Blades Select Two Players at CHL Import Draft

Published on July 2, 2014 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release

SASKATOON, SK - The Saskatoon Blades have made a pair of selections in the 2014 CHL Import Draft.

The Saskatoon Blades entered the day with the 9th overall selection in the annual draft, using it to take 1997-born forward Nikita Soshnin of Russia. He's listed as a centre.

"Nikita is a very fast and skilled player," said Blades general manager and head coach Bob Woods. "We received some great reports on him from the Under-17's and was one of the standouts for his team at that event. He has the same agent as Nikita Scherbak and he's never steered us wrong and knows what we need on our team. He's a player we really wanted and we're excited to have him."

The left-handed shooting Soshnin is 5'10 and weighs in at 169 pounds. The forward is from Lipetsk, Russia, which is less than 500 kilometres away from Moscow, the hometown of Saskatoon Blades leading scorer Nikita Scherbak.

Soshnin put up 4 goals and 22 assists for a total of 26 points in 38 games for Irbis Kazan of the MHL's B Division in 2013-14. He also added 12 PIMs and put up a +8 rating.

The Saskatoon Blades then used the 69th overall selection to pick 1995-born defenceman Amil Krupic of Sweden. The second Blades pick was allowed to be used thanks to Nikita Scherbak being drafted in the 1st round (26th overall to Montreal) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

"We were looking for more experience on the back end and that's what we got with Krupic," said Woods. "He provides a good presence, will be a nice compliment to some of the younger guys we have already on defence and we were happy he was still there in the 2nd round."

The left-handed shooting Krupic is 6'2 and weighs in at 198 pounds. The defenceman is from Halmstad, Sweden. He spent the 2013-14 season with Malmö J20 of Sweden's SuperElit League. In 30 games, he put up 4 goals and 19 points to go along with 24 PIMs and a +4 rating. He also played 10 games for Malmö in Sweden's Allsvenskan, picking up 2 PIMs and no points.

Krupic also was a two-time member of Sweden's U-18 team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial, picking up 5 assists and 29 PIMs in 9 games in 2012 and 2013.

The Saskatoon Blades would like to welcome both Nikita and Amil to the organization.

Western Hockey League Stories from July 2, 2014

• Rockets Draft Czech Forward in CHL Import Draft - Kelowna Rockets
• Everett Selects Zhebelev in CHL Import Draft - Everett Silvertips
• Americans' Sarthou Named to U.S. U-18 Select Team - Tri-City Americans
• Americans Draft Offense in 2014 CHL Import Draft - Tri-City Americans
• T-Birds Select Two Forwards in CHL Import Draft - Seattle Thunderbirds
• Milekhin, Skumatov Selected in Import Draft - Lethbridge Hurricanes
• Hitmen Select Karnaukhov in 2014 CHL Import Draft - Calgary Hitmen
• Rebels Take a Pair of Defencemen in the CHL Import Draft - Red Deer Rebels
• Spokane Adds Size, Strength with Hungarian Defenseman - Spokane Chiefs
• Pats Select Defenceman Sergey Zborovsky - Regina Pats
• Oil Kings Select Defenceman in Import Draft - Edmonton Oil Kings
• Royals Select Kristian Ferletak in CHL Import Draft - Victoria Royals
• Blades Select Two Players at CHL Import Draft - Saskatoon Blades
• Blazers Select Michael Fora in CHL Import Draft - Kamloops Blazers
• Raiders Make Selection in CHL Import Draft - Prince Albert Raiders
• Broncos Select St. Louis Blues Prospect in CHL Import Draft - Swift Current Broncos
• Oil Kings Re-Sign Training Staff - Edmonton Oil Kings
• Giants Select Vladimir Boby - Vancouver Giants
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• Blazers Select D Patrik Maier in CHL Import Draft - Kamloops Blazers
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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