Hitmen Select 12 Players in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft
May 7, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
Calgary, AB - The Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club selected 12 players including six forwards, four defencemen and two goaltenders in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft held today at the Deerfoot Inn in Calgary.
The Hitmen drafted 15-year-old centre Tristen Nielsen with their first pick, 20th overall. The Fort St. John, British Columbia forward served as team captain with the CSSHL's Edge School Bantam Prep Mountaineers where he tallied 59 goals and 97 points along with 133 penalty minutes in 52 games.
"Tristen is a dynamic offensive player and tremendous skater who also plays with a physical edge," said Hitmen Director of Player Personnel Dan Bonar. "He's got some offence to his game, some speed, grit and plays in all three zones."
Nielsen joins a growing list of Hitmen from Edge School including current defenceman Jake Bean, goaltending prospect Kyle Dumba and forward Andrew Fyten, whose rights were acquired today from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.
Of the 12 players selected, the Hitmen drafted one Calgary minor hockey product, defenceman Andrew Viggars who recorded one goal and 15 assists for 16 points in 32 games with the Calgary AAA Bantam Bisons this past season.
"We are very excited about our 2015 draft class," added Bonar. "We selected some size and skill on defence, a lot of scoring and character in our forward group and for the first time in franchise history, we picked two goalies who we believe have tremendous upside."
Calgary Hitmen 2015 WHL Bantam Draft Selections
Rd O/A Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown Team
1 20 Tristen Nielsen C 5'9" 168 Fort St. John, BC Edge School Bantam Prep Division
2 42 Noah Geekie RW 6'0" 148 Strathclair, MB Yellowhead AAA Bantam Chiefs
4 74 Zach Huber C 5'10" 158 Millarville, AB Rocky Mountain AAA Bantam Raiders
4 77 Jake Davidson G 5'10" 165 Osler, SK Sask Valley AA Bantam Vipers
4 85 Layne Toder D 5'11" 155 Elkhorn, MB Yellowhead AAA Bantam Chiefs
4 86 Brevin Gervais D 6'0" 165 Prince George, BC Prince George Tier 1 Bantam Cougars
5 108 Drea Esposito D 6'4" 174 Winnipeg, MB Winnipeg AAA Bantam Monarchs
6 117 Justyn Gurney LW 5'11" 170 Delta, BC Burnaby Winter Club Bantam A1 Bruins
6 130 Cody Levesque G 6'2" 165 Carnduff, SK Estevan Bantam AA Bruins
7 152 Noah Prokop C 5'11" 160 Littleton, CO Colorado AAA Bantam Thunderbirds
8 174 Andrew Viggars D 6'0" 166 Calgary, AB Calgary AAA Bantam Bisons
9 196 Hunter Lamb F 5'8" 135 Swift Current, SK Swift Current AA Bantam Kabos Raiders
For a complete list of the 2015 bantam draft selections, visit www.whl.ca.
Western Hockey League Stories from May 7, 2015
- Silvertips Select 13 Players in WHL Bantam Draft - Everett Silvertips
- Winterhawks Select Nine in Bantam Draft - Portland Winterhawks
- Americans Draft Speed in 2015 Bantam Draft - Tri-City Americans
- Oil Kings Add 10 Players in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Raiders Take 10 in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince Albert Raiders
- Blazers Select 10 Players in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Kamloops Blazers
- 2015 WHL Bantam Draft Results - WHL
- Cougars Grab Two Forwards WIth Last Two Selections of 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Ice Select Ten Players at WHL Bantam Draft - Kootenay Ice
- Cougars Select Kitimat's Zach Minaker in Ninth Round of 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Hitmen Select 12 Players in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Calgary Hitmen
- T-Birds Select Elijah Brown in First Round of Bantam Draft - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Red Deer Rebels Make Nine Picks In WHL Bantam Draft - Red Deer Rebels
- Rebels Trade Connor Gay To Saskatoon - Red Deer Rebels
- Giants Draft 10 Players at 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Vancouver Giants
- Rebels Make Trade With Everett - Red Deer Rebels
- Bantam Draft Rounds Six Through Twelve Recap - Regina Pats
- Hurricanes Make 2015 WHL Bantam Draft Selections - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- Cougars Select Forward Liam Ryan in Seventh Round of 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Cougars Draft US-Born Goaltender Isaiah DiLauria in Eight Round of 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Hitmen Acquire Rights to Andrew Fyten from Everett Silvertips - Calgary Hitmen
- Cougars Select Defenceman Reid Perepeluk in Sixth Round of the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Pats Take Lockner and Pryhitka in Third Round - Regina Pats
- Cougars Select Tyler Ho in Third Round of 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Hitmen Select Tristen Nielsen 20th Overall in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Calgary Hitmen
- Royals Select Eric Florchuk 13th Overall in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Victoria Royals
- Cougars Select Defenceman Jonas Harkins with Second Round Pick in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Rockets Pick Nolan Foote in WHL Bantam Draft - Kelowna Rockets
- Raiders Select Carson Miller 21st Overall in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince Albert Raiders
- Blazers Select Two Players in the Second Round of WHL Bantam Draft - Kamloops Blazers
- Giants Draft Taphorn in Third Round - Vancouver Giants
- Raiders Select Cole Fonstad Fifth Overall in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince Albert Raiders
- MEDIA RELEASE - Giants Take Bulych in Second Round - Vancouver Giants
- First Round of 2015 WHL Bantam Draft Concludes - WHL
- Chiefs Pick Defenseman Smith First Overall - Spokane Chiefs
- Pats Select Dawson Barteaux with 14th Overall Pick - Regina Pats
- Cougars Select Forward Jackson Leppard with Eighth Overall Pick in 2015 WHL Bantam Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Hurricanes Select Calen Addison Second Overall - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- Sarthou Invited to Warren Strelow Goaltending Camp - Tri-City Americans
- Giants Select Popowich at Third Overall - Vancouver Giants
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.
