The Prince George Cougars chose five forwards, four defencemen and a goalie during Wednesday’s Western Hockey League bantam draft.
“It’s so exciting, the three first rounder picks we got are just exceptional players that are going to fit in very well with the future of the other players we have drafted in recent years. We couldn’t be happier with the players we took today,” Mark Lamb, the team’s general manager and head coach, said.
Half of the players chosen by the Cougars are from Alberta, with three from B.C. and two from Saskatchewan.
With their first pick and the second overall pick, the Cougars took Riley Heidt from the Saskatoon Contacts in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. Heidt played in 44 games for the Contacts and was fifth in team scoring with 37 points (17G-20A). Prior to playing at the midget level this season, the 5’8”, 150-pound winger spent the previous two years playing for the Martensville Marauders in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League (SBAAHL), where he compiled 153 points (58G-95) in 62 games.
“Whoever he plays with, he makes them better players and that’s a great compliment. His skillset is incredible, and his competitiveness was high on our list,” Lamb said. “For us, it was a no-brainer that we were going to take Riley.”
The Cougars used their second pick, 17th overall, to select forward Caden Brown from Delta Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Green in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL). The Fort St. John product was named the captain of the team this season and he had 65 points (35G-30A) in 30 games. Over the past two seasons with Delta at the Bantam Prep level, the 5’9” forward has compiled 95 points (50GA-45A) in 60 games.
With their third pick of the first round, 22nd overall, the Cougars took forward Ryker Singer from the Lloydminster Bantam AA Bobcats in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League. The Lloydminster, Alta. native led his team in scoring with 51 points (30G-21A) in 32 games and was fifth in league scoring. The 5’8”, 157-pound winger was captained his team and was named the AMBHL top forward and most valuable player.
The remaining picks by the Cougars in the draft were:
• Round 2 - defenceman Bauer Dumanski from the Humboldt Bantam AA Broncos.
• Round 3 – defenceman Rylan Brown from OHA Edmonton Bantam Prep.
• Round 3 - forward Zackary Shantz from the Grand Prairie Bantam AAA Storm.
• Round 4 - forward Chase Walker from the Red Deer Bantam AAA Rebels.
• Round 5 – Defenceman Ephram McNutt from the Red Deer Bantam AAA Rebels.
• Round 5 - defenceman Dylan Compton from Shawnigan Lake School Bantam Prep.
• Round 6 - goaltender Liam Hallett from the West Van Warriors Academy.
Players eligible for the draft were 2005-born players living in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
