WHL Prince Albert Raiders

Raiders Select 10 at 2009 WHL Bantam Draft

Published on April 30, 2009 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince Albert Raiders News Release


Edmonton, Alberta - Five forwards, four defencemen and one goaltender were selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2009 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft today in Edmonton. The Raiders selected two players from the 2009 Western Canadian Bantam Champion Airdrie Xtreme - leading scorer Mike Winther in the first round, 6th overall, and defenseman Connor Sutton in the third round.

"Winther is a very dynamic offensive player", said Bruno Campese, Raiders Head Coach and General Manager following the draft. "He has averaged almost 2 points a game in the past two seasons of Major Bantam and has won championships."

Three players from Saskatchewan were selected by the Raiders including PA Minor Hockey product defenceman Sawyer Lange who was the Captain of the Venice House Pirates this past season. With their final pick of the day, they selected right winger Gavin Stoick from Portland, Oregon.

"We're very pleased with the skill we selected early in the draft, then added some size later on", continued Campese. "We feel we have done a good job of adding skill, size and depth at all positions through out the organization."

The players drafted today will be among those invited to the first ever Raiders Spring Camp May 22 - 24 in Aberdeen.

Here is a list of the Raiders picks:

Rd Pick Name Hometown Pos. Ht. Wt. GP G A 1 6 Mike Winther Trochu, AB C 5'9" 155 32 40 23 2 31 Shane Danyluk Salmon Arm, BC C 5'11" 160 n/a n/a n/a 3 51 Connor Sutton Calgary, AB D 6'2" 195 n/a n/a n/a 4 72 Brent Lashuk Winfield, BC LW 6'1" 180 N/A N/A N/A 4 75 Sawyer Lange Prince Albert, SK D 5'10" 150 20 9 17 4 78 Brenden Fiebelkorn Winnipeg, MB G 6'1" 170 GP 15 GAA 2.80 SO2 6 119 Allen Kilback Emerald Park, SK C 5'9" 145 26 17 41 6 124 Brendan Kennedy Terrace, BC D 6'1" 175 39 35 70 8 163 Justin Lund Langham, SK RW 5'10" 155 20 18 24 9 185 Gavin Stoick Portland, ORE RW 6' 190 n/a n/a n/a Raiders Head Scout Dave O'Brien comments on other picks today: On Shane Danyluk: "He is a smooth skating centre with unreal hands! We could not pass him up in the second round."

On Connor Sutton: "He is a big mobile defenseman with good hands and a solid physical presence."

On Brent Lashuk: "Brent loves to run people over! He is familiar with Shane Danyluk and Ryan Harrison and should fit in well."

On Sawyer Lange: "We have added a very good local product that is a quality player and a quality kid. He will provide leadership within our organization."

On Brenden Fiebelkorn:

"We had Brenden listed as one of the top goaltenders in this draft and we are delighted to get him. He adds depth to our goaltending in the organization."

On Allan Kilback: "He can fly! He is a skilled smaller player that is not afraid of anything. He goes to the high traffic areas."

On Brenden Kennedy:

"Brenden is a big defenceman that skates well and brings a physical presence. He keeps the other teams honest." On Justin Lund: "In one word: tenacious. He works very hard and has a good set of hands. He is a real character player."

On Gavin Stoick:

"We saw Gavin play in the Medicine Hat Tournament this season and were very impressed! If this kid was a Canadian he would have possibly gone in the first round of this draft."

Check out the Prince Albert Raiders Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from April 30, 2009


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