WHL Kamloops Blazers

Recchi, Blazers Prepare For Bantam Draft

Published on April 26, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


The Kamloops Blazers Director of Player Personnel Matt Recchi discussed the upcoming WHL Bantam Draft that will be held in Edmonton on Thursday, April 29th.

How strong is the talent level in the group of 1995 born players eligible for the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft?

We feel that the draft this year is very deep in talent. Luckily, we have three picks in the first 35 selections so we are looking forward to getting some very good players early on. As the draft progresses, there are still a lot of very good secondary players that will be available in the later rounds. As a scouting staff, we are really looking forward to and are excited about this draft.

With the 1st round pick, 8th overall, is their a certain position in which the Blazers will draft, whether it be a defenseman or forward, or is the focus on selecting the best player available?

It isn't a priority for us to draft by position early on in the bantam draft. With our first pick we will select the best available player, knowing that we are going to get a real good player since we are picking 8th. We will probably have the same motto with our next two picks in the 2nd round. It is important to draft the best available players early on, and as the draft progresses we will then look at our depth chart and go from there.

What type of players are the hockey club looking for in the upcoming draft?

Something Craig Bonner and I identified when we first were hired by the hockey club is the importance of drafting players that show character and are competitive on the ice. We are continuing with this approach and feel that to play at this level, it is necessary to have these qualities. This year, we believe we need to add more size to our depth chart so we will be taking that into consideration on Thursday.

How much preparation among yourself and the scouting staff goes into being ready for the WHL Bantam Draft?

There is a ton of preparation that goes into preparing for the Bantam Draft. As a scouting staff, we have watched in excess of 1400 games between nine of us throughout the hockey season. For myself, I have watched over 400 games and our Head Scout Ken Fox has watched more then 300 games this year. We have been to every major tournament across Western Canada to get a good look at all the kids eligible for the upcoming Bantam Draft. As a staff, we have done reports on about 500 different players and have since narrowed our list to what we feel are the top 200 players from across Western Canada and the Western United States. The draft is an exciting time for our staff and we are looking forward to adding quality young men to the Kamloops Blazers organization.

Check out the Kamloops Blazers Statistics

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



Western Hockey League Stories from April 26, 2010


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