NHL Draft on the Horizon for Sean Burick
WHL Penticton Vees

NHL Draft on the Horizon for Sean Burick

Published on June 25, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Penticton Vees News Release


Sean Burick didn't take the traditional sports route in his family, town, or even State growing up. Now, the towering defenseman is just a handful of hours away from hearing his name called at the NHL entry Draft.

The San Clemente, CA native is ranked 99th overall among North American skaters heading into the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, which kicks off on Friday and continues throughout Saturday.

Burick says he is getting excited to hear his name get called this weekend, but won't celebrate too long as he is taking a "strictly business" approach to the offseason.

"For me, I'm kind of just focused on staying where my feet are," said Burick. "I'll celebrate for a day or two but then it is right back to work. It will be really cool but I'm not super nervous. I'm definitely gettingexcited as it comes closer, but I'm just trying to stay focused."

Burick is the only member of his family or his peer group in his hometown who chose to go the hockey route, and says getting drafted will be just as much for him as it is for everyone who has helped him get to this point in his career.

"Not just for my family, but for my friends back home, it's definitely a cool experience to go through together," he said. "No one else is really in this situation in my whole town, because it's not a hockey town. As much as it's my day, it's everyone else's day too because a lot of people made sacrifices, a lot of people helped me through it, and I wouldn't be in this position without them."

The 6'8 blueliner talked about what it has been like to go through the draft process leading up to this weekend.

"I just focused on being myself throughout the process," he explained. "I tried to be respectful and be genuine and I think that is what has helped me be successful."

Following the draft, Burick will set his focus back on returning to the Penticton Vees for the 2026-27 season. As a rookie, Burick registered four points in 50 regular season games and added two more assists in the playoffs. Where he made the biggest impact on games was with his physicality and using his long reach to his advantage.

Burick explains that adjusting to different situations is where he feels he improved the most during his rookie campaign.

"I would say I improved most in just finding different ways to help our team win," he said. "Every team has different areas that you can fit into to find a way to contribute and I thought I was able to adapt well to different opponents and different situations."

Being that Burick may be just one of two returning defencemen this season for the Vees, he feels he can take on more of a leadership role in his 18-year-old year and show newcoming players what it takes to be a Penticton Vee.

"I think it starts with your play," Burick said. "You have to lead through action first and if I'm able to do that, which I've been preparing for the whole offseason, then I certainly hope I'm in that position. I'm one of the few guys who saw what our leaders did last year and I can help carry it over to this year."

When it comes to returning to the team in late August, Burick says he can't wait.

"I'm definitely starting to get excited," he said. "We picked up a few of my old (Shattuck St. Mary's) teammates and I know we've got a lot of other good guys coming in, so I'm definitely excited about how the team is looking and I'm excited to get back."

Check out the Penticton Vees Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from June 25, 2026


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.

OurSports Central