2024 WHL Prospects Draft

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[Music] n [Music] [Applause] [Music] he h [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] he [Music] he [Music] hello everybody and welcome to the 2024 WHL prospects draft pre-show I’m Cammy KY the WHL manager of content and Communications joined by WHL manager of ha operations Taylor green Taylor You’ve been through this day what sticks with you about getting drafted and how did that change your trajectory in hockey well it’s an exciting day Cammy obviously you grow up playing hockey your dream is to play in the National Hockey League and up to this point for kids careers they’re really at an even playing field you know everyone competing equally and this is the first chance you really get to separate yourself and move into that highend tier and kind of separate yourself to the next level so it’s a really exciting day for for kids and their families a lot of hard work goes into this and uh certainly one that I don’t forget and these kids won’t either we have a lot to get through before commissioner danir announces who the Everett silver tips will be taking with the first overall pick Taylor is going to highlight some some names to know we’ll hear from the first defensemen to receive exceptional status and we will recap the US priority draft but first let’s introduce the winner of the four Broncos Memorial trophy as the 2023 24 WHL Player of the Year Moosejaw Warriors Center Jagger ferus is the winner of the four Broncos Memorial trophy as the WHL player of the year the Seattle Kraken Prospect LED all WHL skaters and captured the CHL scoring title with an astonishing 126 points in 63 games the fcus circus dazzled fans with a career best 61 goals and 65 assists he finished second in the league with 10 game-winning goals and racked up six hat-tricks and three five-point outings the 19-year-old also picked up 51 points over 26 games in the League’s longest scoring streak of the Season ferus was named Tempo WHL player of the week twice and earned WHL player of the month honors for March ferus is the second Moosejaw Warriors player to win the four Broncos Memorial Trophy and the first since 2016 we’re joined Now by WHL Player of the Year MOA Warriors forward Jagger ferus Jagger congratulations on a tremendous season you are just the second Warriors player to win the four Broncos Memorial trophy what does it mean to you to earn this honor uh it means a lot uh obviously like you said the second in war history it means a lot to me I I take pride in being a mus War so that means a lot to me and you had 126 points in 63 games that’s nearly 40 more points than you had last season what factors helped you put together a career best year I think just thr the summer just sticking to the routine that was placed for me or that I I placed myself I think just make sure I was training make sure I was hitting the gym and uh make sure I was on the ice as much as I could be throughout the summer and I think throughout every year I’ve taken strides and I think this was the biggest jump for me for this award a lot a lot of it is offense and I think throughout the summer I work on a lot of offense I work on my shot I work on playmaking and uh I think I’m just happy to come out this year and have a good year like I did and it’s not like you’re just hanging around the net on cleanup Duty we saw highlight real goals look cross goals hat tricks was there a moment or a game that really sticks with you from this season uh I would honestly think sasun uh My Bobblehead night was probably one of my special most special nights of the year I think it was obviously having a bobblehead super special I think I had a hat trick that night as well so it was a night that I’ll never forget so you signed your entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken just over a year ago so what have you been able to take away from training camp and your conversations with team staff yeah I think a lot of my season was from the start right from Camp uh in Seattle coming into Mo TR right into the regular season I just had to keep the pro habits and I think the start that I had with I mean the start I had at the start of the year was really kind of what made me have the year I had just having the confidence throughout the throughout the start and keep it going throughout the year it’s just a dayto day make sure you’re coming to the rank with the same mentality every single day uh make sure you’re trying to get better every single time you to get on the ice and you really notice that when you’re at those camps like that especially the older guys that have played in the NHL for so long they’re still doing it so so uh it means a lot to you and you really try your best to take it back to your Junior clubs you and your teammates also got to go to a penguins cracken game at climate pledge Arena this season on your us road trip what was it like being able to soak in that atmosphere knowing that’s where you want to be in the near future yeah it was really cool I I mean the entire experience was unbelievable they they treated the whole team with nothing but respect and uh getting to talk to a lot of the staff while I was there too it was really cool and uh that especially playing Pittsburgh with Ys there as well it was a nice little rivalry for us you get the experience even at Camp when you’re at Camp it makes you really really want to make the next step it’s what you dreamed of and now that you’re this close it just makes you even more hungry that uh it’s a capable accomplishment and I want to make it as soon as possible did you notice some of the media attention from that Kraken game kind of spill over to your games against the Thunderbirds and the silver tips on that trip yeah I did I seen a couple signs when we were on the road trip it was it was really cool I mean the fcus circus it goes a long ways over there and it means a lot to a lot of guys over there and it’s it’s honestly it means the world to me to see support like that and speaking of the fcus circus how do you actually feel about the nickname I enjoy it I think it’s awesome I think it’s crazy how many people use it a lot of people just call me Circus by now it’s pretty funny but uh I I really do enjoy it Jagger regardless of where you’re playing next season what can you do to build off of this campaign yeah I think uh just bring confidence into me uh I think going in next year going wherever I end up I just want to make sure I play with the same mentality as I did this year uh try to scrip pux as much as I can uh play my game and see where I end up is great at a lot of things pumping his own tires is not one of them so what makes him such an effective play in a competitive league yeah well I’m happy to brag for him Cammy he’s a fantastic player very quick elusive uh you know incredibly skilled obviously as well and I think Jagger touched on it a little bit it’s not only the fact that he’s consistently scoring goals but how he’s scoring goals he’s consistently driving play for musra we’ve all seen the lacrosse goals he’s got great hands everything is skilled everything’s a highlight re for Jagger and he’s really taken that next step to be you know a dominant dominant player in very deserving of this award this year Well we saw more games this year where he had a hat-trick than games where he was actually held off the score sheet and he’s a smaller guy too so how have you seen him develop since coming into the league in 2019 yeah I think he had to take some time to mature he was obviously a smaller slider guy especially when he first came into the league and now what we’re seeing is that he’s worked really hard to put on that strength you can see it in his stride you can see it in his shot the way he’s able to accelerate and come out of the corner uh and it’s again just allowed him to continue to create offense at a very very high level at the Western Hockey League and of course this isn’t the only draft of the week the WHL completed the 2024 us priority draft on Monday so let’s take a look at some of those top picks the vagina Pat selected forward bradden huk from the Phoenix junor Coyotes program first overall so other than bradden being the son of former WHL and nhlr Darcy horuk Taylor what can you tell us about him yeah well he obviously has the great Bloodlines with his dad playing in the Western Hockey League and in the NHL as well but bren’s really carved his own path in the Western Hockey or in uh in hockey so far as well and we look to continue that in the Western Hockey League he’s a player that goes to the net hard he’s gritty picked up some of that from his dad no doubt uh but he can also score he can make plays again physical heavy on pucks down low uh he’s going to be an excellent fit in Regina and now we’re going to get a chance to hear from Braden himself in this feature of the stars of tomorrow my name is Braden huk uh from Arizona Scott Hill Arizona put in the AAA Junior [Music] coyotes my like physical aspects always there try to make a hit every game send a message to the other team like don’t mess with me because they do all show them up and no I feel like I’m like skilled pretty pretty skilled guy my shots there just feel like I’m all over the map when we see Braden huk we see a a power forward type of player a player who’s very versatile and very frustrating to play against for his opponents he gets in on the four check very very quickly and has Good Feet to be able to get in there and be disruptive once he gets the puck to excellent vision and great touch Around the Net we see that with 20 goals in 37 games this year for the Junior coyotes my goal my goal is to make it to the NHL just just like my dad I mean it was amazing like still is like we go out on the ice he works with me like in the mornings afternoons whenever we just go out growing up he was always there for me like my mom actually funny story she like shaved my head bald on accident and my dad was there and did the same thing shaved his head bald too and of course this is an exceptional year with an exceptional player as Landon Dupont will become the first defenseman to receive exceptional status to play in the Western Hockey League the second overall after Connor Bard so Taylor elite players have applied for this in the past and not received it so what sets Landon Dupont toart I think when you look at his game cam he really is a player that is is different than what we’ve seen before and has the opportunity to be a truly franchise altering type of defenseman in the Western Hockey League the likes that we hav’t seen in a very very long time so when you look at Landon we’ve talked a lot about his game uh you know the edge work stands out as something that’s super Elite the way he skates is is reminisent of kind of that kale marar Quinn Hughes type of stride where he can beat people on the blue line obviously he has the elite shot as well um and you know produced at a high level he’s been playing up he’s been able to put on some of that strength that’s allowed him to compete at this level and and just an incredible player now physically what makes him up to the test cuz as a young man playing against some much bigger opponents yeah and as a 510 d man for sure his his elusivity is going to help him a lot he’s not going to take a ton of hits and we saw that he played up at the u8 level and had to compete against bigger stronger players and was definitely up to the task so look at the screen here we can see some of the you know statistics that he put up and the awards that he got u8 MVP as an underager u8 Champion he led the u8 playoffs and scoring uh top defenseman award the accolades go on and on and uh we’ll be excited to see if he can continue that in the Western Hockey League cam Loop’s Blazers fans will remember the name too his dad Mickey played for Cam Loops in the mid to late 90s and actually won the bill Hunter Memorial trophy as WHL defenseman of the year in 2000 but Landon is ready to carve out his own path in a hockey Journey that has already taken him across the world take a look Landon Dupont has made WHL history before he even takes the ice for the first time I think they just develop players and me being a mature d man just I think that it’ll help me and other players to uh work on their game each day and just be able to take that big next step in uh hockey the 14-year-old is the first defenseman to be granted exceptional status to play in the Western Hockey League full-time at 15 years old yeah it’s such an honor obviously and it’s a big deal but all the hard work’s just got to start now we just felt that um this opportunity was the best for him to develop longterm and to be challenged he’s a a player who loves loves always to be challenged he never wants to take the easy way out and he always wants to be um playing against the toughest competition possible he has a kind of quiet confidence in that he’s able to handle different uh situations with ease and I think because of being in the situations where he was raised part-time in Germany parttime in Switzerland part-time in Canada um it really kind of shaped the person that he’s become and allowed him to really um fit into many different situations and different roles the 5’1 170lb blue liner has played in older age groups in minor hockey overseas and back at home in Canada in his first season playing u8 with Edge School of the Canadian sports School hockey league Dupont piled up 62 points in 30 regular season games and helped the edge clinch the league championship I think it’s helped a lot like just being more aware with the puck like knowing what’s happening around you and you always got to have your head up and head on the swivel and see what’s going on around you so I think it’s helped a lot and I think that I’ve handled it pretty well and you know it’s obviously a big jump but I think I can handle it it was just amazing we just pushed each other all year and when we finally won in overtime it was just crazy and no one could even think about what was happening it was just all blur while Dupont prepares to chart his own course in the WHL his journey also Echoes that of his father Mickey a former w h l defenseman of the year who played with the cam loops Blazers from 1996 to 2000 I mean I was lucky enough to play as long as I did and the just the friendships that you make the things you learn you know the offi skills I think those are really important as well so I’m I’m happy that he’ll have the opportunity to to do that and go through all that as well I think just being around the team and working on my development and playing in those big games is really what the fun of being a hockey player is and all that stuff that comes in this it’s going to be cool we’ve got so many young exciting players in the league right now I really believe that Landon has a long Runway to develop and grow but he’ll be in a position to handle himself on and off the ice really really well from day one certainly the Western Hockey League is such an important part of the fabric of our communities around the league is this huge opportunity to not just pay attention to what’s going on for your specific team in that Community where you live but actually to follow the great players the great environments the great rivalries that are happening all around the league and I think the arrival of generational players like Landon will enable that in a big way we will have a chance to catch up with Landon himself once his name is called in the draft it’s expected that the Everett silver tips will select him with the first overall pick Taylor what makes Landon a good fit for Everett well I think Everett’s On The Rise right now and and certainly he’s going to fit within their competitive window and when you take a player like this your competitive window almost resets to build around that player when you look at some of the pieces they have last year they took BR Lisk at 12 overall as a big defenseman um and then took Kane Wilkey an energetic forward at 20th overall last year too so they’re starting to build up those prospects that are going to be playing with Landon they’ve also got some great pieces already when I look at a potential D partner or or fit for Landon you know somebody like Kaden Hamill a big long defense first player who’s really coming into his own uh something like that makes a lot of sense they have a lot of pieces to play with back there and I think it’s going to be an excellent fit for Landon and there’s a lot of other high-end Talent expected to be selected this morning so let’s take a look at who holds the top 10 picks in round one of the WHL prospects draft right now of course we have the Everett Silvertip selecting first overall with the second pick we have the Prince Albert Raiders right now third is the Tri City Americans picking fourth the Colona rockets at fifth the Edmonton Oil Kings followed by the Calgary hitman at sixth overall the Spokane Chiefs will pick seven the Victoria Royals at eth the Raiders once again at number nine and rounding out the top 10 we have the Vancouver Giants so Prince Albert with another high pick after selecting defenseman daxson Rudolph and forward Riley Boychuk first and second overall in 2023 who do you think could be a good fit for the organization in this year’s Group Well I think the beautiful thing for Curtis hunt and the Prince Albert Raiders is that they’ve stalked their coverage so high already they’ve got a very deep Prospect group and it allows them to be flexible here and go a number of different ways obviously they’ve got the second and Ninth selections um but you know with that second overall pick I do think Brock Crips is probably the best available player on the board Camy and I think that makes a lot of sense you look at last year them taking daxson Rudolph uh first overall big strong defenseman very capable two-way game uh and Brock Crips is kind of that high octane you know swashbuckling type of player uh that really gives you that flash on the back end I could see a deep pair of them going into the future where PA fans are having a lot of fun watching them and they could also go to a forward as well like I said they they’ve built up their cover to a point where they can really be flexible here and go either direction so who else stands out to you as a potential high-end pick so outside of who we talked about already Landon Dupont Brock Crips I think a player like Brock England The Edge forward is going to be a fantastic uh you know player in the Western Hockey League he’s incredibly fast probably the quickest player in the draft great straight line speed uh very Dynamic entering the Zone he’s he’s ad dep as a passer and as a shooter uh you know somebody that can really impact the game at both ends um I think when look at Brock what really started to separate him going forward is that he has the ability to play that 200 foot game uh you know you look at him as a faceof man he’s got excellent percentages uh it’s it’s hard to learn how to take face offs at this age and he’s done that already he contributes on the PK he contributes on the power play gives you a lot of different looks to your team and you’re you can be flexible with how you deploy a player like Brock um another one would be um Aiden buard The Edge defenseman lanon was the star of The csshl u18 Edge team and Aiden would have been the star of the u15 team in Edge uh a brilliant defenseman already six feet very big strong as well capable has has that ability that we look for in highend defenseman where he skates extremely well he has the ability to walk guys on the blue line and a developed two-way game already too my favorite thing when I watch Aiden play is that is his heartbeat never ra never raises too high he keeps a pretty low pulse uh and very calm in all situations which we really like about Aiden so an excellent player that projects to be a huge Talent at the Western Hockey League level uh cder Hamilton would be another smooth skating defenseman and we’re seeing a theme this year Cammy where all of these 2009 dmen near the top of the draft uh you know have such good edgew work and are such good skaters and Calder might be the best one of all of them he’s extremely smooth the Martinsville defenseman put up record numbers this year in the Sahl uh 70 points for him he he had a fantastic year and he really wants to drive offense from the back end and be that Catalyst uh a very dangerous player and he showed very very well at the Saskatchewan cup event earlier in the year and the last one would be Ben Harvey uh Ben Harvey’s an NX forward smaller guy uh incredibly smart he might be the most intelligent player in the draft this year uh very good IQ another player similar to Brock England where you can deploy him in a lot of different situations he did everything for NX this year and obviously again when we’re looking at these high-end players you have to have that high bar of skill and he certainly has that he produced a ton this year at NX so those are just a few of the names Cammy that we’ll be looking at early in the draft but certainly this is a deep draft class and uh our teams are going to have some flexibility with what they want to do here now Everett with that first overall pick the selection actually came from cam loops as part of a pretty major trade tree can you kind of take us through how we ended up here yeah so that was the ol and zel wager trade a little bit Infamous now uh a very big package going from cam loops over to Everett uh to acquire zel wagger and for the cam loops Blazers that that trade turned out great uh they ended up you know retaining zel wagger and going on a deep playoff run that year forever obviously it’s worked out fantastic as well they were able to stock P some really highend draft picks none bigger than the uh first overall pick this year now a lot of talented young athletes are going to be drafted in the first round today but many won’t see their name pop up until much later in the day or it might not come at all but as some of the whl’s top current prospects have proven it’s not about where you’re picked it’s how you get noticed and what you do with the opportunity take a look uh in the fourth round kind of uh obviously put a chip on my shoulder made me kind of worked uh extra hard he’s got a breakway to tiee the game SC my uh Vision in hockey IQ I think it’s kind of came a long way since I started at 15 it’s uh something I try to work on I got into preseason got the uh games in there and then got sent back and kind of just use that as the motivation for me to kind of improve my game and kind of made me understand what I needed to do to kind of get to the next level Cougar’s lead 3 to2 on a great individual effort by Terk pisac you know my first year were were a tough it was a tough year and and you know that really helped me um you know learn the the other part of the game that you know the not so fun part I’ve done both now I mean I’ve been on the the most losing team and uh you know now I’m being on a team that you know every single night we think we’re going to win and we expect to win just try to get better every day be the best version of myself I always took it as motivation to prove prove teams wrong and uh show them what they missed out on and um I think I’m I’m doing that uh you know it’s a it’s a process but yeah I’m extremely grateful that I wasn’t selected as it was a blessing C waiting for Mitten the shot sa made by c as he Stones him with the pad anytime you have an opportunity to prove people wrong um you know that’s that’s what I intend to do obviously late later pick in the dou draft later picking the NHL draft and know my goal is to go out there and stop as many pucks as possible if I can do that and show people that maybe they’re you know their rankings or whatever you want to call it maybe weren’t so spot on that uh know I think I’m doing my [Music] job obviously some really talented guys in that Bunch you even look at a Joshua ravensburg and undrafted gets listed has a historic rookie season with the Prince George cougars six regular season shutouts Unforgettable goalie battle with Yan spoar in that game six of the Western Conference Championship who are some other players who were drafted low or not at all in your mind who went on to do great things in the league yeah there’s some great recent examples Cammy I think about a player like Arch deep Baines with the Red Deer Rebels who just played his first NHL games for the Vancouver Canucks this season undrafted guy out of abbottsford and and had a fantastic WHL career and looking to impose that in his pro career as well another current player Owen Pickering with the Swift Current Broncos he was a ninth round selection in the bandam in the uh WHL prospects draft and ended up having a fantastic career obviously being a first rounder to the Pittsburgh Penguins and for those on the call that are a little older perhaps like us Cammy uh I remember watching Jamie Ben with the Colona Rockets he was drafted in 2007 uh late as well so our teams are always you know scouting hard finding players late in the draft and those are some examples of some that have had you know great careers um later on Jamie Ben for the older crowd how dare you the nerve of this man well the guys that we just heard from in that video are among the 57 WHL players who are included in any L Central scouting’s final rankings ahead of this year’s NHL entry draft which is set to take place in Las Vegas on June 28th and 29th so we caught up with several other big names to talk about how they’re handling the pressure and how the WHL has helped them develop over their junior careers I’ve just gotten a lot kind of more mature and stronger and and faster so I think uh I was always kind of a skilled player growing up but I think kind of adding that that uh physical maturity has kind of helped uh grow my game getting to play all over in in lots of situations you know whether it’s 20 minutes a night or whatever it is I think I think it’s helped uh kind of expedite my development a [Applause] bit I was a little shocked but it was it was pretty cool to see my see my name there and it’s uh I mean it’s an honor and it’s I guess I just it’s motivation to kind of kind of keep going and trying to get my name as high as possible go 30 gold men Carter yaku you know the ups and the Downs are going to happen and it’s kind of just about embracing it and you know a bad game will happen and a you know a good game will happen uh so I I think it’s just about embracing it and you know learning from it it’s it’s been a really cool learning experience for me this yeary does it again the organization and the coaches uh to my teammates just uh everything’s ran pretty professionally and you know winning super important but our coaches and management also wants to push as many guys to Next Level as possible it’s the best development league for across the world and I just wanted to see how good of a player I could become in this league after it for checking Peterson up the Middle with it turned it over here’s wet scar I feel like for any player to play in the NHL you got to be good at all areas and all aspects of the game and for me being able to do that I think it’ll translate pretty well to the higher level exciting to see so many players getting ready to take the next step in their Journeys but Taylor I wanted to take you back to the US priority draft actually because we didn’t get a chance to talk about some of the success stories that have come out of that draft in recent years yeah certainly well when you think about the US draft and recent success stories there’s none more prevalent right now than Grayson sain the Edmonton Oil Kings forwards had a couple fantastic campaigns in Edmonton uh you know second round picked the Florida Panthers uh you know what we see from Grayson High highend skill he’s really exciting to watch and when you’re in Edmonton you can’t take your eyes off him uh he’s a player that doesn’t take a shift off and really drove the bus offensively along with Gavin hodnet for the Edmonton Oil Kings um so when we see players like this kind of Paving the way for other us players uh you know last year we have six of the top nine us draft picks assigned to our WHL clubs you know it’s players like Grayson and others that have started to kind of pave the way for these other us players to look at the WHL as a great development option and we’re starting to see that come to fruition here how have teams started to change their approach to the US priority draft well I think like I said players like Grayson uh you know they’re they’re kind of setting that bar and and setting an example for other players to follow and so I think our teams are starting to use this as a very legitimate tool to bring in talent and we saw that yesterday with Regina taking Braden huk um you know there’s a real pipeline here to bring in Talent to your WHL clubs and it’s a great Avenue for our clubs to utilize I think we had four players who are sons of any H alumni selected in that draft as well yeah yeah we really see the Bloodlines come to play in these drafts and it’s uh it’s awesome for the dads and and the boys to share that connection and two of those dads were also former wh lers which of course we love to see now 14 current NHL prospects in our league will also be taking part in the 2024 WHL championship series between the Portland Winterhawks and moar warriors with game one set for Friday night but for so many more of the young players the next part of the journey starts today what do you remember about draft day yeah it feels like a long time ago now Cammy it was 2010 I was taken by the Seattle Thunderbirds and you know it was a really exciting day um I remember skipping school not that I promote that for any of the kids on the call right now but it it was really exciting to hear your name called you put so much into this your family invests so much into this as well so uh you know it’s a really rewarding moment for for players and their families and I’m sure a lot of young men watching today are nervous and excited but uh it’s going to be a fun day well if you’ve been following along the WHL social media channels you will know that we have printed a letter to get anyone out of school out of work whatever they need to be a part of this so the time is here let’s hear from WHL vice president of hockey Richard derkson good morning and welcome to the 2024 WHL prospects draft this is a very exciting day not only for the 22 WHL clubs but for the more than 200 players who will be selected by our teams in the draft today just before we start with the draft I’d I’d like to review some of the pertinent rules the players eligible for the draft today are players born in 2009 from the WL territory this is the Western provinces in Canada and the western states in the US each team will have a maximum of five minutes to make their selection in the first round and each team will be able to trade their pick right up until the time of the pick in conclusion I would like to wish the best best of luck to all of the players and their families as they watch the draft proceedings [Music] today the stage is set and the time has come for the 2024 WHL prospects draft a day many 2009 born prospects have been working towards their entire playing careers and for the WHL member clubs an entire season’s work of research and scouting comes down to one big decision a new chapter begins for 2009 born players across western Canada as the work starts here as they work towards the ultimate goal of helping their new teams capture a WHL [Music] championship and while exciting this year’s draft is also exceptional Landon Dupont Landon Dupont Landon Dupont Landon Dupont welcome to the 2024 WHL prospects draft the Everett silver tips are on the clock [Music] hello and welcome to the 2024 WHL Prospect DFT for those of you joining us now and a thank you to those of you who tuned into to the pre-show I’m Cammy KY the WHL manager of content and Communications joined by WHL manager of hockey operations Taylor green so Taylor it’s an exciting day for our hockey fans with an exceptional status player in the mix but also for the athletes who look forward to many years of camaraderie and hockey at the highest development level while in professional aspirations and setting themselves up for post-secondary success with the WHL scholarship program the WHL now has been developing NHL talent for more than 50 years and has the highest flourishing after coming through the whl’s development path guys in the playoffs right now Sam Reinhardt Ryan nent Hopkins and now looking forward to more high-end selections with future stars like Gavin McKenna and a top pick this here Mr Landon Dupont so I’m fairly new to the WHL but one of the greatest things I’ve learned about since coming here is the scholarship program the WHL provides the only guaranteed scholarship program in North America where all scholarships are honored after an athlete’s WHL playing career is over so that’s more than 365 players receiving scholarships this year alone yeah definitely Cammy so as we talked about we’ve been a leader of developing NHL talent for a long time but more recently I think we build out the most robust uh scholarship program available in North America as you mentioned these are fully guaranteed scholarships once our players earn them no one can take it away from from them uh you know I was fortunate enough that was my path I I went to mount Ro University and used my Western Hockey League scholarship uh I got my business degree there I played an excellent four years of high level us sports hockey and had some of the best four years of my life so having been through it myself I can attest to what a you know excellent program that is said it once and I’ll say it again Canada West is some of the most underrated hockey in Canada it really is the best kept secret in western Canada if you have a team in your Market please go check it out and so many of our WHL graduates who have played Canada West and go on to a pro career even afterward but the journey starts here today the ever silver tips hold the first overall pick in the 2024 WHL prospects draft let’s hand it over to WHL commissioner Dan near thanks Cammy thanks Taylor and let me start by congratulating the mojaa Warriors and the Portland Winterhawks for advancing to The League Championship Series these teams will compete for the Edan elf cup beginning tomorrow night Friday night game one’s in Portland it’ll be live on TSN all seven games of the series can be viewed Coast to Coast as well as on CHL TV as Cammy and Taylor mentioned our league is built on Three core pillars the first is Player Development we are the best development league in the world check NHL Central scouting check opening night NHL rosters we are advancing the most players to the next level of hockey and professional hockey number two is education you heard about the scholarships for every year you play in our league you earn a scholar schip to the postsecondary institution of your choice and third is the player experience the coaching the facilities the billets the education advisers the commitment around this league is staggering and the investment around our communities is top-notch for the fans watching today this is the first look at the future for your teams our communities are the Bedrock of the league and the parity in this league is evident from year to year there are no dynasties in the WHL any team can win every year today so many young players will hear their name called and have an opportunity to be a part of this extended WHL family it’s nerve-wracking it’s exciting to those who experience it congratulations and welcome to the best development league in the world at the same time to those of you who don’t hear your name called The Journey is not over stay committed keep working your time will come now without further Ado it gives me great pleasure to start off the draft with the first overall pick in the 2024 WHL prospects draft the Evert silver tips select defenseman Landon DuPont from The Edge School under 18 there it is Landon Dupont the first exceptional status defenseman in the WHL is selected by the Everett silver tips and we are so happy to be joined by Landon live now so Landon congratulations it’s been quite an experience from the first application for exceptional status to hearing your name called by the commissioner just seconds ago what’s going through your mind right now yeah I’m just super excited and super honored to be picked and just can’t wait to get things going I understand you’re actually in Everett right now what have you learned about the organization since getting to know the team personally yeah it’s just amazing organization just ran really well and and I want to hear a little bit more about your season it was very busy there were a lot of Highs but is there a moment that really sticks with you from this year I think just winning the championship we had a really tight team and a great group of guys and just getting to that final stage and winning that Championship with them was super special to me and everyone else so that was super fun and just to be able to do that with my friends and teammates was truly special what you looking for for to the most about getting going in the WHL I think just meeting all my new teammates and getting things going and should be lots of fun so super super excited is your phone blowing up right now h a little bit it’s buzzing a few times so yeah well we really appreciate you joining us Landon congratulations uh really looking forward to seeing you out on the ice yeah thank you so Taylor I know you can talk about this here all day what makes Landon Dupont exceptional yeah well we’ve talked about him a bunch Cam and the good thing about Landon is that there’s always more to talk about him so we’ve talked a lot about his play style we touched a little bit on the awards as well again all of the accolades from Landon um you know u8 MVP top defenseman scoring champion playoff scoring leader the list goes on and on um you know one thing that we haven’t talked about a lot about Landon would be this the fact that I think he’s an excellent Defender and I think that people haven’t really had the chance to see that in his game yet because Edge has the puck so much uh you know he really hasn’t had to defend but I think he’s a fantastic Defender with very high IQ uh you know that can really make an impact that way at the Western Hockey League level um as well when we look at his 14-year-old comparisons uh at the u8 level it’s a short list uh but certainly we have players like Conor Bard Matthew seavoy Gavin McKenna the company he’s keeping is incredibly Elite these are players that are Star players uh you know Conor Bard obviously already a star in the NHL seavoy and McKenna well on their way and we expect Dupont will be one to follow there as well something else with uh with Landon is is you know his shot as a lead actually reminds me of Conor’s release a little bit when we look at his goal map um and you know his shot map as well the heat map’s really heavy on the right side he loves to drive low on the flank on the power play and rip a ton of shots there and that’s also where he seems to be uh you know coming in off the rush and creating chances that way so it’s a wide dispersion he’s not scoring just from anywhere in particular he’s all over the ice and uh you know a really Dynamic player that we’re excited to see enter the Western Hockey League well I’m sure the Everett silver think so too we’re pleased to be joined by ever’s assistant general manager Mike Fraser Mike heck of a year to be picking number one what do the Silver Tip see in Landon Dupont yeah we feel uh we’re very happy very fortunate we’ve been watching Landon here for a couple years and really excited to add him to our group you know as Taylor mentioned a very Dynamic player that does pretty much everything has such great skating and edges uh scoring ability uh great skills smarts uh and I also like Taylor’s point where I think he’s a bit of an underrated Defender as well so he he’s the whole package and it’s a really exciting day for for our our organization and having had the chance to get to know him a little bit what strikes you about who he is off the ice very mature young man uh very easy to talk to uh the one thing I’ve said this to a few people is you know obviously he’s had a lot of of Limelight on him here over the last year maybe even more and and he just just handles himself so well um both on and off the ice how can the addition of a player like Landon impact the direction of the franchise well I think you know it it’s not an easy League to jump into no matter what age but he’s he’s such an impact player I think he’ll be able to to adjust quickly and and be able to fit into our lineup uh you know we have a pretty strong decor and I think uh he’ll fit into that group nicely thanks Mike appreciate this thank you so Taylor a special guy he played minor hockey in Switzerland while his dad was in the Pro ranks and he credits playing cross ice hockey with forcing him to become faster with his decision making on his hands so very exciting stuff yeah yeah interesting point there he definitely played a lot of small area he said he played a lot of cross ice games growing up too to shrink that ice size so you can see it in the way that he processes the game at a high speed a really special player the Prince Albert Raiders are up with the second pick let’s go to commissioner near thanks Camy with the second overall pick in the 2024 UA WHL Prospect draft the Prince Albert ra Raiders select defenseman Brock grips from St George’s School u15 in the csshl so it’ll be Brock Crips a defenseman from Victoria BC with a second overall pick and we’re pleased to be joined by Brock now so Brock congratulations on the selection oh we’re going to go to him a little bit later here so Taylor what do you see from Brock Crips well this is a high octane player Cammy he’s super exciting to watch uh you can’t help but take your eyes off him and he really leaves you on the edge of your seat um you know you look at what the Prince Albert Raiders did last year taking dackson Rudolph first overall and they have the perfect complimentary parture in the partner for him in the future here in Brock Crips uh you know he can walk the blue line he wants to drive offense from the back end he’s got a fantastic shot uh you know and he he really thrives in an offensive role we look at some of his Awards this season as well uh just like Landon cleaned up at the u8 level Brock really cleaned up at the u15 level too he was the top scorer of That League uh he was the you know MVP of That League and the top defenseman as well uh so an absolutely fantastic selection here by the Prince Albert Raiders um you know he also beat Tanner Mullen diy’s record previously set at 55 points uh and BR Brock absolutely shattered that this year with 70 points so um again just like Landon was the awards guy at the u8 level cleaned up at u5 and a fantastic selection by Prince Albert awesome and now we are able to go to Brock so Brock congratulations on the selection how does it feel to be the second overall pick in the WHL draft um feel honored and excited to get things going uh you’ve had a chance to chat with GM Curtis hunt uh what excites you about the Prince Albert Raiders organization um well last year they had three first overall picks and they’re really building up like Young Guns so they look good have like a good future and we’re excited to build on that how would you describe your playing style um I think I’m a two-way defenseman like I can join the rush and I get need the rush lot too um I also quarterback P play so tell me about your season was there a moment or a game that’s going to stick with you from this year um yeah probably the semifinals of this playoffs where we lost nine nothing to NX I was pretty heartbreaking for us because he worked so hard the whole season just to lose in the semifinals 90 was hard for us so we just give me motivation for next year good experience to help drive you forward with a new Hunger though right yeah right on well thank you so much for joining us Brock congratulations on the selection Taylor obviously this is a player that Prince Albert is very key on is is there a chance he’s not necessarily getting the hype he would in another year where there isn’t an exceptional player in front of him I think that’s a good point Cammy yeah I mean Brock had a fantastic season at the u5 level and and certainly uh you know at Landon’s been the star of the show here but um you know I think in a more normal year if you want to call it that um Brock would have been a you know first overall quality type of player and certainly a player that uh Prince Albert will be very very happy to add to their franchise is Brock Crips second overall let’s go back to commissioner near for the Tri City Americans pick with the third overall pick in the WHL Prospect draft the Tri City Americans select defenseman Aiden Bard from The Edge School under 15 in csshl so Aiden musard what does that move say to you Taylor well this is a big time player as well Cammy we see our third defenseman go off the board already again highlighting what we talked in the pre-show about this crop of 2009 Defenders Aiden at 6 feet already has that kind of junior size Junior frame and he is a wizard with the puck as well another highly skilled defenseman aan can do a little bit of everything uh certainly we see in the offensive zone he’s a dangerous player uh great Point totals this year in u5 Aiden also brings you know an excellent two-way game to the table this is a player that can really uh you know transition well uh defends equally as well as he can uh you know join the Russian pursue offense uh certainly he projects as kind of an offensive Catalyst at the next level um but when we see what his he can do in all three zones of the ice this is a really exciting pick for tri cities and six feet tall already yeah yeah we see the size already he’s going to be able to step into the the Western Hockey League a young player and not be pushed around he’s got that frame to handle and he’s certainly got the frame to to add more size and weight as he matures as well all right we’re going to get a chance to catch up with some of the management staff from Tri City I apologize I’ve lost the zoom so I can’t see who I’m talking to right now but congratulations on the pick what do you see in Aiden lard well we’re really excited about Aiden uh as you say he’s already a big bigger frame uh out of the defense been chosen and we look at where we’re at with the team last year we selected four forwards uh we think we really added a a skilled group there and uh so this year our Focus was on defense especially with Lucas dragga Civic anticipating that he’ll graduate at the inclusion of this season and Aiden’s a a defenseman that we think can step in at 16 and kind of fill that Gap along with Jackson Smith so we’re really excited about what he brings to the game uh not only on the ice but his leadership his uh qualities and his characters off the ice as well uh nothing but praise for the kid from everybody that we’ve talked to so we’re really excited about bringing good people into our dressing room that uh bring a leadership intangible as well you mentioned it a little bit there with the leadership in ibles how does he fit in with the culture off the ice that the Tri City Americans are building well off the ice uh we’re really a small community so it’s important that our players are out in the community and In fairness I think we lost some of that continuity and that succession planning uh with Co our players uh were isolated a little bit and uh we were a young team just when Co hit so you know our guys didn’t really get to uh expand into leadership roles so we’ve struggled with with that over the last couple of years but uh obviously we’re building back towards it we think we’ve got some real good kids in the room uh we got some real good leaders in the room so uh it doesn’t take long to get back I’ve been at this for a long time so that’s the joys of junior hockey is the uh the Cycles happen very fast and you can change your uh your outlook and your performance very quickly as well so we’re really excited about our future and some exciting players that we’re hoping to see selected in the NHL draft in a few weeks here yeah exactly uh we’ve got our European prospects uh we have Lucas matka and goal and we have Max Curran up front and uh you know Jordan Gavin still he’s uh he’s a late birthday so he’s a year away but uh no we’re really excited about uh about our future and you know it’s not just about uh the NHL and developing players for that but it certainly helps and I you know I think that’s a we talk about education a lot and uh it’s no coincidence that the top players are also very good in school they’re good in academics they’re just really good at time management and uh really applying themselves in all facets of uh of life and Community citizenship thank you so what needs does this address for Tri City well I think Roy laid it out really well they’ve assembled a really really deep Prospect group at the forward position they have Jackson Smith and that kind of 16-year-old age group right now so to add another high-end Defender like Aiden who I actually think would compliment Jackson very well or maybe you choose to split them up and have you know two elite players on your two top pirs it gives them some flexibility going forward but more than anything you’re bringing in I think the best player available here at number three and understand we have some news to announce yes we do so I’m going to read it off my phone excuse me I don’t want to make sure I don’t miss any details but Prince Albert has moved up and acquired the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft uh that is in exchange for the ninth overall pick and a second round pick at 57th overall and a 2025 fifth as well so that’s the fourth overall pick for n9th overall and 57th overall this year and a 2025 fifth round pick an aggressive move from Prince Albert early on in the day it is yeah and we saw last year Prince Albert stockpiled High picks and here they are again so Curtis hunt and his staff are really uh again stalking the coverboards here for the future and they’re going to have a very scary team in a couple of years when their competitive window opens up is this potentially a spot where we see Prince Albert simply go best player available I again because of of the draft picks they’ve made in the past Curtis hunt could really go any Direction with this pick um you know I I think a forward would make sense here for them but you can never have too many defensemen in your in Your Arsenal either so curious to see where they go here at four all right the pick is in let’s go to commissioner near with the fourth overall pick in the WHL Prospect draft the Prince Albert Raiders are happy to select Center Ben Harvey from Northern Alberta extreme under 15 in the csshl Ben Harvey from Edmonton Alberta another next player what do you see from him yeah well Ben is probably the most intelligent player in the draft he’s a player that you have to watch a couple of times I think to really appreciate the Nuance in his game uh you know obviously when you’re picking at at this you know high end of the draft you have to have the skill level and Ben has that uh he scored a lot of beautiful goals this year he’s a quick player he’s got a great engine uh and he can finish Around the Net as well uh but what we really see with Ben is that that high-end two-way intelligence I think I can count on one hand the number of you know quote unquote bad plays I on make or turnovers he takes really good care of the puck he’s incredibly smart and he makes everyone around him better all right let’s go to Bruno zerillo up in Prince Albert Bruno Ben Harvey is described as a very intelligent player is that something that Prince Albert heat in on in its scouting uh what’s 100% an asset that that we definitely like like to have in a player it’s also the quality of the person quality of the way he carries himself on the ice the the leadership and the body language that he shows he’s just get our other guy on player that’s you know that really a little bit different than what we’ve taken in the past so I think it gives us a little Variety in our game and an ingredient uh to build on like to win a championship is that a little high for Ben Harvey he’s come from a program the last couple years that won the championship he was on a team with Dax Rudolph so there’s a little bit of you know uh a grouping there that that you know that that that helped in the decision so no we’re very excited to to add him to our group right so try City I’m going to ask you to hop on mute there but uh Ben Harvey what are some of the other intangibles that he possesses Bruno no I think the intangibles are a coach can tap him on the shoulder to do anything the coach can say go play a power play the coach can say go kill a penalty the coach can go just be a checking role like he’s going to be able to play on the on the wing he can play at Center he can he can play in any situation he’s a responsible like 200 foot player like and I agree with with the assessment like I think his hockey IQ is is and he just makes people better around him and we’re just really really happy to get him that’s why we moved up to get them um and uh we’re very happy to have them thank you so much Bruno thank so there we have it our first trade of the WHL prospects under our belt Prince Albert Raiders use it to select Ben Harvey so next up we have the Edmonton Oil Kings selecting now what can they address here with this pick well obviously after going on a couple of deep playoff runs Cammy they’ve kind of been in a rebuilding phase the last couple of years um so again another team that has a pretty deep Prospect pool um and can really go a number of different ways with this selection last year they took Joe ainla son of Jerome ainla who had you know excellent performance in his uh handful of of games as a call up uh I could see them taking a center to compliment him um but they also have you know needs at defense so um we’ll see what Dan has to say well Dan is at the podium and ready to go let’s hear the pick with the fifth overall pick in the WHL prospects draft the Edmonton Oil Kings are happy to select Center Kaden stroer from The Humble Broncos under 15 and the Saskatchewan u5 AA Hockey League Kaden stroer from The Humble Broncos what can you tell us about him yeah well our first eskaton player goes off the board and I expect we’ll see a few more here in the first round but Kaden is a very very talented player 127 points this year Camy in 27 games in the sa AHL with humbold uh you know he’s a fantastic Talent uh you know very very talented can finish and that’s the main thing that we look for 58 goals this year this is a player that when he gets around the net he knows how to put the puck in um he’s another player that makes players around him better he likes to um you know get involved but certainly in Humble he was the driving force of their offense didn’t have a ton to play with and so to put up those kind of numbers um you know being in kind of a tier of your own on your team is super super impressive again this is a guy that’s going to drive offense for a long time for the Edmonton Oil Kings and when I think of a potential fit with a player like Joe ainla it’s really really exciting to think about for the Edmonton Oil Kings well let’s bring in the Edmonton Oil Kings director of scouting Michael Chan Michael congratulations on the selection what about Kaden stroer did the organization what made U the organization just have to have him um I think we’re really excited to have Kaden joining the organization um we see a player with the potential to be an all-around centerman that makes his teammates better elevates the play of everyone and has a dynamic side offensively as well how do you see him fitting in with some of the pieces the team already has some up and cominging players like a Joe ainla yeah in terms of a fit we are very excited um the thing with Kaden it Kaden is that uh his skill set is pretty multifaceted uh he has the ability to make his teammates better but he can take matters into his own hands finishing um he’s creative but direct and in terms of the fit uh with a culture fit with some of our young prospects we think his intensity and competitiveness is something that is really going to fit in well with our group going forward you can never have too much of that thank you thanks now kayen is also a player who’s noted for his skating ability MH yeah incredibly quick and he’s grown a lot this year Cammy he started the year probably in the 5 seven8 range and we’ve seen him grow in at least a few inches and that’s really put some length on his stride uh I know when we saw him a Sask first to when we saw him at the end in playoffs you could see that maturity in his game and you can see the strength starting to build in the stride as well let’s see if we can take a look at some of the recent draft picks that Edmonton has brought into the fold who do you see as game Breakers in that kind of group I look at a player Gavin hodnet has really been their their Dynamic offensive player for the last couple of years since he stepped into the league as a 16-year-old and he’s somebody that’s really going to drive the bus for the Next Generation along with Jerome ainla and now along with kayen right the pick is in the Calgary Hitman will select next let’s hear from commissioner near with a sixth overall uh pick in the WL Prospect draft the Calgary Hitmen are pleased to select defenseman Calder Hamilton from the Martinsville Marauder U uh u15 AA in the Saskatchewan u15 AA hockey league so cder Hamilton someone who’s described as one of the smoothest players in the draft he certainly is Cammy again I don’t want to be repetitive but when we look at this 2009 class of defenseman edgework and and smooth skating is the key to the game and cder might have the best of all of them this he is a wizard on his edges uh loves to move in and out of traffic he really knives through defenses uh and can make create offense make things happen uh another player that wants to drive offense from the back end I absolutely see him being a power play quarterback type of player as he moves along in his WHL career uh and somebody that should be able to step in right away um and play as well when we look at some comparables for him as well Morgan Riley had set the previous Sahl uh scoring record pretty Elite company to keep Cammy uh and cder broke that this year they they have a similar style uh when I remember Morgan playing he’s around my age back in the day uh and cder might even have a higher ceiling here a fantastic pick for the Calgary Hitman so we’re going to be joined by Calgary Hitman assistant general manager Cass bruny Cass first off congratulations this is uh it’s all happening very quickly with you coming into the new role thank you I appreciate it yeah I’m honored to be working with such a good group of people and yeah excited to get started so what do you see in Calder Hamilton that can make the Calgary Hitman a better team cder is a really exciting player that we’re thrilled to group he is mobile one of the smoothest skaters in the draft um he impacts all areas of the game he’s a competitive player who defends extremely well has great instincts with the puck we believe he’s a complete defenseman this is also your first draft as the assistant general general manager and Gary Davidson’s first WHL draft as the general manager of the Calgary Hitman so how does this pick fit with the direction that you guys Envision for the team I think al er fits in really well with a group group of players we believe in mobility and players on the back end are going to be able to move pucks and be involved in offense um and we’re looking for talented players and CER is a very talented player and a great person who’s been around the league and has family Bud lines in the league and we’re really excited to add him to our group what can you tell us about the style or identity that you’re trying to build for the team going forward I think we’re trying to build a an identity of a team that plays with Pace um that really is an aggressive team that um that has an offensive mindset that’s really hard to play against and cder fits in really well with this he’s up in the play he defends really well with his feet stick and his body and he he’s going to contribute offensively for us thank you so much for this cast going to the Calgary Hitman they’re hoping he can contribute offensively on a team that has some already very uh offensively skilled defensemen will say yeah they do and I like what Cass said just about their window as well and so of course Rees Hamilton who you’re likely alluding to Cammy had a fantastic 16y old campaign this year put up a ton of points uh and you know was a fantastic player and we look at some of their former first round picks as as well you know ree probably among the top of that list of difference makers Carson wet going to be an NHL draft pick this season um you know tulk had had an excellent season for them as well so they’re really big on bringing in homegrown Talent um you know I think the C is going to fit that really well and again to be able to play with a player like reee Hamilton and the other uh you know they have five 16-year-olds that made an impact for them this year um so an excellent selection by Calgary exciting things ahead too some exciting offensive Talent like Carson wet up as well Carter yakimchuk who we’re expecting to see go in the 2024 NHL draft also the 2024 WHL championship series presented by nutrien is coming to TSN catch all the action beginning Friday May 10th as the Western Conference Champion Portland Winterhawks host the Eastern Conference Champion MOA Warriors after that incredible seven game series against Saskatoon the winner of the whl’s edow with cup will advance to compete in the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dao scheduled for May 24th to June second in Sea Michigan the Spokan Chiefs are on the board the pick is in let’s go to the commissioner with a seventh overall pick in the WHL Prospect draft the Spokan Chiefs are pleased to select Center Aussie McIntyre from the St Albert St Albert Sabers of the U u15 AAA of the alberty elite Hockey League now from what I’ve heard Taylor this is a fun player to watch yeah I can’t lie Cammy this is probably the most exciting player to watch in the draft uh another you know high energy offensive player the thing I love about Aussie McIntyre is that he wants to make a difference on every shift when he has the puck on his stick uh he wants to get into the offensive zone and make plays uh obviously he led the aehl this year in scoring by 40 points uh and he led it in goals as well by 22 goals he had 104 points in 34 games um and and just dominated that League he’s a he’s a smaller player with with room to grow when you look at his frame but super exciting high octane he can be physical he can protect the puck down low but he really shines in the offensive zone being able to create offense whether it’s getting his shot off or uh or making passes and making plays to his teammates as well so a fantastic pick here uh and and a very exciting player all right let’s bring in the spok and Chiefs now congratulations on selecting Aussie McIntyre do you see that energetic fun player that Taylor just described when you Scout him yes we do it’s it’s it’s funny that you guys mention that I think that’s something that we talked about as The Scouting staff is he’s an electric player but we we fell in love with the player the person the way he is on the ice uh what we really like about him is you can just see the energy he loves to play the game he’s infectuous um his skill set is very very high I think he uh certainly adds to the uh the strong group of forwards that we have currently and also our our Prospect group that’s coming up I think he’s going to be a real exciting player for our fans and and we’re really excited to to be able to select aie I’m glad you brought that up could you talk a little bit about how you see him fitting into that upcoming group yeah no I think uh you know with if it’s Premier in the league is you know it’s hard to score goals and uh you know have a player like that that can score can set up players as well to add to our young group of players like matys Preston Brody Gillespie Cohen Harris um and then even our our 07 group that played this year we had three forwards that played this year and then certainly a player like Berkeley Kon that uh everyone loves to be around so I think he fits in well with our group and like I said I think uh it’s going to enable us to be quite a dangerous group uh offensively earlier in the show we actually heard from Berkeley about how being in the chief’s organization really taught him how to be a pro and he saw efforts to help move all the players onto the next level whether that was University or the professional ranks what makes the Chiefs organization so well equipped to help these players with their development well I think one is our culture our culture is really strong here in Spokan our locker room when you know when we had our exit meeting with the players they talked about how tight the group is uh our players love being around the rink um you know our our staff our coaches uh management ownership everybody that works here from the business side everybody it’s just we have a great culture um and I think that you know that helps when players come in they enjoy being at the rink they love competing with each other um for each other and uh you know that we want it to be a destination of choice as spoke can perfect thank you so much right thank you well I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing Aussie McIntyre in a couple of highlight reels especially with a name like that that’s a great hockey name it is Cammy yeah he’s an exciting player with an exciting name and he makes exciting plays so it’s it’s a great pick up for Spokan and now we go to the Victoria Royals a team that saw a coaching change mid-season some really great winning streaks through kind of the December to January and they put up a really great fight in the playoffs so what needs can they address here well this is an upand cominging club and Jake heisinger is taken the r Reign there and done a great job in his first year uh moving the pieces around and putting his fingerprints on this team so I think they want to play with Pace I I think they want to be a quick team and so we’ll see if they can address that here at eighth overall all right for the eighth overall pick let’s go to commissioner near with eighth overall pick in the WHL prospects draft Victoria Royals are pleased to select Center Jacob Schwarz from St George’s school u5 and the csshl so now we see a potential top six Winger in Jacob Schwarz one of the top goal scorers in this year’s class yeah well probably the best BC forward available here in that u5 league Jacob Schwarz a very exciting player out of St georgees uh this is another kind of walking highlight reel type of player Cammy he uh another player that wants to imp the game offensively immediately uh s play a number of times this year in each game on the first shift of the game he seems to have the ability to enforce his will on the game uh you know this is going to be Jacob schwarz’s game as soon as he steps on the ice uh you know very good passer excellent on the power play he can kind of pick apart defenses and be a little bit cerebral while also playing with a ton of pace uh so this is an excellent pick for Victoria and and he does address that need of a player that can play fast for uh Victoria all right now let’s go to the Victoria Royals congratul ations on the selection of Jacob Schwarz what Drew you to this player well obviously we see an individual here that’s got the ability to be a first line centerman in the Western Hockey League he’s uh very competitive and he led the uh Prep School league in scoring this year so we think we got a guy that can score and he can make plays he’s excellent on the power play he can skate and uh he’s going to be a big game player and big games we hope to play Down the Line Tanner how do you see him fitting in with the direction that the team is hoping to take the Royals in well we’re looking to add players that play with pace and high-end hockey IQ and we think he brings both of those to the table he’s got an elite shot and they say he led that league in scoring and if he gets a chance he can put it home so we’re going to have a very lethal individual that we can uh slot in at the top of our lineup and we’re very excited to make this selection here today and we’re really happy to welcome Jacob and his family to the family great thank you so much when’s the last time you’ve seen a goal scorer like this come along well he’s definitely special Camy again on the power play he’s so lethal he can walk down the half wall if the shots there he can put it in uh and he can also slide it across or or up top to where Brock Crips was playing um and the two of them had excellent chemistry on the power play so this is an excellent score for sure and when we look at uh you know Victoria’s last selection Keaton verhoff a fourth overall last year who some of the GMS in the league told me could have been you know almost an exceptional status player this year he played a number of games for Victoria and was very very good in those games so to have a you know high-end defenseman coming up like him that projects as a future number one and to add a player like Jacob Schwarz is fantastic wonderful those are the top eight breaks or pardon me top eight picks we’re going to take a quick break here stay with us as we hear from WHL alumni Connor Rankin every inch of the Scotia Bank Saddle Dome seem seems to hold a different memory for Connor Rankin obviously playing with for the Hitman um I feel so long ago but eight years ago um obviously some special moments like uh the hattick in game seven throw those hats on the ice it’s not only a hattick it’s a natural one Conor raiken has done it again and then going all the way into playing for mru and and playing the Crowchild classic and double overtime bout Royal wins the eighth annual throw child classic these days he’s working high above the ice as a member of the Calgary Flames data and analytics Department it’s an increasingly important role for all NHL teams just not the one rank and thought he’d be playing after a promising Western Hockey League career with the Tri City Americans and Calgary Hitman every kid has a dream of making the NHL or um at least playing pro hockey whether it’s in the AHL or in Europe and sometimes in the best cases it doesn’t happen I mean it’s I was a high draft pick in the WHL and I ended up using my scholarship and it goes to show that you know nothing’s ever ever promised no matter how good you are at a young age things can always happen and um to have that backup plan and it’s it’s an option to keep playing very competitive hockey in E Sports and getting free education but his NHL dream was simply taking on a new form the now 28-year-old was using his WHL scholarship to attend Mount Royal University’s accounting program when he landed some part-time video work with the Flames he’d graduate to a full-time position under his new Mentor Chris snow after getting his degree there’s two sides of it there’s the analytic department and there’s the the the ey test they call it I kind of like to call myself the middle guy like the hybrid guy um you know obviously understanding what the numbers mean and how how we collect the number MERS and then obviously watching the games and seeing how those kind of collide and obviously Chris and our department has to be pretty secretive of what what we do because we don’t want anyone else to have that Advantage but um people know how much that he’s changed the Calgary Flames in a positive way and how all the information he he has in his head and innovation ideas that he has is was was incredible snow passed away in September after battling ALS for more than 4 years he was 42 years old he affected my life in so many other ways like he was he was a boss but he was also a friend he was a mentor he was he was everything to me in that in that way and he’s he’s helped me along in my life you know like I more than just professionally you know after knowing him for eight years I’ve I’ve definitely grown a lot and most of that is because of Chris no Rankin and the rest of the data and analytics Department still still wear purple pins on their jackets to pay tribute to their friend another memory The Perennial student of the game hangs on to as he walks into the saddledome yet again still crunching his numbers and still chasing championships I just saw the Western Hockey League as the quickest route to the NHL for me uh you get in playing at a young age against big strong guys who help you develop and get ready for the next level so the WHL definitely was a for me the Western Hockey League is the quickest way to become a pro like I said you’re playing against the best every night and I think that’s uh that’s what factored in the most I just thought it was the the best choice for myself and I think it’s uh proving that hello welcome back to the 2024 WHL prospects draft the WL scholarship program is in its 31st year with nearly 8,000 scholarships having been awarded since 1993 94 representing an investment over $35 million by WHL clubs every player who plays in the WHL is eligible to receive the scholarship for each season played in the WHL players receive a guaranteed full year of WHL scholarship including tuition textbooks and compulsory fees to a post-secondary institution of their choice we just heard from Conor Ranken who is now working with the Calgary Flames we also have a love night like vuki aofu who is now working in the Pittsburgh Penguins front office so to learn more about the WHL scholarship visit whl.ca or scan the QR code on your screen so we are eight picks into the draft now T can you give us a little bit of a recap yeah so surprise surprise we get Landon Dupont going first overall to the Everett silver tips and from there we go Prince Albert with Brock Crips uh Tri Cities taking the defenseman from Edge Aiden buard Prince Albert acquiring the fourth overall pick which they use to take NAX for forward Ben Harvey uh Kaden stroer goes fifth overall from Edmonton the Speedy Saskatchewan centerman Calder Hamilton Saskatchewan defenseman goes sixth overall to Calgary uh Aussie McIntyre goes seven to Spokane the high flying explosive forward and then Victoria takes Jacob Schwarz forward out of St George’s so that’s our first uh eight so far Cammy our next pick up is the Colona Rockets with the pick they acquired from The Prince Albert Raiders in a trade earlier today let’s go to commissioner with a ninth overall pick in the WHL prospects draft the Colona Rockets select defenseman Owen Hayden from the Calgary Northwest Flames under 15 in the alberty elite Hockey League Owen Hayden he is a big boy what can you tell us about him well I’m a little bit partial to Big defenseman Cammy as you know the 66 defenseman uh a fantastic player and what we really see here is at that size at this age it can be easy to be a little bit uncoordinated but we we don’t see that with Owen Aiden at all he is coordinated he is very smooth and extremely mobile not only for his size but just in general in this draft class so we see another defenseman with Mobility this time with some Elite size as well he moves the puck extremely well do I see him being an offensive Catalyst at the next level probably not but I do see him being a shutdown guy that can move the puck between the blue lines uh look at a player like Tyler Myers who’s so mobile for the Vancouver Canuck and can move the puck really well in transition that’s the type of player I see Owen Hayden becoming to the Colona Rockets does he fit in with some of the other impact picks that we see on the screen there well I think I think Colona has had you know an excellent draft record obviously they’re kind of entering that window right now where they’re ready to win and so Owen Hayden’s going to get to come in and learn from these excellent players uh learn what it takes to win at the Western Hockey League level and hopefully come in a year from now at his 16-year-old season and be ready to make an impact let’s bring in the Colona Rockets now we just heard Taylor talking about how this could be a guy who can come in and learn a lot uh why was this a player that you want to select oh sorry Bruce do you have me there okay we’ll double check on that later but where do you see the direction of the Colona Rockets right now well I do think that they’re kind of entering a a a stage in their in their cycle right now where they’re ready to win obviously you have players like tjla like Crystal um you know and some excellent players that are going to grow into their roles as well next season and so I think this is a team that’s on the rise I think the BC division is going to be uh competitive next year and certainly colog is going to be right in the mix of that so again for Owen and his first year his job is to get development opportunities continue to grow hopefully learn from those players so that he’s ready to step in at 16 and as they’re right on the edge of that competitive window all right I think we have technical difficulty sorted out so we are joined now by the colon rocket so Owen Hayden what did you see in this player oh looks like uh they’re not quite able to hear us right now so we do have some very talented players off the board already who are some of the top picks who are still in the mix here well I look at a player like Brock angle and at Edge somebody who I think’s a you know a really Dynamic forward with two-way ability that I think is going to go off the board soon a player like Boston Tate another big defenseman this time out of estan uh he’s already 6-2 and scored 30 goals this year on the back end in Saskatchewan he’s a player that I think is going to go off soon as well uh how can we forget about Chase Siran and Regina uh somebody who you know had an extremely productive season even more so than Kaden stroer um so we still have a lot of high highend names here Cammy at the top of the board and next up we’re going to see see Vancouver selecting what kind of needs can they address here well Vancouver and I feel like it’s been a theme at the top end of this draft but they’ve drafted very very well obviously Cameron Schmidt their 16-year-old last year was fantastic and they had two high picks last year as well taking Brett Olsson at e8th overall and defenseman Ryan Lyn at sixth overall both who had excellent u8 campaign so the Giants have the flexibility here to go in whatever Direction they want uh I’m I’m thinking they might be leaning forward though Cammy we’ll see we will see the pick is in let’s go to commissioner near with the 10th overall pick in the WHL prospects draft the Vancouver Giants are pleased to select Center Blake chy from nor Northern Alberta extreme under 15 in the csshl another Northern Alberta extreme player in Blake chy can you tell us about him well he was kind of Ben Harvey’s running mate this year obviously Ben Harvey going forth to Prince Albert and Blake played alongside him this year and was extremely productive at NX uh he’s got an excellent shot and he uh it’s it’s heavy it’s a quick release and he loves to get it off he can score in Spades 19 goals in 24 games for Blake this season at NAX another Saskatchewan boy as well goes off the board as we mentioned they have a very high-end group out of Saskatchewan this season um you know he was first in uh in playoff scoring as well this year or second sorry at the u15 level so extremely productive and kind of got better as the year went on uh I love the shot I love the offensive ability and I love the hard work uh that Blake try brings to the table as well so he finished 16th overall in csshl u15 scoring let’s bring in the Vancouver Giants now congratulations on the selection of Blake tney what did you see in him that makes him a great fit for this Vancouver team well thank you and I just want to say we got a crack technical staff here that made sure there wasn’t any mistakes this year from uh myself so that’s awesome we get a good start but Blake is a incredibly talented player he’s a competitive kid that when the game was really on the line you really saw his game rise and he just just he he has all the utilities he every aspect of the game we really felt he was good the defensive Zone neutral zone his competitive competitiveness and combined with a skill really made them attractive to us and barley we saw this year you could never count out this Vancouver Giants team they made every game exciting they played right to the end how does Blake fit in with the team identity well tremendously the work ethic on Ice compete again like I just said though those are things with a skill to complement our skilled young group that we have here uh we really think we got a a really strong candidate here we think he brings some leadership qualities uh off the ice as well and he’s a player to be honest that we’ve really enjoyed watching all year I know I got excited to go to the rink and watch them play and I know our scouting staff all thought very highly of this player throughout the entire year hopefully the fans will be excited to come see him play too thanks Barkley thank you so where do you see a player like Blake tney slotting into the Vancouver lineup down the line well he’s definitely top six forward material again Barkley said it he’s a competitive player that can score and you always have time for those uh they have one already and Cameron Schmidt they’ve got an excellent Center coming and Brett Olsen uh and I think Blake tney fits in that mold of of player really well but we’re certainly seeing a top six forward here that’s going to be an offensive contributor and somebody that can play two a two-way game for Vancouver as well and now we go to a team that is at the start of the after capturing the WHL championship in the Seattle Thunderbirds what type of player could they be going after here well they were another really young team last year I think they also had five 16y olds on their roster uh you know I I think you always need to build your depth down the middle I really like their young defense course so uh you know I can see them leaning Center here uh but another team that has a good Prospect pool and has some options cing the pick is in let’s go commissioner near with the 11th pick of the WHL Prospect draft the Seattle under birds are pleased to select Center Brock England from The Edge School u5 in the csshl so Brock England I know this is a player that you had quite highly ranked I did I really like Brock I think this is great value here for the Seattle Thunderbirds probably the fastest player in the draft he is so quick uh and his processing speed and his hands can keep up with that foot speed so he’s a player that creates a lot on the Fly uh he plays a a really good two-way game too uh and I think that’s really what started to separate great Brock down the stretch is that we knew the offense was there he creates plays all the time for Edge uh but what we really saw was a player that could win faceoffs kill penalties uh you know track back in his Zone and provide that two-way value that I think is really really good value here for the Seattle Thunderbird so a fantastic pick for an exciting young player let’s go to the Thunderbirds staff now congratulations on the selection what kind of player do you think you have in Brock England well we’re extremely excited to add Brock to our our team uh we think he’s the best skater in the draft um just high energy um we think that uh he competes as well as anybody plays without Edge he just brings a Thunderbird style to uh to his game and that’s uh the attraction to him what is the Thunderbird style well we’re always been known has been a a gritty team but we also we want to SK we want to have a high compete level and and Brock again adds all those elements to to our to our system well you talk about a gritty style Brock was fourth in csshl u15 penalty minutes this year but how do you see his uh two-way game developed right now yeah I mean that’s I I think uh you know the the backtracking like T Taylor said um he plays both ends of the ice he’s got a really good shot shot so he’s you know he can create offense with his speed um and then you know add that element um of of getting back into the play uh and so you know there’s just he’s 200 foot player and and with blazing speed and really fits our program great thank you so much congratulations on the selection thank you so Brock England how does he stand out on an edge team that was pretty stacked well they were really stacked and I thought he is probably their best forward Aiden Bard being their best dman and I had them very close Cammy uh so again I think this is great value for the Seattle Thunderbirds I think this is a player that’s going to really Drive offense for them and be able to drive a first line at the Western Hockey League level for years to come and next up we have the wachi wild selecting where do you think they could go with this pick well obviously being a new team here this will be their first official WHL draft selection so I’m excited to see what direction they have they’re a team that I know wants to play Big have some size whether that’s up front or on the back end uh I think they’re looking for the best player available that can bring them kind of that edge and grit well let’s see commissioner near make a little bit of history with the first draft pick for the team with a 12th overall pick in the WHL Prospect draft the wachi wild are pleased to select defenseman Boston Tate from the eston Bruins under 15 program in the Saskatchewan doua Hockey League EST van the energy City Boston Tate this is a big guy already he’s 6′ two yeah big player uh and a talented player as well anytime a defenseman scores 30 goals Camy you have to keep your eyes open so while Calder Hamilton uh was the scoring leader in that League Boston Tate was the defenseman goal leader in that League uh a big imposing frame and he can play physically he can win battles along the wall uh everything you look for in kind of a prototypical defenseman he moves well and obviously can create that offense from the back end as well so this is a player that’s going to be able to do a little bit of everything for haachi and like we said off the top he adds that size and that element of grit a really exciting pick for the wild all right let’s bring in the wild staff now well with the first selection officially in the team’s history since moving to wachi I guess a lot of pressure to make a good pick hey ah I mean I think our staff did a great job this year in working with bliss and clarky over the last couple weeks of identifying who we felt we had to have and and for Boston to be a be available at this point it wasn’t a very long discussion and what kind of player do you think you’re getting in Boston well we feel like we’re getting a Cornerstone defenseman for our program we obviously like the size the mobility the ability to play offense but he can lean on guys when he has to defensively we feel he’s a very well-rounded player our interactions with him this year he’s been a very mature young man and and great to deal with and again for us with our first pick we we wanted to establish a little bit of our own Direction uh with our especially with our decor and we felt that we really s satisfied that with this pick what have you learned about him as a person in your interactions with him just the maturity just the approach ability and the honesty easy to talk to conversations have been real good and and uh never forced or never like never uncomfortable long pauses and things and just speaking with him actually last night was uh just very excited about the possibility of being available when we picked and again we got fortunate that some things moved around for us and and and away we go great thank you so much for your time thank you guys so Boston Tate off the board we are now on to the Lethbridge hurricanes with the 13th overall pick now what do you see in the cards for Lethbridge yeah so leth Bridge has built some really good teams Pete anel’s done a great job for a number of years uh you know they like their size they like their grit uh Lethbridge traditionally has been a hard player to a team to play against I know even going back to when I was in the league it was never an easy night at the nmax center uh so we’ll see if left bridge can add a little bit more of that uh with 13 overall here well some amazing players coming out of that franchise we had Brent SE Brook’s Jersey retirement ceremony this year that was great Scholastic Player of the Year Noah Chadwick who’s up with the Marley’s now and now we’ll see who the next player to join the organization is as we go to commissioner near with the pick with the 13th pick of the WHL Prospect draft the Left Bridge hurricanes select Center tied in laf fores from the Winnipeg Bruins of the Winnipeg AAA hockey league well Taylor you did say that you appreciate a team that tries to build up the middle yeah absolutely and this is a fantastic pick Titan the best player available out of Manitoba no doubt about it and uh this is a productive player 126 points in 32 games played this year in Winnipeg uh big frame already 6’2 and some room to add some weight to that frame too but what we really see here from Titan is is highend skill this is a player that has an all-around offensive toolkit skates well creates offense uh you know he had to do it a lot on his own this year in win a peg to and he’s not afraid to take control and dve the bus he can also Elevate the teammates around him and make them better so you know the shot is Elite The Stride is fantastic has all the makings of a prototypical center that every team wants big up the middle reliable in both two zones um so an exciting pick here for Lethbridge so now we are going to hear from Lethbridge Hurricane’s head Scout Rob mclin Rob congratulations on the selection of Titan where do you project this player in the future well I think you know what when we started out uh this year and and looked at our needs our needs were probably get a little bit bigger and it was up Center so we kind of targeted uh Tian uh you know probably from Christmas time on that’s one of the players that we had targeted and you know did we think we would get him today at 13 we did not think we would get them at 13 so you know it’s it’s it’s a it’s a really happy day for the leftridge Hurricanes to get somebody that uh you know what we really targeted and I got to say that uh you know staff scouting staff’s done a really good job and on identifying all these guys and you know I was really happy I I laid awake last night thinking if there’s a chance we could get Titan that would be very happy for me because this is my last draft so that that’s a kid that I was really targeting to get today so well congratulations Rob it’s been a long career with Lethbridge how have you seen the franchise grow and change since joining well I think there’s lots of lots of uh you know growing pains and and stuff like that but you know what the Management’s done such a great job here and it’s just been a pleasure to work work here in Lethbridge and uh you know what I never had a day in Lethbridge that I that I didn’t didn’t feel good about it so yeah I mean uh they they every every uh organization changes throughout the years you know and uh you know what we’re going in the right right direction we’ve had a little bit of a drought here where you know we we uh you know we’ve been picking in the middle you know 11 12 13 we want to get that back to 8 and uh I enjoyed work uh uh I always enjoyed picking 18th some some years and uh you know we’re going to get back there pretty soon is there a moment a game a series just something that’s going to stick with you from your time in the WHL you know I don’t think there’s there’s one moment that uh that I can go back and say that was the moment I I’ve had numerous I mean this this is uh this this has been so good uh you know I I wouldn’t ask for anything in my life uh that I’ve done uh I’ve enjoyed every moment of it well hopefully the last selection was a game-changing one for you and the crew thank you so much for joining us today and congratulations on retirement hey thank you wow Rob mclin that’s been a long time in Le Bridge a lot of players he’s seen come through the rink a lot of fantastic selections we want to thank Rob for his service to the Western Hockey League and the Left Bridge hurricanes a real Class Act and uh excited for him to get a fantastic player here in at 13 and now we are on to the 14th overall pick in the Brandon we Kings but before we go to the selection we do have a special message to share this season the we Kings grieved the passing of a friend Mark Johnston AKA Johnny was a former week King player assistant coach and longtime Scout with both the Colona rockets and Brandon we Kings the WHL draft started in 1990 which means this will be the first draft to not have him directly involved in some way the Brandon we King celebrate this year’s draft in memory of our friend Mark [Music] Johnston thank you to the Brandon we Kings for that wonderful tribute to Mark Johnston who brought so much to the team he even uh coached uh general manager Marty Murray through his entire playing career as a week King so condolences to the organization to Mark’s family and thank you for sharing that we now go to commissioner near for the pick with the 14th pick of the WHL Prospect draft the Brandon week kings are pleased to select left Winger Chase ciran from the Regina Pat bles in the Saskatchewan under 15 daa hockey league so this is a pretty Dynamic player that the Brandon week kings are going with to add to a stable of really exciting Talent yeah if you want to talk about the most productive player in this draft Camy it’s Chase sir can no doubt about it 135 points in 27 games played for the Regina pass uh u5 team this season this isn’t a big time player he can really drive and produce offense uh he’s quick uh has that Dynamic ability with great hands and great feel for the game overall um you know scored some beautiful goals this year loves to have a puck on his stick and just one of those players with a knack for getting shots off um you know he’s top three all time when we look at the record books in Sahl scoring what he did this year was pretty special and he’s in pretty Elite company in terms of his production at that sa AHL level and we’ve had so many good players come through brookley Kon Braden jger recent ones that are playing in the WHL now that didn’t match this level of production that chase had so this is a special special player and uh as you mentioned Cammy he’s joining a fantastic stable of prospects with the Brandon we Kings very impressive stuff we’re now going to bring in Brandon we Kings director of player Personnel Chris Molton uh Chris congratulations on a great pick uh we’ve talked about how exciting and dynamic Chase is what did you see in him through your scouting well I just think we kind of echo what Taylor just said I mean this is a kid that every time he got the puck he’s one of those guys that kind of makes you sit at the end of your chair um very creative very competitive kid that you know when when his team needed something he stepped up when you know in the playoffs I thought he was outstanding which for me also is like another level of play that he had to excel to so um with the the group we have moving forward we just think it’s uh another skilled smart hockey player that allows us to hopefully be successful in the near future we mentioned that you have a lot of very exciting prospects many of whom just won a silver medal and a bronze medal at the Talis cup out in Nova Scotia how do you see Chase fitting into that picture very well I mean at the end of the day we want to play with pace and we want to play with skill and I think that chase fits in really well with that group I I just think that you know the way the game’s going you know we have to we have to have some skill we have to have the ability to create offense and Chase will blend in really well with the rest of those guys and be a really strong part of our future and we want to thank you guys for that wonderful tribute to Mark Johnston for all he did for the organization how would you describe his legacy within Brandon and the team well I mean he’s just an important part of our group important part of the city important part of the organization so um he yeah I mean when when you think about the week Kings you think about Johnny and uh we all learn from him and we’ll miss him dearly great thank you so much thank you so Chaser can to the Brandon weak Kings next up we have the Red Deer Rebels what direction do you think they could take this in well they take a took a fantastic forward last year Camy in back at Hamilton uh I I do think that the back end is probably the biggest area of Need for Red Deer at this point but they’re another team that’s drafted on uh you know making the best player available and there’s some high-end players on the board right now so we’ll see uh what direction they go here 15 the pick is in let’s go to the commissioner with the 15th pick of the WHL Prospect draft the Red Deer Rebels select defenseman Graham Pickering from rink Academy Winnipeg in the csshl there’s a familiar name for WHL fans the brother of Owen Pickering yes yes and he’s going to bring some of those same tools that Owen had but probably more physically developed at this age already Camy this is a defenseman that’s really smooth and can do it all he’s a he’s the epitome of a two-way defenseman moves the puck extremely well uh confident in between the blue lines and transitioning and he’s able to impose his will on the game two he’s a great competitor uh and also can exercise a sense of calm when the moment gets big and he needs to uh you know lean back and play some defense as well so this is a guy that brings it in all three zones had a fantastic season for rink Winnipeg this year with 36 points in 27 games and ru’s getting a defenseman that’s going to be able to bring them an impact you know style of play in all three zones we are going to bring in from the Red Deer Rebels assistant general manager Sean Sutter Sean where do you see Graham fitting into the rebels roster going forward yeah I mean we we believe that Graham can be an impact defense uh you know with a guy capable of you know running a power play you know being a guy that defends hard and plays against the opposition’s you know best players so we’re very excited to get him at pick number 15 how important is it to bring in guys who are able to play in all sorts of situations yeah I mean obviously uh you know you’re looking to build your team these guys are building block players uh you know the character and the leadership is important G the way that he plays the personality that he has on the ice you know that’s really important to us uh you know I think he’s a hard-nosed guy and you know people can be afraid of him with the way he plays uh being physical but also being defensively hard but you know we’re really intrigued by the off package and the mentions that he brings with the way he sees the Ice Fast switch ability he has the pock the rebels made some changes this season uh what can you tell us about the identity that the team is trying to establish going forward uh we want to be a fast hard pressure team uh a team that’s hard to play against I think everybody knows who the r Rebels are and what our identity is and you know I think it’s really important to stick to that thanks for joining us thanks guys you guys look great in your red [Laughter] so I mean when you we’ve seen a lot of brothers come through the WHL we saw twins selected in the US priority draft there are actually some other twins in the league how do you see Brothers establish themselves differently as they come into the WHL because you’ve seen a lot of it yeah well I think it can be hard especially for the younger brother you always look up to your older brother and want to play similar style to them I think Graham’s done a great job so far of carving his own path and we’ll see if he can that at the Western Hockey League level because they are different players and again I think that Graham has put himself in a really good spot at a young age to step in and be an impact player right away for Red Deer now we have a very exciting young team on the board here the Medicine Hat Tigers will select next let’s go to Dan near for the pick with the 16th pick the WHL Prospect draft The Medicine Hat Tigers select Center Luke R ruptash of the St Albert Sabers under 15 in the Alberta Elite hockey league so Luke rupes this is a kid with a motor yeah he does and he played alongside Aussie McIntyre the previous seventh overall pick to Spokane earlier in the draft and Luke is another offensive Catalyst for that St Alber team they scored a lot and uh Luke had 28 goals in 29 games 57 points on the year amongst the top in the aehl a really good player who really asserted himself at the recent Alberta cup event a few weeks back and really started to Rock It Up draft boards and hear his name talked about more and more this is a player that loves to have the puck on his stick uh has natural scoring touch uh you know an exceptional five on five player he produced a ton of five on five not just on the power play so this is a guy that when when the game’s on the line when there’s a big moment needed Luke Ruff just wants to step up and and make plays uh he’s also got a bit of a Mean Streak to his game he’s very competitive he wants to engage physically and when you look at the Medicine Hat Prospect pool my goodness I mean taking the Ruck twins last year they’ve got so many good players coming and this is another player that’s going to be a lethal option for them in their forward group going forward well let’s hear from from them now we’ll go to the Medicine Hat tiger staff congratulations on the selection of Luke rash we’ve talked a lot about the intangible so what intangibles do you see in him I think uh Tanner uh sorry Taylor hit it right on the head there we got a competitive Ford uh physical has Mean Streak but he’s also offensively gifted uh he plays really hard he he uh he’ll cut that crease he’ll go to the paint and uh he has a knack Around the Net Taylor also mentioned or Tanner I guess and H has also mentioned that that deep dangerous Prospect pool that the Tigers have uh where can he kind of fit into that um you know he fits right in with our skilled skilled forwards and he he brings again an element of hardness to it that’s going to complement uh any any one of our lines great thank you so much thank you wow if we could just go over some of those picks again for Medicine Hat you mentioned the rck twins they got some Taste of international play this year you have Gavin McKenna the Rookie of the Year APM Brian trer Award winner this is going to be a dangerous group for years to come yeah and I really like what the Tigers did there of keeping skill in their group uh but also adding a player that’s so hard to play against at rupor he can be a little bit of a rat on the ice he likes to Stir It Up uh and then will come in your face and score a goal as well on the next shift so he really gives you a little bit of everything uh to complement an elite group already you know it’s good when someone’s described as a little bit of a rat absolutely the Brad Maran energy that we’re bringing here former Monk and wild cat absolutely cmy he was something we are now on to the Swift Current Broncos with the 17th overall pick what kind of needs do you think Swift Current can address well this is an important pick for Swift Current obviously in the Connor geeky trade last or earlier this season uh you know there were a lot of assets that were moved out there so these become important selections for Swift Current as they have to uh you know address a big need which is to bring an elite player in that can sustain some production for them for the next few years they have a little bit of time left yet we are going to take another quick break and when we come back the Swift Current Broncos will announce their first pick of the 20124 WHL prospects draft stay with us steals it back centers it for Williamson and what a great glove save by Coleman volrath Coleman volrath has gone from defending the net to defending the environment but both passions can be tied back to his time on Vancouver Island when I was playing in Victoria one of my favorite things to do uh after practice on an off day was just go spend time outside go for hikes go down to the marina check out some of the wildlife be near the ocean and I missed that dearly but what that motivated me to do was take an interest in solving some sort of environmental problem with my career and more specifically with climate change the University of of Calgary PhD student has zeroed in on tackling methane emissions in the oil and gas industry and within his hometown of Calgary much like a goalie has to evolve as the game gets quicker and players get trickier volrath and the team at UFC Center for smart emission sensing Technologies are expanding how they detect methane gas using new devices like the Husky unmanned ground vehicle methane is an odorless and colorless gas in most settings so as humans we can’t see it and we need to use these Advanced Technologies to be able to pinpoint those sources to reduce the emissions so having the hands-on experience and knowing that the work that I’m doing is actually reducing the amount of methane in the atmosphere is something that really sticks with me methane is sensitive to uh infrared radiation at a certain wavelength so the way that this works is a laser essentially shoots between the two mirrors and if there’s methane present in the air that’s going between the sensors the methane will kind of slow the laser down a little bit and that’s how we’re able to measure the concentration of methane in the atmosphere and what I’ll do is I’ll just uh shoot some of this calibration gas kind of into the sensor just about uh 2.5% methane in here so what I’ll do is just shoot a little bit of this and create some air uh just to disperse that methane in the sensor and then in real time you can see the increase in the concentration of of methane full wrath also credits his WHL scholarship with allowing him to pursue groundbreaking research and earn a prestigious scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering research Council over eight years of study I truly think that I wouldn’t be pursuing an advanced degree of a PhD right now if I didn’t have the financial support from the Western Hockey League with my scholarship package so my advice for uh future players would be to look at the hockey and the education not as a and b but 1 a and 1B just like a team that has two good golender for example look at those two things as parallels that you can pivot between and while he hasn’t returned to Victoria since completing his WHL career volrath hopes to return to his old stomping grounds with the knowledge that he’s made an impact I will know and be really proud of the fact that what I’m doing now is contributing to preserving that sensitive marine environment and reducing climate change I think I just had a lot of friends who kind of went through the experience a couple years before me and told me a little bit about the league and it was intriguing and I think it was the best stepping stone for me to get to the next level rightwing side scores yeah for sure I mean I’m super super happy I made the decision to go to the WHL and uh you know I was super lucky to to land in Regina it’s just so cool to kind of look at look at all the names on the wall of this historic franchise obviously and to have my name there is is really special but arone scores you know it’s such a first class organization there and uh I’ve been able to kind of enhance my development I think and uh it’s been a lot of fun so I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m happy that uh you know I decided to go the western western [Music] route welcome back to the 2024 WHL prospects draft the Swift Current Broncos are on the clock with the 17th overall pick and while we wait for that to come in we are going to go to Terry McFall with the colon Rockets we weren’t able to get you a hunt earlier so we’re going to make up for it now now Colona selects Owen Hayden with the ninth overall pick what did you see in him uh we saw him a lot this past winter he’s a big puck moving defenseman skates very well and he’s very sound defensively how do you see him sorry go ahead oh go ahead we’re very happy to get him to our organization and uh his uh ceiling is huge good L upsite now Colona was absolutely Dynamite to watch this year how do you see Owen fitting into the style of play there in the future I think he’ll be very good with the Rockets we’ve been known in the past to take a lot of defenseman and he fits our style he’s big he moves a puck plays the game the right we and he’s a very good person off the iceis character is very good as a big guy how does he move the puck it’s uh well the guy sitting beside as a big guy they they move the puck very well skating’s good um he just he does all the right things right and he’s not afraid to get physical he plays with lots of light so we’re very happy to have thank you so much Terry thank you yeah Taylor I believe when you were drafted it said you were 6′ s is that accurate it’s a bit of a stretch Cammy I was 6’6 as well just like Goen but I was able to get the extra inch on Central scouting uh so but he you know uh Terry’s exactly right Owen moves the puck extremely well very mobile and as a big player those are things that you have to be able to add to your game to compete at the next level we see that out of Owen and that’s what made him worthy of a high selection today we’ll bust out measuring tape for you after the show but for now we are over to commissioner Daner with the Swift Current Broncos pick at 17th overall with the 17th pick in the WHL Prospect draft the Swift Current Broncos are pleased to select left Winger Carter mowen from the Swift Current Broncos under 15 in the culin under 15 AA hockey league so Carter mowen we have some more NHL Bloodlines in the draft today yes Father Travis M played in the NHL as well and uh you know this is a very dangerous player who can score uh and homegrown in Swift curr’s backyard which I think is important to a player who’s going to wear that Jersey with a ton of Pride uh and somebody who competes really hard this is a this a competitive player with a great engine that never shuts off uh 27 goals in 25 games this year as well uh for Carter so you know a player that’s going to bring grit a player that’s going to bring pace and a player that’s got scoring touch as well all while being in Swift curr’s backyard I think this is a fantastic pick for the Broncos we’re going to bring in WHL executive of the Year nominee the Central Division winner Chad Leslie from the Swift Current Broncos how exciting is it for an organization when you’re able to bring in a highlevel homegrown kid yeah it’s extremely important especially in our Market U you know Carter is a fantastic player um obviously the NHL bloodline is there and Travis works with our organization a little bit in the skill development side so it checks a lot of boxes for us uh for sure it’s an exciting day for us how would you describe Carter style of play and how that fits in with the Broncos yeah Carter is a 200 foot player he competes extremely hard he plays in all situations and he has power forward Tendencies he does a lot of things with his feet moving really challenges himself and and he’s hard to play against and and the viewings that you see with him every game are very very consistent so he brings it every night and there’s some offensive upside there as well I think it’s just the tip of the spear with Carter for sure hope there some extra reason for everyone to cheer at the iplex in the future yeah absolutely we’re we’re we’re thrilled great thank you so much thank you now described as a power forward there we know what that looks like in the NHL but at the junior level what are the real power forwards game well it’s going to be similar and it starts early in their career he’s going to have the ability to come in as a young player and assert himself because he’s physically able in that way and then in junior we always see you know in the NHL you step in and you’re pretty matured and ready in junior it takes a little bit of time so I’m really excited to see what Carter looks like you know as an 18 19yearold as he gets stronger heavier faster you know he’ll be able to score but he’ll also be more physically imposing in those years now Everett is going to be on the board with their second pick of the day we saw them take l Dupont first overall oh pardon me skipped ahead one we at a Victoria right now there we go we got it now let’s go to danir with the 18th overall pick from the Victoria Royals with the 18th pick in the WHL Prospect draft the Victoria Royals are pleased to select Center Ludovic perau from the Winnipeg Bruins under 15 and the Winnipeg under 15 tripa Hockey League Ludovic perau what do you see in his game well it’s funny Cammy he brings a lot of similar traits that Jacob Schwarz brings obviously they’re their own player uh but Ludovic is a sniper first and foremost he’s a guy that can finish in and around the net in all areas he can score off the rush he’s great off the power play and he’ll go to the dirty areas and compete too one of my favorite things about Ludovic is that for you know a slightly undersized player his compete level and battle level is fantastic he wants to get into those battles and and you know grind it out along the boards and then when he comes out with the puck as he does more often than not he has the ability to finish immediately too so this is an offensive Creator a competitor a quick player as well uh you know one of the best players coming out of Manitoba this this year alongside Titan lefor who went earlier uh and somebody that we’re going to see score a lot of goals in a Royals uniform down the road all right let’s go to the Victoria Royals now congratulations on another selection how do you see Ludovic suiting into the Royals organization well I think you guys just described him very well that’s what we see also we have a very competitive player that can play anywhere you know in any situation he plays with great Pace he’s got a ton of skill he’s got wonderful shots um obviously missed a little bit of time at the end of the season with an injury but uh he’s he’s going to be a terrific Western Hockey League player he’s he’s very competitive he’s very committed off the ice you think he’s got the potential to be a wonderful leader for us and we’re uh we’re very excited about how the first two picks have gone here in the first round for our organization do you see any similarities between the two players you picked today or any ways where you think they’ll mesh well together yeah they they definitely compliment each other but at the same time I think you’ve now that uh this is kind of the type of player that we’re looking for we want these guys that can play at high speed and think at high speed and have the skill to many plays all over the IC and traffic and uh really push the pace and both these picks have addressed that for us so we’re very excited thank you so much and now we are for real onto Everett second pick of the day but taking Landon Dupont first overall obviously one heck of a defenseman which direction could they go in now yeah I’m going to say here with Everett you know they took breett Lisk last year at 12th overall another big defenseman out of Manitoba and then taking Landon today I feel that they’ll be leaning forward with this pick Cammy the pick is in let’s go to the commissioner with the 19th pick in the WHL Prospect draft the Everett silver tips are pleased to select Center m four from The Edge School under 15 in the csshl ever going with Miro dufor what can you tell us about his game well they’re getting another Edge player here in Miro dufor uh a very speedy and skilled forward uh he had an excellent season this year at Edge and we’ve seen a number of edge players go now which uh you know is a testament to the program that they’ve built there but miraco really wants to get in and create offense uh he can you know another player that can slither through Defenders very good on his edges and can cut through the neutral zone uh you know he demands the puck too as a defenseman when you’re transitioning and you see Miro curling and coming up the ice he’s a guy you want to get it into his hands right away you know he’s going to drive into the zone and make something happen um you know similar to their selection last year in Kane Wilkey this is also a player that has some battle level and can play along the walls and and and win Puck battles which is super important to be able to create offense in the ozone so a fantastic selection here and what a stable of prospects ever building we’re going to bring Mike back in now so Mike congratulations on another selection what do you in miro’s game that really stands out to you yeah just to Taylor’s point you know he’s a he’s a Shifty quick player makes good plays always around the net buzzing uh plays our style uh I think the wilky comparison that Taylor Made is is very fair uh they play a very similar style so I think he’s really going to fit into our group of forwards here for sure really keen on those Edge kids this year hey yeah well they they certainly had a good program and and not overly surprised to see uh you know a bunch of those names come out uh here in the first round so uh we’re excited to add another one to the group two high-end players coming in this first round how would you describe this day for the ever silver tips organization uh very exciting you know first time that we’ve ever had the first overall pick and you know uh last year and this year having two first round picks that hasn’t uh that hasn’t happened in a long time in this organization so uh you know we’re excited to add these these play players and and see how they come in into training camp and and fit into our lineup in the future well we’re looking forward to seeing them on the ice too thanks thank you so the Everett silver tips with their two first round picks we are now up to the Portland Winterhawks picking for the first time in this draft what do you think we could see Portland do today well obviously Portland’s uh got a lot on the goal right now with our championship series and they have a really old team a really a really talented team team right now that’s filled up with like 18 19 and 20y old players so really important for them to establish a really good second wave to come underneath this talented group they have right now and as those players age out be able to build in so we all know Portland plays a very high Pace High skilled style that’s what they’re demonstrating right now in the WL playoffs and so we certainly expect to see someone that fits that bill for them somebody that can play with Pace somebody that has you know a highend skill level and again whether that comes on the back end or the front end for Portland this year I don’t think that’ll really be their concern positionally I think looking at a player that can more fit that style of you know that highflying offense that they like to play Creative smart hockey players that they bring into their organization time and time again that will have an impact for them down the road and you mentioned it it all starts tomorrow as the Portland Winterhawks host the Moosejaw Warriors to battle for the Ed heno cup the winner going on to the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dao scheduled for May 24th to June 2nd in seenam Michigan you can visit whl.ca for more information on the WHL championship series and check your local listings for the most upto-date broadcast schedule because the entire series of the WHL championship presented by nutrien will be available on TSN we’re looking forward to it Cammy it’s going to be an excellent series these are two teams I think Portland you know they were so offensive all year and they’ they’ve kind of w through the playoffs here without a ton of adversity they’ve really been able to beat teams up uh musja has played some current was a great series and obviously last series against Saskatoon as well so they B tested right now they’re clicking on all cylinders and as we mentioned at the top of the pre-show Jagger ferus leading the playoffs and scoring right now they’ve got some really highend weapons there whereas I think Portland’s able to kind of contribute uh a little bit deeper down their lineup and so a little bit of different builds from The two clubs but it’s going to be an exciting series some big ads for both teams as well Nate Danielson has been such a tremendous Force for Portland in the playoffs yeah he really has obviously stepping in in leading their team now in points in the playoffs uh he’s really settled in and we see this salum players are acquired mid-season Cammy that have just takes a little bit of time to mesh with the group uh I think we saw that with Danielson and he’s really found his fit now um you know he’s firing on all cylinders we talk a lot about it in the draft class here but he’s a guy who’s established now that can win faceoffs play that two-way game he had that when he was drafted into the Western Hockey League obviously that’s like what the Red Wings liked in him when they selected him in the first round last season uh and he’s brought that in Spades to Portland this year so yeah they’re excited to have him certainly I’ll put you on the spot here so for the players who are competing in the WHL championship series presented by new NRI in this year who stuck out to you when they were still a prospect I think Denton matuk was probably one of the higher end guys in this group and I mean Musa has a lot of them with Jagger being a high pick seavoy being a high pick uh so you know they’re flush with high-end talent that when you look back at some of the prospects they have some of the you know most highly touted uh WHL prospects currently on their roster right now very exciting stuff and it looks like the pick is in let’s go to the commissioner for the Portland WI Hawks pick at 20th overall with the 20th overall pick in the WHL Prospect draft the Portland Winterhawks select Center Jordan St Louis from The Edge School under 15 in the csshl a center from erre Alberta off the board what can you tell us about Jordan well a very Portland type player he’s extremely skilled uh plays with a lot of pace as well it’s funny in in the 202010 draft year uh they took Nick patan that was my draft year I remember playing with Nick well and he reminds me a little bit of St Louis in the same ways that they have that Dynamic presence they’re able to create offense at all times uh Jordan was very productive this year in the csshl so another one of those under undersized slippery forwards that can seemingly create offense out of nowhere they had a lot of them at Edge this year Cammy as we’re seeing by uh the amount of players selected out of there another really really high-end offensive player will be joining the winter hawks let’s go to the winter hawks now first off congratulations on advancing to the W L championship series presented by nutrient and on the pick here today what do you think Jordan can bring to the Winterhawks organization yeah we’re really really happy to add Jordan to our group um Jordan’s a very intelligent Center two-way player uh lots of skill um plays the game with a lot of energy reads it well was well coached uh at the edge compliments the other players on the ice makes everybody better and and we just think in the next two years there’s just huge upside with Jordan where do you see him projecting when you look at that upside well we think he’s an offensive player we think he can make plays um he’s he’s pretty Dynamic uh at times and and also uh you know Puck possession his ability to get up and down the ice but also uh we’d like our centerman to be responsible and and play a competitive game uh we think that he’s going to grow into his body a little bit here and we think at 1617 he’s going to make an impact on a roster thank you so much for joining us hey thanks guys well so we’re getting down to some of the final picks of the second round or first round here before we get into the second round next up we have the Prince George cougars the regular season western conference champions coming off the best season in the team’s history since moving to Prince George and we’ve seen them build tremendously through the draft what could they go for here yeah well another team obviously that’s had a lot of success recently and have one of those older teams so it’s another team that it’s important for them to bring in these younger players to support uh the the players that are going to be exiting their program this year and in the couple years to come so you know they like to draft skilled players uh I know they like size and Prince George as well very excited to see what they do here at 21 overall let’s go to the commissioner for the pick with a 21st overall pick of the WHL Prospect draft the Prince George cougars select left Winger Dave Witherspoon from the Martinsville Marauders under 15 and the Saskatchewan under 15 doua Hockey League another good sasky boy from Martinsville now what do we see from dade’s game yeah well he played with cder Hamilton who we saw go earlier in the draft and and they did a fantastic job of driving offense for Martinsville too this is a very very talented player someone who really accelerated his game as the season went on uh we all saw him at Sask first in February and he had a stand out performance there but what really drove Dade into that next level and being a first round selection was his playoff performance in the sa aahl where he led uh his team and the entire league in playoff scoring this is somebody who competes hard has a lot of skill really good hands in tight he can play a power forward game he can play a perimeter game uh you know playing up the middle he’s obviously valuable in all three zones so an excellent uh piece to the puzzle here for Prin George let’s bring in the Cougars now it’s director of scouting Bob Simmons Bob congratulations on the pick tell us what did you see from data and What attracted the organization to him well first and foremost his ability to score and as Taylor said his performance in the playoffs just really built on what we saw all season during the regular part of uh the season and and his performance was uh off the charts we thought um you know we look at him having all the you know skills that we want up in Prince George size ability to create offense uh plays a strong two-way game we’re very happy to add him to the Cougars organization you guys will be looking to build on a tremendous year after the most successful regular season since the team moved to the northern Capital how do you see Dade fitting into that picture well we look at Dade uh down the road as obviously a top six forward for us um he’s going to fit in well with the transition team that we have and uh he’s going to be able to drive offense as Taylor said so again he just fits the model that we have and we’re we’re very happy thanks for joining us Bob thank you and there we have it we are down to the final pick of the first round what could we see here yeah well cam is going to need to add an impact player with this pick no doubt about it um you know the two areas that I see can impact the game most are are you know top six centers and top four defensemen I’d like to see them go one of those routes with this pick and somebody that can start to establish uh you know an elite style of play for them down the middle or on the back end for the pick let’s go to commissioner danir with the 22nd pick of the WHL prospects draft the cam loops Blazers are pleased to select Center Asher Jing from the Eastman selects under 15 from the Winnipeg under 15 AAA hockey league a Manitoba product for the cam loops Blazers what do you see in Asher’s game well he’s an excellent player and kind of along that build we just alluded to where he’s got great Junior ready size already at about 6’1 uh you know played an Ean this year and was very very productive as well in the Winnipeg League this is a guy that’s going to be your prototypical two-way Center I look at a player of the ilk of Titan leier um you know somebody that can win faceoffs play in all three zones Drive offense for his team uh you know this is a really really talented player and our third Manitoba player off the board so cam should be excited about what he’s going to bring to them in the future Cammy we’re going to go to the cam loops Blazers now it’s director of player Personnel Aaron Keller Aaron congratulations on the selection what do you hope Asher can bring to the Blazers yeah uh thanks for having me um I guess we’re really obviously excited to have Asher here uh he’s a smooth skating two-way forward um puts up a lot of numbers obviously uh we feel we feel that he’ll fit into a top six role here um obviously when he gets going um excited to have him how important is this pick to the organization because it is one of the selections that you got back via trade this year oh for sure um we didn’t have a a ton of of high picks last year obviously going through um a morea Cup host uh situation obviously um it was really important for us to get an offensive forward here with our first pick and we’re obviously really excited to have Asher how do you see Asher fitting into the big picture of the team’s identity moving forward uh obviously he’s going to be a big piece um we’ve got a couple picks here coming up in the next round that we’re going to hopefully surround him with a couple more good prospects for us um Ju Just based on character the way that he plays um how hard he works we we feel that he’s he’s going to be a really good fit with us thank you so much and congratulations on the selection thank you well there we have it the first round of the 2024 WHL prospects draft Taylor do you want to run us through who we’ve seen selected so far yeah absolutely Cammy saw just going to pull up our pass pick screen here so obviously at the top Landon Dupont we’ve talked about Crips and Bru Shard the two high-end defensemen going off the board Ben Harvey at four going to Prince Albert uh Kaden stroer the Saskatchewan Center at 5 to Edmonton Alder Hamilton six the defenseman goes to Calgary uh Aussie McIntyre the high octane forward goes to Spokane at seven we have Jacob Schwarz eight to Victoria Owen Hayden the big defenseman to Colona at nine Blake chy the Saskatchewan forward at 10 Brock England and Boston Tate go 11 and 12 LA forier and Siran a couple of Eastern products go 13 and 14 to left BR bridge and Brandon we have grah Pickering to Red Deer at 15 Luke ruptash the disruptive forward to Medicine Hat at 16 Carter mowen son of NHL or Travis mowen to Swift Current at 17 Ludovic perau from Manitoba to goes to Victoria their second pick of the draft and also with their second selection Everett takes Miro duor the skilled Edge forward and we round out with Jordan St Louie Dade wspoon and our most recent selection there of ashers ingr so uh a really you know skillful group in the 2009 age group cam we saw a lot of talented high flying defensemen go saw some really big talented forwards go as well so I think our teams are pretty well set up here going forward who do you see as some potential impact players in the second round here well there’s still a lot of good names on the board Camy I look at Players like pral out in Winnipeg who scored 83 goals this season uh walking Garris the another Edge player who’s a really big talented defenseman um you know Landon horka who we did a special on earlier in the year 62 incredibly capable Center so there’s still some really high-end names on the board for our teams in the second round wonderful to hear we’re looking forward to seeing it this is a wrap on round one of the 2024 WHL prospects draft congratulations to all of the players selected this morning all of those who will be picked later in the day and to those who may not hear their name called it’s not the end of the road it’s a new challenge and there are countless players who have approve that sometimes you just need a little extra time before coming in and making an impact you can follow the rest of the action at whl.ca draft I’m Cammy Ki he’s Taylor green thank you so much for joining us this morning [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he a [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] w [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music]