Calgary Hitmen Select 10 Players in 2011 WHL Bantam Draft
May 5, 2011 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
Calgary, AB - The Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club drafted 10 players today in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft including six forwards, three defencemen and a goalie.
With the team's first pick, 1st overall, the Hitmen selected left winger Jake Virtanen (vir-TAN-in) from the AAA Bantam Abbotsford Hawks. Virtanen had 117 points (68g 49a) in 59 games this season. He also had five goals in five games at the 2011 BC Cup.
"Jake is a dynamic offensive player, a tremendous skater who also plays with a physical edge," says Hitmen Assistant General Manger and Head Scout Brad Whelen.
Virtanen becomes just the second Hitmen to be selected first overall joining Chris Nielsen who was the taken with the top pick in the 1995 WHL Bantam Draft.
The following is a summary of players selected by the Hitmen in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft:
Round Overall Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
1 1 Jake Virtanen LW 5 ¬â¢11 ¬Â 164 Abbotsford, BC
2 23 Josh Thrower D 6 ¬â¢0 ¬Â 177 North Vancouver, BC
3 45 Ben Thomas D 6 ¬â¢1 ¬Â 160 Calgary, AB
3 60 Braden Oleksyn LW 5 ¬â¢10 ¬Â 170 Saskatoon, SK
5 89 Chase Lang C/LW 5 ¬â¢9 ¬Â 140 Nanaimo, BC
5 93 Logan Franz C 6 ¬â¢0 ¬Â 170 Medicine Hat, AB
6 111 Ryan Duret C 5 ¬â¢8 ¬Â 155 Prince Albert, SK
9 177 Travis Sanheim D 5 ¬â¢10 ¬Â 140 Elkhorn, MB
10 199 Skylar Canada C 6 ¬â¢2 ¬Â 195 Boissevain, MB
11 221 Kyle Michalovsky G 5 ¬â¢8 ¬Â 127 Kamloops, BC
For a complete list of all players taken in the 2011 Bantam Draft Picks go to www.whl.ca
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