When Western Hockey League teams search for players to pick in the bantam draft, they don't just look at statistics.
Myles Mattila led the Prince George Farr Fabricating bantam Tier 1 Cougars in scoring last season but it wasn't his point total that convinced the Vancouver Giants to pick him in the ninth round in Thursday's draft, 183rd overall.
Giants scout Chris Bond, the bantam Cougars head coach, saw enough positive qualities in Mattila's off-ice conduct early in the season to name him the team captain and Mattila rewarded his coach be setting an example of the game should be played.
Not overly big by bantam standards at five-foot-nine, 166 pounds, Mattila has a power-forward mentality and plays with an edge, and as a result ended up as the only Prince George player taken in the draft.
"He has always competed very hard, he's a hard guy to compete against, but he's a responsible player in all three zones of the ice," said Bond.
Mattila is considered a role model for his teammates and he's taken it upon himself to get involved as a teenaged spokesperson for the Mindcheck mental health program. Its self-help website is geared to helping youth and young adults deal with mental stress and substance abuse, an NHL-driven initiative that was began after Vancouver Canucks forward Rick Rypien committed suicide in 2011.
For the Giants, Mattila was simply too good to pass up.
"Off ice is extremely important in all the guys we were looking at and with his dedication to some of the stuff he has going on he exemplified off the ice what we're looking for," said Bond.
Because of their geographic isolation as the only Tier 1 bantam team north of Kamloops, the Farr bantams play significantly fewer games against quality opponents. Unlike big-budget teams like the Winter Clubs of Burnaby and North Shore, the Cougars don't have the opportunities to travel outside of the province to high-profile tournaments. That not only hinders the development of the players but it increases the likelihood of not getting picked in the bantam draft.
"When you see the North Shores and the Burnabys and you look at some of the kids in the North and wonder where they would fit in if they got to play on that team," said Bond. "There are lots of guys who played on the Prince George team and in the North who are just as good or better."
Mattila, 15, was born and raised in Quesnel and moved to Prince George to play Tier 1 hockey last season. He was in Salmon Arm over the weekend trying to impress B.C. Hockey League coaches at the SilverBacks spring camp.
He was driving to Salmon Arm when he saw on his phone his name of the list of drafted players on the WHL website and his coach confirmed the news a few minutes later.
"When Chris called I was just so excited, I couldn't put it into words," said Mattila. "Lots of my friends were texting me after that and congratulating me and they were cheering at school [Duchess Park secondary].
"The Giants are a great organization and I'm happy to be selected by them. I just have to keep proving myself."
Mattila hopes to be playing in the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League next season as a teammate of the Prince George Cougars' first-round draft pick, Justin Almeida, chosen fifth overall on Thursday.
Mattila expects to learn within the next day or so if he's made the 40-player list to attend the B.C. High Performance under-16 team tryout on Vancouver Island in early July. That team will represent B.C. at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George.
"He would definitely be a candidate for that team as one of the bottom-six forwards," said Bond. "They're looking for guys like him that play with an edge and work hard and especially with his attitude away from the rink, he would be more than willing to accept a less glorious role with the team."
