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WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Edmonton Oil Kings Pick Up Some Prospects At The Draft

May 1, 2008 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


The Western Hockey League re-stocked with the 2008 Bantam Draft today in Calgary. These are kids that you can start cheering for as early as next season if they get called up from their respective club teams.

The newest member of your Edmonton Oil Kings is Michael St. Croix from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Oil Kings Assistant General Manager Randy Hansch made the announcement this morning with the 4th overall selection in the draft.

St. Croix is a 5'10" , 150 pound centreman who played Bantam AAA for the Winnipeg Monarchs where he racked up 51 goals and 45 assists for 96 points in just 25 regular season games and excelled in tournament play and playoffs with another 30 goals and 19 assists in just 16 games.

"Michael is a gifted offensive player with really good hockey sense." according to Oil Kings General Manager Bob Green. "He's not just a goal scorer, he's a playmaker too and brings some grit to his game. We're really excited to make him a part of our team."

The International Scouting Service has the following scouting report on the sniper that they listed as the #1 ranked eligible player for this draft:

St. Croix is in a class of his own in this age category. He can dominate a game. He has good puck sense and the ability to see the whole ice. He has a very quick release on his shot. His leadership qualities can elevate his teammates to play at higher levels. St. Croix had a seven goal game earlier in the year in league play. Has the skills and competitive fire to have an impact at the junior level. He is the son of former NHL player Rick St. Croix who played parts of 8 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs and is currently the goalie coach for the Manitoba Moose. The Oil Kings used their second pick in the draft (26th overall) to make a splash and grab the first goalie to go in the process. Surrey, BC native Laurent Brossoit is now Oil Kings property. The ISS had him ranked as the top goalie available and 18th overall on their depth chart and listed the following report on the 5'11", 150 lbs netminder:

Brossoit is an exceptional goaltender who stands out above the rest.All areas of his game are refined and he should excel at the junior level.His glove hand is a strong asset.He has good balance in the stand-up and butterfly positions.Plays at the top of his crease.He has no glaring holes in his game and has good upside with his size and consistency.

Bob Green stayed local with his next pick and chose left winger Travis Ewanyk from St. Albert with 48th pick in the draft. Edmonton had a pair of picks in the third round courtesy of the Bretton Stamler trade earlier this season with the Swift Current Broncos and used that pick to select Ryan Dech, a defenceman for the Winnipeg Hawks.

Their 5th round pick was Logan Sproule, another defenceman who played his Bantam Hockey with Saskatoon.

Edmonton's 6th round pick (114th overall) was used to pick Keegan Lowe from Shattuck-St. Mary's in Minnesota. Keegan happens to be the son of Edmonton Oilers General Manager Kevin Lowe. He's a defenceman, of course, who had 17 points in 48 games and piled up 50 penalty minutes at prep school and had a strong showing at the Alberta Cup recently in Lloydminster.

The remainder of the selections included the Southside Athletic Club's Stephane Legault, Saskatchewan's Denin Boesch, Edmonton native Luc Vandale of the K of C Pats and Surrey, BC native Brock Wellicome.

The Portland Winter Hawks surprised a few people by dropping St. Paul native and 3 year veteran Phil Gervais off their 50 man protected list. The Oil Kings used their 11th round pick to nab the 6', 178 pound winger who has played a total of 106 WHL games registering 6 goals and 5 assists to go along with 127 penalty minutes. The former Fort Saskatchewan Ranger was a former 3rd round Bantam pick by the Swift Current Broncos in 2005.

The Red Deer Rebels had the first overall selection and chose Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from the Burnaby Winter Club.

The first Albertan to go in the draft was Ty Rattie from Airdrie. The Portland Winter Hawks nabbed him with the second pick of the morning.

Sherwood Park's Duncan Siemens is now a Saskatoon Blade. The Blades had the third overall pick thanks to an earlier trade with the Prince George Cougars.

Other Edmonton area kids to go in the top 10 inlcude Mark McNeill from the Southside Athletic Club (Prince Albert - 5th), Colin Smith of the Canadien Athletic Club (Kamloops - 8th) and Klark Wilson of the K of C Pats (Everett - 10th).

"It was definitely a strong area this year and that says a lot about the hockey programs in and around our city." said Oil Kings Assistant General Manager Randy Hansch. "It kind of goes in cycles and you get a strong concentration of kids in certain areas from year to year. The Edmonton area stole the show today in the first round."

Another Sherwood Park player with a bit of an Oil Kings connection also went in the first round. Reece Scarlett, son of Oil Kings billet coordinator Cheryl Scarlett, was the 12th overall selection by the Swift Current Broncos.

The Sherwood Park Kings were well represented in the first round. Dylan Busenius was chosen by the Medicine Hat Tigers with the 16th pick and Mitch Holmberg was chosen by the Spokane Chiefs 21st overall.

Brendan Hurley of the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers was picked 15th overall by the Kootenay Ice to bring the total of Edmonton area kids to an outstanding 8 out of the top 22 picks!

Don't forget, you can always log on to oilkings.ca for more coverage on your team.

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