouts know the kid's game, they're asking me, 'How are the parents?'" said Mujcin. "I've been told straight out they will not draft a kid if his parents are out of whack. If the kid's a first-round superstar they'll probably turn a blind eye, but if he's a fourth- or fifth-rounder they want to make sure the kid has the proper push behind him because that's the support he needs."
Among the local players most likely to get picked in the bantam draft, all played for the Tier 1 bantam Cougars. They are goalies Seth Lapre (see other story) and Matt Siemens; defencemen Brevin Gervais and Brennan Malgunas; and forwards Craig McDonald and Matthew Macsemniuk, who led the Cougars in goal-scoring last season.
"Brevin Gervais is probably going to get drafted for sure, we talked to a lot of people about him," said Mujcin. "He's a big tall kid who sees the game well. He's a good puck-carrier, good leader and a good all-around player. He's definitely a standout with a lot of scouts.
"Size is a definite factor in the game and if you look at Brennan, his dad (former pro Kevin) is a fair-sized guy and so I think he might grow into that later. Skill-wise, he's there right now."
The scouts were also asking about defenceman Matthew Marotta and left winger Chase Schurak, both first-year bantams, but both are too young for this year's draft.
The Cougars had a busy 55-game schedule to give the players maximum exposure at tournaments in Chilliwack, Richmond, Delta, Kamloops and Calgary.
"I never really let on to my players that they were getting looked at, I just needed them to play the hockey game," said Mujcin. "If we have two kids go in the draft this year I'd be happy. I want to see kids get drafted all the time, but in the end, the draft doesn't mean too much. It's not the end of the world if you don't get drafted."
