WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winter Hawks to Select First in 2007 WHL Bantam Draft

Published on March 22, 2007 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Portland Winter Hawks will select first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft to be held on May 3rd in Calgary, Alberta. A Portland ball was drawn in today's lottery held in the Western Hockey League office in Calgary. The Hawks will also have two choices in the second round of the draft, which means the team has the highest three choices it has ever had in Bantam Draft history since it started in 1990.

The only other time Portland had the first overall selection in the draft was in 2000 and the Hawks used the selection to pick defenseman Braydon Coburn, now with the Philadelphia Flyers. Coburn skated a regular shift in the Hawks' playoff run to the WHL Championship series in 2001 as a 15-year-old, and finished with 238 career games in a Hawks' uniform.

The Hawks had the fewest points in the league this past season, and thus had the most lottery balls, 6. Kelowna was next with 5 balls, followed by the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings, who start play next season in the Central Division, with 4. Saskatoon (3 balls), Moose Jaw (2 balls) and Lethbridge (1 ball) were also involved in the drawing since they did not qualify for the WHL playoffs this past season.

The maximum a team could move up in draft order as a result of their lottery ball being drawn was two spots. The maximum a team could move down in draft order was one spot. Only one lottery ball was chosen, so Portland was guaranteed either the first or second choice in the draft. And, since Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Lethbridge could not move up to the top pick, if their balls were chosen that also insured Portland getting the number one overall choice. Portland had a 57.1% chance of getting the top pick, Kelowna 23.8% and Edmonton 19.1%.

The lottery drawing is only to determine the order of selection for the first round of the draft. In the second round, and all subsequent rounds, Edmonton gets the first pick and the rest of the order is determined by team points earned last season, regardless of playoff status. So, the Hawks get the second pick in each subsequent round. Portland also has Brandon's choice in the second round as a result of the Rob Klinkhammer trade.

The WHL Bantam Draft on May 3rd will be the first time that players born in 1992 (current hockey age of 14) can be added to team's protected lists. Numerous high profile NHL players, such as Jarome Iginla (Kamloops Blazers "" Calgary Flames), Patrick Marleau (Seattle Thunderbirds "" San Jose Sharks), and Cam Ward (Red Deer Rebels "" Stanley Cup Champion goalie with the Carolina Hurricanes) have been chosen in past WHL Bantam Drafts.

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2007


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