Hitmen prepared to pick fourth overall

The Calgary Hitmen are playing the waiting game this year at the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft.

Following the fourth-worst season in franchise history, the Hitmen fell back one spot in the WHL Lottery and will draft fourth overall tomorrow at the Sheraton Hotel in Red Deer.

Coming into the draft, there doesn’t seem to be consensus No. 1 overall pick compared to year’s past with Peyton Krebs, Jay Bouwmeester and Mathew Barzal. One talent identifier mentioned that there were a mix of four guys that could go anywhere in the top three, and another mix of eight players that could be picked in the following six picks.

Between those two groups is where the Hitmen find themselves, as they will draft fourth for the first time in franchise history and the highest since they landed Jake Virtanen with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011.

Barring any transactions, the Edmonton Oil Kings will select first, followed by the Kootenay Ice. The Ice finished with the fourth-worst record this season, but won the lottery and leapfrogged the Prince George Cougars and Hitmen.

Even though the Cougars left the lottery with the No. 3 pick, the rights to draft third overall belong to the Prince Albert Raiders, who acquired the draft pick after sending Brendan Guhle to Prince George in 2016.

The Hitmen will have to wait and see how the first few picks shake out before they are put on the clock.

Carson Lambos is the name that has been brought up the most with the potential to be selected first overall.

“This guy carries himself like a pro and he’s only 14. He was a tremendous captain for us, he’s the hardest worker on and off the ice and he does everything right,” said Rink Hockey Academy Assistant Coach Sandy Henry. “I think it’s a no-brainer, the kid is going to be a real good player in the WHL. It doesn’t take much scouting to see what he brings to the table.”

Weighing in around 190 pounds and standing just over 6-feet tall, Lambos has all the attributes of an elite defenceman.

“Lambos has been one of the most talked about name for two years now. He is likely to be the top pick. He had a very strong year, is a solid defenceman, moves the puck well, has the size and potential to be a No. 1 d-man in the WHL for a few years,” said an anonymous scout.

The competition for the No. 1 spot by a defenceman weakened last week when Aidan Hreschuk committed to Boston College for the 2021-22 season.

Hreschuk played for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings bantam triple-A program this season and notched 19 goals and 41 assists in 49 games. He also recorded three assists in six games at the annual John Reid Memorial Tournament this past winter.

“Hreschuk is an exceptional skater. He has the ability to control the ice in a different way than Lambos. He has poise that screams that he is a top d-man in the WHL and knows how to create offence. He can shut down the rush and doesn’t appear to be a selfish player,” said Mark Sauer, a regional scout for International Scouting Services Hockey.

The American-born skater’s decision to commit to college at an early age all but takes him out of the running for the top defenceman off the board, but that doesn’t mean a team won’t take him later on in the draft.

Another name in the same boat as Hreschuk is Trevor Wong.

Wong racked up an obscene amount of points with the St. George’s School Bantam Varsity squad this year. The Vancouver product produced 64 goals, 77 assists and 141 points in 30 games. But, like Hreschuk, Wong has a plan in place for post-secondary. The 5-foot-8 centre has committed to the University of Denver.

The Hitmen have three second-round picks and eight picks in the top 71. Surely, if they feel the risk is worth it, they could spend an extra pick later in the draft on a college-committed player. Just last winter, they acquired Josh Prokop in a deal from the Swift Current Broncos. Prokop is the older brother of the Hitmen’s first-round pick last year, Luke, and is committed to play at the Ohio State University for the 2019-20 season.

With Hreschuk unlikely to hear his name called in the first round, the other rear enders that could benefit from his decision are Graham Sward and Nolan Allan.

Sward caught people’s attention with what he was able to do away from the puck this season with the Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep program of the Canadian Sport School Bantam Hockey League.

In 26 games, he only complied a pair of goals and added 16 assists, but it’s what he does away from the puck that impresses.

“Graham has a great head on his shoulders. He’s a guy that can play in all three zones, play in any situation and makes great decisions with the puck,” said Yale Head Coach Brad Rihela.

Sward picked up an injury late in the season that contributed to his low offensive output, but he returned in time for playoffs and was trusted in any situation on the ice.

The Abbotsford, B.C. product also has good measurables, standing 6-foot-2 and tipping the scales at 165 pounds. The right shot defenceman is also comfortable enough to handle either side of the blue line.

Two provinces over, Allan has turned into a high-end prospect playing in a less-heralded program.

The Humboldt Broncos tragedy deeply affected everyone across the country this spring. Some of those impacted most by the tragedy were members of the Broncos bantam AA program.

Allan did his best to cope with the tragedy and managed to have as successful of a season as possible, given the circumstances.

In 26 regular season games in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League, Allan netted 12 goals, 32 assists and 44 points. He also supplied one goal and two assists in the playoffs, when his Broncos fell to the Saskatoon Outlaws.

“He isn’t a highly skilled offensive defenceman, but his skating really helps him out and gets him in position to produce offence. He doesn’t take many chances on the offensive end, but he has a good shot and likes to look for guys on the sides,” said a talent identifier who watched Allan play this season.

Allan was slated to skate with Saskatchewan’s top bantam prospects, but the SaskFirst Male Tournament was cancelled in light of the Humboldt Bronco tragedy.

Conventional wisdom probably has the Hitmen drafting something other than a defenceman in the first round. Prior to the Hitmen taking Prokop with the seventh pick last year, they nabbed Jackson van de Leest with the 16thselection in 2016.

“We’re always looking to take the best player available. People assume that Calgary is going to take a forward because of the last two first rounds, but that’s not necessarily the case for us right now,” said Hitmen GM Jeff Chynoweth. “You can never have too many d-men, but we also think there is more depth at the forward position than what we originally thought.”

If the Hitmen are looking for talent up front, there are a pair of 50-plus goal scorers that are ripe for the picking.

Logan Stankoven racked up 57 goals in 30 games for Yale, while Dylan Guenther buried 56 goals and finished with 103 points in 30 games with the Northern Alberta Xtreme Bantam Prep program.

“Those two are totally different guys. Stankoven is smaller and strong — he might be the strongest guy in the draft from the hips and down, he skates really well, accelerates well and has a great shot. Guenther is more like a 14-year-old — he’s bigger and a gangly guy. He sees the ice well, moves the puck, but when he has a chance to score, he takes his shot and makes the other team pay,” said one talent identifier.

Dylan Guenther. LA Media Photo

“Dylan manipulates defences in ways similar to Patrick Kane,” said Xtreme Head Coach Tyrel Spitzer. “I’ve seen a lot of high-end scorers enter the draft in other years, but this kid is better than them all. If he falls to the Hitmen at four, then they are going to have a kid that is going to rip apart the league for many years.

“He can score on WHL goalies today.”

Guenther showed that he can perform when the lights are the brightest, as he tied for the Alberta Cup lead with 12 points, five goals and six assists — counting for 60 per cent of his teams scoring — but his Edmonton Blue squad lost the bronze medal game to another potential top-10 pick.

Jayden Grubbe assisted on Dylan James’ overtime winner, as Calgary South clipped Edmonton Blue 2-1 to finish third at the Alberta Cup.

Jayden Grubbe. LA Media Photo

“Jayden is a big, strong two-way centre that plays a heavy game. He’s a power forward that is good at protecting the puck and using his body to win battles,” said Brent Harrison, Grubbe’s head coach with the Calgary Bisons of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.

Grubbe registered 29 goals, 37 assists and 66 points, along with 104 penalty minutes in 35 games with the Bisons.

The 6-foot-1, right-handed shooting 180-pounder endured a four-game suspension in the playoffs, eventually losing to the Airdrie Xtreme in the South final.

“He’s an extremely competitive kid that plays with a lot of intensity and emotion. I think he projects well in the WHL and will be a contributor on both ends of the ice,” said Harrison.

Another skilled forward to keep an eye on is Sean Tschigerl.

In 30 games with the Okanagan Hockey Academy Edmonton Bantam Prep team, Tschigerl led his team in scoring with 31 goals and 39 assists.

Sean Tschigerl. LA Media Photo

“Sean is a complete, 200-foot centre. He was the captain of our team, an outstanding leader with a high skill set and an even higher compete level,” said OHA Edmonton Head Coach Sean Beissel.

Tschigerl captained OHA Edmonton to a CSSBHL championship this season and also captained Edmonton Yellow to a second-place finish at the Albert Cup, where he scored three goals and added three assists.

“He has a history of winning and has been the best player on championship teams in the past,” said Beissel.

Not all the high-end talent was on hand at the Alberta Cup for the scouts to see.

Zack Stringer certainly would have been invited to the showcase, but he was a little preoccupied trying capture the Telus Cup.

Stringer is the outlier of the draft. He is the only player projected to go in the top-10 that played at the midget triple-A level this season.

“Zack fit in well with our program. He’s used to playing with an older age group, it’s something he’s been doing for five or six years now,” said Lethbridge midget triple-A Hurricanes Assistant Coach Mark Greig.

While his regular season numbers were slowed down due to an upper-body injury, he still managed to post 17 goals and 13 assists in 23 Alberta Midget Hockey League regular season games. In the playoffs, he found his form and led the Hurricanes with 11 goals in 10 games.

“From the dots down, Zack is a very good scorer. He tips the puck well, is great on the wrap around and can handle the puck in tight spaces,” said Greig. “He has great stick instincts.”

Stringer made mincemeat of this only year at the bantam level. During the 2016-17 season, he powered the Golden Hawks bantam AAA club with 32 goals and 36 assists, en route to the AMBHL league title.

A little but further down the top-10 list is Cole Sillinger, who is another forward and a name that has the potential to upset a couple mock drafts.

The Regina-born forward powered the Okanagan Hockey Academy Bantam Prep with 46 goals and 83 points in 30 games. He also added four goals and one assist in five games at the John Reid. He also has strong bloodlines in the WHL, as he is the son of Regina Pats legend Mike Sillinger.

There are definitely a lot of options for the Hitmen with the fourth pick, should they choose to keep it. According to the club, they have four players in mind that they would like to take with the pick, so they will have a plan regardless of however the first three picks go.

Chynoweth and his crew of scouts are examining every angle of their franchise. Players drafted in Red Deer will likely not be impactful for the next two or three years, meaning they probably won’t be drafting based on the team that closed out the regular season by splitting a home and home with the Oil Kings.

The Hitmen will address the depth of their recent drafts, along with their list of 50-protected players, a list that has surely changed leading up to the draft.

Prokop and Saskatchewan centre Ryder Korczak were the only two players from the Hitmen’s 2017 draft class to debut with the big club last year. Defencemen Evan Toth, Luc Benedictson, wingers Sheldon Kwiatkowski, Riley Fiddler-Schultz and netminder Braydan Peters hung with the club deep into training camp, but headed their respected ways for the season.

The Hitmen’s top four picks from 2016 all logged WHL minutes last year, in van de Leest, Cael Zimmerman (centre) and Hunter Campbell (right wing). Right winger Bryce Bader was taken 37thoverall also made his debut around the holiday season. Jackson Niedermayer, Connor Brock and Jackson Rider were other members from the 2016 draft class that made it to the annual intrasquad game, but were reassigned before the season.

Conventional wisdom also says that the Oil Kings will take the best player in the draft, which could very well be Lambos. Up next are the lottery winners, the Ice. The past two drafts, they have landed a pair of forwards with incredibly high ceilings, in Connor McClennon and Krebs. If Lambos isn’t gone by the time it’s the Ice’s turn, he certainly will be with the second-overall pick.

The Raiders have had their issues recruiting B.C. players in the past, which mean that they might pass on Stankoven, Sward and Sillinger, leaving the Hitmen with several promising options at the fourth slot.

Whoever falls to Hitmen is out of the their hands. The organization believes they have prepared well enough for the draft and are certain they will get a gifted player with their pick.

But first, the Oil Kings are on the clock.