WHL Prince George Cougars

2016 WHL Bantam Draft Preview

Published on May 3, 2016 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


Prince George, B.C. - The 2016 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft takes place on Thursday, May 5th in Calgary, AB and for the first time ever the Prince George Cougars are scheduled to select ninth overall in the first round.

After finishing the 2015-16 regular season with a 36-31-3-2 record (77 points) the Cougars have their lowest first round selection since the 2011 draft where they picked 10th (Jordan Harris).

"It's a bittersweet feeling," comments Prince George Cougars Scouting Director, Bob Simmonds. "On one hand, we're drafting later in the first round because we're improving every season, but it also means that we have less control over how the first round unfolds. That said, we've done our due diligence and we are confident that we're going to get an impact player with the ninth pick."

Simmonds adds, "We feel that this is one of the deeper drafts in recent memory with depth at all positions and we are very excited to welcome the next crop of prospects to the fold on Thursday."

With the eight overall selection a year ago, the Cougars selected forward Jackson Leppard from the North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks. In 34 games this season with the Vancouver Northwest Giants, he scored 14 goals and added 17 assists and 32 penalty minutes. He played two games for the Cougars as an under ager in 2015-16. Other recent first round selections include: Justin Almeida (5th overall, 2014), Josh Anderson (3rd overall, 2013), Brad Morrison (7th overall, 2012) and Jansen Harkins (2nd overall, 2012).

Here is a breakdown of the Cougars scheduled picks:

Round 1 - 9th Overall

Round 2 - 31st Overall

Round 3 - 53rd Overall

Round 5 - 97th Overall

Round 6 - 125th Overall (Acquired from the Calgary Hitmen for Tyler Mrkonjic)

Round 7 - 142nd Overall (Acquired from the Regina Pats for Aaron Macklin)

Round 7 - 144th Overall (Acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders for Cal Babych)

Round 8 - 163rd Overall

Round 10 - 207th Overall

The following players have been selected with the 9th overall pick dating back to the year 2000:

2015 - Koby Morrisseau (SPO)

2014 - Ian Scott (PA)

2013 - Jared Legien (KTN)

2012- Nick Merkley (KEL)

2011- Aaron Irving (EDM)

2010 - Jesse Lees (KEL)

2009 - Steven Hodges (CWK)

2008 - Ryan Murray (EVT)

2007 - Christian Magnus (SC)

2006 - Brayden Schenn (BDN)

2005 - James Wright (VAN)

2004 - Joel Broda (TC)

2003 - Keegan Dansereau (CGY)

2002 - Riley Merkley (CGY)

2001 - Jeff Topilko (BDN)

2000 - Colin Fraser (RD)

The 2016 WHL Bantam Draft begins at the Hotel d'Arts on Thursday at 7:30 AM (PT). You can follow the Cougars draft progress at: www.whl.ca and on Twitter by following @PGCougars.

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from May 3, 2016


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