WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes

Canes Select Pilon and Duke in First Round of 2011 Bantam Draft

Published on May 5, 2011 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Lethbridge Hurricanes News Release


Lethbridge, AB - In a historic first round the Lethbridge Hurricanes made two selections in the Top 5 to kick off the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft. The hockey club was very proud to select defenseman Ryan Pilon (PEEL-on) with the 3rd overall pick before selecting forward Reid Duke with the 5th overall pick in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft. The Hurricanes acquired the 3rd overall pick (Regina's first round selection) last season as a result of the Carter Ashton trade which also saw the Canes acquire Graham Hood, 94-born Tayler Balog and a 2nd round pick in 2010 - A pick the club would use to select blue chip prospect Macoy Erkamps with the 27th overall pick in 2010.

Pilon, a 6'1" 176 pound defenseman from Warman, SK is a highly touted prospect - ranked by many as the most talented d-man in the draft. Last season, Pilon notched 45 points (27G,18A) in 20 games with the Warman Wildcats of the Centre Four Hockey League. Duke is a 5'10, 170 pound forward who tallied 64 points (28G, 36A) and 79 PIMs in 30 games with the Calgary Royals (AMBHL) this past season. The Hurricanes history of top five selections is a short one made up of only last year's top pick Jay Merkley (3rd overall - 2010); Dwight King (4th overall - 2004) and Paul Elliot (4th overall - 1995). Pilon joins Merkley as the Hurricanes highest ever selections in the WHL Bantam Draft.

"With Pilon - we got the player we wanted - he's a big strong kid with lots of offensive ability and he can play any area of the rink" said Hurricanes Assistant GM Brad Robson " He's a player that is all upside with lots of potential and we had him ranked number one on our list for defensemen."

"Reid is another great player, a lot of fans in Lethbridge got the chance to see his performance at the Alberta Cup and got a glimpse as to why we are as excited as we are about this prospect" said Robson "He's a player with tremendous offensive upside, a skilled forward with good hands he has the ability to go end to end and help your power play. With a player like him and forwards like Jay Merkley and Craig Leverton it gives you a great one two punch on your power play."

Other notable Hurricanes first selections in their draft year include: Phil Tot (18th overall in 2008); Carter Ashton (7th overall in 2006); the aforementioned Dwight King (4th overall in 2004); Ben Wright (25th overall in 2003) and Brent Seabrook (8th overall in 2000).

The 2011 WHL Bantam Draft kicked off Thursday morning (May 5th, 2011) at 8:30 AM MT from the Palomino Room at the BMO Centre in Calgary, AB. The Calgary Hitmen retained the first overall selection in the 2011 Bantam Draft Lottery and used their pick to select Jake Virtanen of Abbotsford - this marks the first time since their inaugural Bantam Draft that the Hitmen held the first overall pick.

The order of the second round and all other rounds will be the inverse order of final 2010-11 regular season standings. Lethbridge currently holds a pair of picks in the second round of the 2011 Draft - their own pick (26th overall) as well as the 29th overall pick acquired from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for defenseman Brennan Yadlowski. This means the Canes are poised to make four selections in the top 29 players of this season's draft. This comes just a season after the 2010 draft which saw the team select several highly touted prospects with four of the top 41 picks - their own selections, 3rd in the first and second round, as well as Regina's second round selection (5th in the second round - 27th overall and Tri City's second round selection (19th in the second round - 41st overall - Acquired in the trade of Eric Mestery). Some of the more notable of the Hurricanes second round selections prior to last season include: Reid Jackson (28th overall- 2008); Austin Fyten (27th overall - 2006) and former Hurricanes Captains Ben Wright (25th overall - 2004) and Jason Hegberg (23rd overall - 1994)

The 22nd Annual WHL Bantam Draft results will be posted live on www.whl.ca also fans should note that this event will be webcast live - Check whl.ca for details. Click on the WHL Bantam Draft icon on the WHL homepage. The Hurricanes will be tweeting picks, news and notes from the draft table - be sure to follow the Canes official twitter feed at www.twitter.com/WHLHurricanes Following the first round, midway point and conclusion of the draft - summaries will be available at LethbridgeHurricanes.com.

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Western Hockey League Stories from May 5, 2011


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