WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Draft Week Preperation Underway

December 7, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Brandon, MB - It may not be a traditional WHL Draft week, but hockey operations staff from all 22 WHL Clubs are hard at work prepping for one of the most important weeks of the year.

In a normal year, the WHL Bantam Draft is held in Red Deer, Alberta in May. With pandemic related cancellations and delays, the now Prospects Draft shifts to December for the first time ever.

"For the staff, we've only had half a year to do a years' worth of work," said Director of Player Personnel Chris Moulton. "For the first time ever, we are scouting U16, U17 and U18 age groups instead of U15. The challenging part of that is there is a lot more divisions and more players to watch."

Wednesday, the WHL will hold their annual US. Prospects Draft. With all twenty-two teams holding two selections. Players eligible for this draft either reside and play their club hockey Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming or are American citizens currently playing in Canada.

"Were looking for American players that are interested in playing in the WHL," added Moulton. "We're in the business of acquiring top end players and this draft is no different. We're looking for top 2006 born players that will make an impact in Brandon in the future."

On Thursday, the Wheat Kings hold three-picks in the opening round of the WHL Prospects Draft (Formerly Bantam Draft), including the 3rd and 4th overall selections.

All 22 WHL Clubs participated in a four-phase lottery, unique for the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.

The lottery proceedings determined the order of selection for the first round of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, with inverse order of standing from the 2020-21 WHL Regular Season determining the order of selection for the second round and all subsequent rounds.

"It's a very rare occurrence to have three possible franchise players available to us in the first round," added Moulton. "Our expectations are that the players we select in these spots will make an immediate impact as an AP and as a sixteen-year-old first year player next fall."

Players chosen on Thursday will be eligible to play in a maximum of five games over the course of the remainder of this season, and step right into the lineup next season.

Both drafts this week will be held virtually, with the selections submitted electronically, before being published on the WHL website.

2021 U.S PROSPECTS DRAFT -ORDER OF SELECTION

First Round Second Round

1. Seattle Thunderbirds 23. Moose Jaw Warriors

2. Lethbridge Hurricanes 24. Prince Albert Raiders

3. Winnipeg ICE 25. Medicine Hat Tigers

4. Prince George Cougars 26. Calgary Hitmen

5. Saskatoon Blades 27. Vancouver Giants

6. Swift Current Broncos 28. Edmonton Oil Kings

7. Tri-City Americans 29. Spokane Chiefs

8. Red Deer Rebels 30. Kelowna Rockets

9. Victoria Royals 31. Everett Silvertips

10. Kamloops Blazers 32. Brandon Wheat Kings

11. Portland Winterhawks 33. Regina Pats

12. Regina Pats 34. Portland Winterhawks

13. Brandon Wheat Kings 35. Kamloops Blazers

14. Everett Silvertips 36. Victoria Royals

15. Kelowna Rockets 37. Red Deer Rebels

16. Spokane Chiefs 38. Tri-City Americans

17. Edmonton Oil Kings 39. Swift Current Broncos

18. Vancouver Giants 40. Saskatoon Blades

19. Calgary Hitmen 41. Prince George Cougars

20. Medicine Hat Tigers 42. Winnipeg ICE

21. Prince Albert Raiders 43. Lethbridge Hurricanes

22. Moose Jaw Warriors 44. Seattle Thunderbirds

2021 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT - FIRST ROUND ORDER OF SELECTION

Spokane Chiefs

Tri-City Americans

Brandon Wheat Kings (from Victoria Royals)

Brandon Wheat Kings (from Moose Jaw Warriors)

Red Deer Rebels

Swift Current Broncos

Swift Current Broncos (from Portland Winterhawks)

Medicine Hat Tigers

Seattle Thunderbirds

Regina Pats

Vancouver Giants

Calgary Hitmen

Edmonton Oil Kings (from Kelowna Rockets)

Prince Albert Raiders

Prince George Cougars

Moose Jaw Warriors (from Saskatoon Blades)

Lethbridge Hurricanes

Winnipeg ICE

Edmonton Oil Kings

Everett Silvertips

Kamloops Blazers

Brandon Wheat Kings

Check out the Brandon Wheat Kings Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2021


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