WHL Kelowna Rockets

Rockets Make 10 Selections in WHL Prospects Draft

May 12, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


The Kelowna Rockets selected a total of ten players in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft that took place online today, including four defencemen and six forwards.

"We're excited to add another group of young talented players to our prospect pool," said Rockets general manager Bruce Hamilton following the draft. "Our head scout Terry McFaul, assistant general manager Curtis Hamilton and team of scouts did a fantastic job of identifying players for our program. Terry himself scouted over 600 games this season."

With their first pick of the day, the Rockets selected centre Eli Barrett four picks into the second round (No. 26) from St. George's School U15 Prep of the CSSHL.

Barrett, born in 2008, posted 73 points (31G, 42A) and 10 penalty minutes through 27 games this season with the U15AA team. The 5'8 ‚¬Â³, 142-pound centre also added six points (2G, 4A) in three playoff games.

"The draft went really well, a little better than what we thought it would," said McFaul. "We got very lucky with some of the kids that we got, some that we missed out on, but we scored big where we had to. Our scouts worked hard and it was a team effort, it went very well."

Round 2, pick 26

PLAYER: Eli Barrett

POSITION: Centre

HEIGHT: 5'8

WEIGHT: 142

BIRTHDATE: April 11, 2008

HOMETOWN: Surrey, BC

Terry's take on Eli: I saw Eli play lots this year at St. George's, in the first half of the year he scored a lot and played hard. Then he kind of had a down month, month and a half where he was fighting the puck and gripping his stick a little too tight doing too much. After the John Reid tournament he started on the upswing, by the BC Cup he was back where he was at the start of the year.

I told our assistant general manager Curtis Hamilton, I think this guy has a big window to get better. His upside is huge, he's just a baby-faced kid that has lots of room to grow. He plays hard, he plays the right way and works in all areas of the ice. He's not afraid, he plays tough on the puck, makes good passes and has the touch to score.

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 St. George's U15 Prep (CSSHL) 27 31 42 73 10

Round 3, pick 48

PLAYER: Kanjyu Gojsic

POSITION: Right Wing

HEIGHT: 5'11

WEIGHT: 174

BIRTHDATE: Jan. 11, 2008

HOMETOWN: Langley, BC

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 St. George's U15 Prep (CSSHL) 26 19 27 46 58

Round 3, pick 50

PLAYER: Jacob Henderson

POSITION: Right Defence

HEIGHT: 5'11

WEIGHT: 152

BIRTHDATE: Mar. 13, 2008

HOMETOWN: Burnaby, BC

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 Yale U15 Prep (CSSHL) 28 7 21 28 22

Round 4, pick 76

PLAYER: Owen Folstrom

POSITION: Centre

HEIGHT: 5'9.75

WEIGHT: 162

BIRTHDATE: Mar. 21, 2008

HOMETOWN: Calgary, AB

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 Calgary Flames U15 AAA (AEHL) 34 15 37 52 30

Round 5, pick 91

PLAYER: Dallin Antos

POSITION: Right Defence

HEIGHT: 5'10

WEIGHT: 156

BIRTHDATE: Jan. 2, 2008

HOMETOWN: Red Deer, AB

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 Red Deer Rebels U15 AAA (AEHL) 34 7 12 19 16

Round 6, pick 116

PLAYER: Gabriel O'Brien

POSITION: Left Wing

HEIGHT: 6'1.5

WEIGHT: 162

BIRTHDATE: Apr. 3, 2008

HOMETOWN: Red Deer, AB

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 Edmonton KC U15 AAA Squires (AEHL) 34 23 30 53 86

Round 7, pick 136

PLAYER: Ben MacBeath

POSITION: Left Defence

HEIGHT: 5'11.5

WEIGHT: 157

BIRTHDATE: Mar. 4, 2008

HOMETOWN: Calgary, AB

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep (CSSHL) 28 7 36 43 12

Round 7, pick 145

PLAYER: Sullivan Fogolin

POSITION: Left Defence

HEIGHT: 5'9

WEIGHT: 150

BIRTHDATE: May 23, 2008

HOMETOWN: St. Albert, AB

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 St. Albert U15 AAA Sabres (AEHL) 33 0 12 12 34

Round 9, pick 180

PLAYER: Boston Schmidt

POSITION: Left Wing

HEIGHT: 5'9

WEIGHT: 150

BIRTHDATE: Apr. 18, 2008

HOMETOWN: Pilot Butte, SK

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 Prairie Storm U15 AA (SAAHL) 26 14 14 28 57

Round 9, pick 180

PLAYER: Nolan Beddow

POSITION: Left Wing

HEIGHT: 5'8

WEIGHT: 133

BIRTHDATE: Sept. 20, 2008

HOMETOWN: Parker, CO, USA

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM

2022-23 Shattuck-St. Mary's Sabres 14U 54 16 24 40 18

In total, 232 players were selected by WHL member Clubs, including 128 forwards, 88 defencemen, and 16 goaltenders.

Alberta led all provincial branches with 93 players selected. A total of 50 players from B.C. were chosen, with another 44 players coming from Saskatchewan. Manitoba saw 38 players selected. Thursday's proceedings saw seven players selected from the United States, following on the heels of 44 American-born players taken in the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft on Wednesday.

Players eligible for the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft were 2008-born players residing in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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