Emily Gay
Insight, U.S. Division

The Portland Winterhawks choose Klassen and more in the WHL’s Bantam Draft

Written by Brandon Rivers on

The WHL’ Bantam Draft is currently taking place in Red Deer, Alberta and Portland was able to select in the first round for the second straight year after taking Seth Jarvis a year ago. This is the first time they were able to pick in the first round for two straight seasons since they took Derrick Pouliot in 2009 and Nic Petan in 2010.

 

Round Pick Team Position 2017-18 team Stats
1 19 Gabe Klassen F P.A. Raiders Bantam AA 31GP-52G-37A-89pts
3 57 Lochlan Gordan G N Alberta Btm Prep 18GP-2.68GAA-0.891Sv%
3 63 Ty Murchison D LA Jr Kings Bantam AAA 52-12-18-30pts
4 74 Chaz Lucius F MNBEL Blackhawks 14-22-13-35pts
4 85 Dawson Pasternak F Winnipeg Hawks Bantam AAA 31-15-30-45pts
5 107 Ryan McCleary D Swift Current Raiders Bantam AA 31-11-30-41pts
5 109 Jonah Bevington F OHA Edmonton Bantam Prep (CSSBHL) 29-10-18-28pts
6 129 Aidan Litke F Rink Hockey Academy 30-9-11-20pts
8 173 Brody Tallman D Lethbridge Hurricanes Btm AAA 33-4-20-24pts
10 213 Parker Murray F LA Jr Kings Bantam AAA 45-21-21-42pts
10 218 Max Burkholder D Chaska.Canhassen Stormhawks Unk.

-Klassen, who is 5-foot-7 and 134 pounds, had the most goals and points in the SBAAHL. He put up otherworldly numbers in Bantam AA. His team went 23-6-2. His teammates Ashton Ferster (Medicine Hat), Logan Cox and Chase Friedt-Mohr (Spokane) and Marek Schneider (Saskatoon) were all selected today as well.

Gabe Klassen (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW staff)

Klassen was the “leader” on the team and “set the pace” for the Pirates. He apparently tallied at least a point in each game up through December 7th.

Klassen played on a line with Ferster and Cox and that trio compiled a total of 206 points.

His coach Shawn Phaneuf said in this article that “He always works hard on the ice, off the ice and in practices.”

Klassen definitely fits the Winterhawks mold for what they like out of their high-drafted forwards. After taking Klassen, Winterhawks Assistant General Manager Matt Bardsley said that they were impressed with Gabe’s “hockey sense” and thought he “had one of the highest hockey senses in the draft… We think he will fit in really well with guys like Seth Jarvis and Cross Hanas. He’s a player we really really like and think he has a high upside.”

-Gordan (6-foot, 165 pounds) played for Team Edmonton Yellow at the Alberta Cup. He had a 2.02 GAA and 0.933 save percentage in three games. Gordan also had a 2.45 GAA and 0.910 save percentage at the John Reid Bantam tournament. The last time the Winterhawks drafted a goalie this high (3rd round) was back in 2010 when they took Brendan Burke with the 49th overall pick.

Gordan was selected with the 3rd round pick Portland acquired from Brandon for Evan Weinger.

-Murchison is from Corona, California. I could not find any other WHL players either past or present from Corona. Current WHL players Luke Ormsby (Everett), Cameron Hausinger (Kootenay) and Jake McGrew (Spokane) all came out of the L.A. Jr. Kings program. Murchison had a goal in six games at the John Reid Bantam tournament.

The coach of the L.A. Jr. Kings is Jeff Turcotte, the brother of former Winterhawks star Alfie Turcotte.

-Chaz Lucius is from Grant, Minnesota and has already verbally committed to the University of Minnesota, starting in the 2021-22 season. He committed at the same time that his 13-year-old brother Cruz committed.

From the article, Chaz is referred to as the “best shooter.” This is pretty high to take a player not only already committed, but committed to play with his younger brother. It will be interesting if the Winterhawks double down next year and draft Cruz.

Chaz is something of a phenom as he has been catching second looks with his play since he was a first year Squirt.

Lucius was taken with the pick Portland got form Kootenay for Colton Veloso.

-Pasternak won the WBAAA with the Hawks. Also drafted from the Hawks in 2018 were Rory Neill (Calgary), Nate Goodbrandson (Everett) and Conner Roulette (Seattle).

-Bevington won the CSSBHL with OHA Bantam Prep and played a game with the Elite 15s. He also played five games at the John Reid Bantam tournament, putting up two points and played for Team Edmonton Yellow at the Alberta Cup.

The pick used on Bevington came over from Swift Current for Jake Hobson.

-Litke pile up eight points in six games at the John Reid Bantam.

-Tallman (5-foot-8 and 165 pound) had a goal in four games at the John Reid and had six points at the Alberta Cup.

Portland must have liked who they took in the 10th round enough to move a higher pick next year.

-Murray was Murchison’s teammate with the Jr Kings. He is listed at 5-ffot-11 and 165 pounds.

-Burkholder, who is from Chaska, Minnesota, played for Team Minnesota at the Brick Invitational back in 2013.

During the draft, the Winterhawks added another name to their protected list when they moved a 4th round pick for 2002-born defenseman Kurtis Smythe.

Smythe was drafted by Saskatoon in the 2nd round, 42nd overall in 2017, but never committed to playing with the Blades. Portland, obviously feels that they can. They made the move right before the draft and thus the draft pick does not have any conditions.

Smythe is 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds and played 33 games with Delta Academy Prep, potting four goals and adding nine assists for 13 points.