Canes' Make 10 Picks in 2009 Draft

Canes Assistant GM Brad Robson alongside General Manager Roy Stasiuk and the rest of the Lethbridge scouting staff made their selections and ignited the careers of ten new WHL prospects.

“I am really happy with how our draft played out” said Robson “We feel we got a lot of speed and quickness which is the way the game is going now so for the future success of the organization, we got some really good skaters and obviously some players with a lot of skill and the ability to put the puck in the net. The picks we made today will ensure we are going to be a very fast and very skilled hockey club now and in the future.

The Canes kicked off the day by selecting forward Ryley Bennefield from the Leduc Allen’s Transport Oil Kings with their first selection – 33rd overall in the second round of the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. Bennefield is a 5’10” 160 pound forward who tallied 32 goals and 25 assists for 57 points and 59 Pims in 30 games for the Leduc Allen’s Transport Oil Kings of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL) in 08-09. Bennefield wrapped up his season with an excellent showing at the Alberta Cup this past weekend in Calgary where he competed with a broken collarbone.

“Ryley is a skilled all around forward with an excellent work ethic and obviously the ability to put the puck in the net” said Canes GM Roy Stasiuk “As always in the draft, we chose to address skill first and were surprised to see Ryley’s name still on the board at our draft position. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to draft him with the 33rd pick”

Lethbridge then chose another forward, Sam McKechnie of the Airdrie Xtreme with their second selection – 47th overall of the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. This first of two third round picks was acquired by the Hurricanes as part of a trade with the Chilliwack Bruins. McKechnie had a strong season in the Alberta Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League, posting 52 points (20G, 32A) in 33 games to rank himself fifth in the AMBHL South Division scoring race. He was a key contributor in the Xtreme taking home a Western Canadian Bantam Championship banner with 7 points (2G, 5A) in the tournament.

“Our scouts thought Sam had a very good showing at the Western Canadian Bantam Championships and he is player who brings with him a lot of speed.” said Stasiuk “He should compliment our first selection Ryley Bennefeld very well”

Ironically, McKechnie hails from the Airdrie Xtreme, the same AMBHL club that produced Hurricanes superstar and NHL 1st round draft pick Zach Boychuk.

The Hurricanes then took defenseman Adam Henry of the Bantam AAA Winnipeg Hawks with their third selection – 55th overall in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. Henry ended the 08-09 campaign with 17 points (4G, 13A) and 52 Pims in 30 games. Henry was the first defenseman chosen by the Hurricanes in the 2009 draft and follows in the footsteps of Hurricanes d-men Brennan Yadlowski (2006) and Ben Wright (2003) as the Canes first defenseman chosen in their draft year.

“Adam [Henry] is a smooth skating defenseman with a good first pass” says Stasiuk “He is not and overly physical defenseman but he is steady and very positionally sound.”

In the fourth round, Lethbridge selected forward Jaimen Yakubowski of the Warman Wildcats with their fourth selection – 77th overall in the 2009 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. The 5’9”, 165 pound native of Dalmany, SK finished the regular season with an impressive sixty points (30G, 30A) and 64 Pims in 20 games this season. He then followed that up with a solid showing at the 2009 Western Canadian Bantam Championship where he was voted a Tournament All star; as well as the Tournament’s Most Sportsmanlike Player with five points (4G, 1A) in five games.

In the fifth round, the Canes selected forward Mitchell Guiel of the Langley Bantam AAA Eagles with their fifth selection – 103rd overall of the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. The Hurricanes acquired this pick from Everett as a result of the trade with the Everett Silvertips involving defenseman Mike Alexander. Guiel posted 84 points (41G, 43A) in 40 games (including tournament play) with the Eagles this season and contributed to the host team Eagles’ silver medal finish in the B.C. Bantam 'AAA' provincials.

The sixth round saw the Hurricanes with a pair of picks as they selected defenseman Braxton Bilous of the Langley Bantam AAA Eagles with their sixth selection – 111th overall and local product Russell Maxwell of the Lethbridge Val Matteotti Golden Hawks with their seventh selection – 121st overall in the sixth round of the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. Bilous, a teammate of Hurricanes fourth round pick Mitchell Guiel notched 6 points and was a plus-12 in 23 games with the Eagles this season. Maxwell was named the team MVP of the Val Matteotti Golden Hawks of the in 08-09, totaling 47 points (30G, 17A) and 52 Pims in 33 AMBHL games.

“Obviously in Russell’s case he is a highly skilled forward who notched 30 goals in the AMBHL. His hockey sense is second to none and he possesses a good work ethic.” said Stasiuk “The only reason we hesitated until this round was knowing the difficulty that some players can have in adjusting to play in their hometowns. However, we felt that to get a player of his caliber at this point in the draft is an opportunity we could not afford to pass up”

In the eight round, the Canes selected forward Mason Blacklock of the Semiahmoo Ravens of the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association with their eighth selection – 165th overall in the eighth round of the 2009 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. Blacklock is a good skater with good skill who played 38 games this season notching 29 goals and 42 assists for 71 points with the Ravens despite suffering an injury in February which cut his season short.
Finally, the Canes selected defenseman Harrison Harper from the North West Calgary Bronks of the AMBHL with their ninth selection – 253rd overall in the 12th round and defenseman Valik Chichkin from the Burnaby Winter Club Tier 1A1 275th overall in the 13th round to wrap up the 2009 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. Harper is a 6’0”, 172 pound d-man had 3 points (3A) and 37 Pims with the Bronks (sp.) last season. Chichkin is a solid 6’0” 160 pound defenseman of Russian descent who played Bantam tier two hockey last season with the Burnaby Winter Club.

The 2009 WHL Bantam Draft kicked off this morning (April 30th, 2009) at 8:30 AM MT from the Sutton Place Hotel in Edmonton. The Portland Winter Hawks made Derrick Pouliot of Weyburn, SK the first pick of the 2009 Draft. The WHL Bantam Draft is the first step in the identification of the top rated 1994-born prospects as WHL Clubs select players from this age group to add to their WHL Player Protected List.


Breakdown by position:
Forwards – 6
Defenseman – 4

Thanks,
Pat