The 2012 WHL Bantam Draft Lottery will be held at the Western Hockey League office in Calgary, Alberta on Wednesday, March 21, at 11:00 AM MDT.
The Bantam Draft Lottery will involve the six non-playoff teams from the 2011-12 season, and will determine the order of the first six picks in the 1st round of the WHL Bantam Draft.
The Lottery will use a total of 21 balls and the allotment of balls will be as follows:
Prince Albert Raiders - Six balls
Prince George Cougars - Five balls
Seattle Thunderbirds - Four balls
Lethbridge Hurricanes - Three balls
Swift Current Broncos -
Two ballsRed Deer Rebels - One ball
A team can move up a maximum of two positions in the Bantam Draft. Only one ball is drawn in the Lottery. The following are the scenarios that can take place following the Lottery selection:
1). If Prince Albert wins the lottery, Prince Albert will have the first pick, Prince George will have the second pick, Seattle will have the third pick, Lethbridge will have the fourth pick, Swift Current will have the fifth pick and Red Deer will have the sixth pick in the first round of the WHL Bantam Draft.
2). If Prince George wins the lottery, Prince George will have the first pick, Prince Albert will have the second pick, Seattle will have the third pick, Lethbridge will have the fourth pick, Swift Current will have the fifth pick and Red Deer will have the sixth pick in the first round of the WHL Bantam Draft.
(From Esther Madziya, Hurricanes Media Relations)
Thanks,
Pat
The views expressed on this blog are those of the moderator and contributors and are not endorsed by 94.1 CJOC or the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
I hope this is the last year for a long long time that we are involved in the lottery. Next year we should be in the middle of the pack pushing for home ice advantage in the first round. If not, then somebody has to take a long look at what is happening.
ReplyDeleteGM
Time for the Hurricanes to draft two forwards or two monster d-men or one of each with big-size,plenty of speed,lots of skill and a touch of meanness. Yes we have skill and speed, but with the exception of Pilon and Hood, we lack a lot of size. One just has to look at Moose Jaw's back end to see what I mean. With pick #4 and #18 over all, that kind of player should be there. More than one scout has told me that there is plenty of size and skill available in the first round. It is time that the Hurricanes go in that direction. As for the Euro draft, unless there is an exceptional 18 yr old fwd, d-men or goaltender available, Preston/Robson should deal the pick away for a similiar roster player from another WHL team.
ReplyDeleteDespite the fact that the "Media Round Table" decided to avoid the topic or ran out of time. There is a strong belief that it is time that Preston find himself a young assistant coach who has played defense, coached defense and knows systems.
Time will tell.
RJ
"GM"?? Is Preston now commenting on here?!! LOL
ReplyDeleteRJ.......I've never witnessed this Board of Directors to bow to media or public pressure in the past.....for better or for worse. So, as for Preston changing his assistants goes, I don't see the Board forcing him to do that now. One thing the media roundtable had right was stating that there's nobody in charge of this franchise. I would almost like to see Brad Robson run this team because he seems to be a very hockey knowledgeable guy (but I get the feeling he's happy with his current position). Darren
ReplyDeleteDarren
Darren....I was not suggesting that this board or any previous board would make such a suggestion, I know they would not. That decision must come from Rich. But it is one that he needs to think about. I along with others have mentioned this before. Question is are the d-men being coached properly? Are their actual systems in place?
ReplyDeleteRJ
RJ,
ReplyDeleteI'd strongly recommend you leave out comments like "decided to avoid the topic." It's a 40 minute show and conjecture about hires which are unlikely, given the history, is a waste of time. It did come up off-air and was a topic brought up last year. Please avoid casting aspersions on people you don't know and have never met.
- Dylan
Dylan,
ReplyDeleteHad I been in town a year ago, when the subject of a defensive and systems coach had been brought up, I would not have asked the question or suggested it was being avoided.
That being said, the lack of a defensive/systems coach certainly could be looked at. But as I stated previously, there is only one person who can make that call.
RJ
RJ......I know what you meant. I've read previous blog comments that were not happy with the development of various positions.
ReplyDeleteMy point is that changing the assistant coaches isn't likely. Does having a coach for the defence guarantee they will be developed properly? I mean, we have a goalie coach as an assistant and he certainly didn't help Brandon Anderson or Liam Liston improve. Darren
Darren,
ReplyDeleteCertainly changing coaches does not guarentee improvements. It just seems logical that if you have a head coach that is a former forward that his focus would be the "team" play and forwards with an assistant who is a former d-man who can focus on the defense.
Either or both of the coaches should have a solid grasp on systems.
RJ
Could a lack of high end talent and depth have anything to do with our lack of success? Players have limitations (ceilings on their ability). You were not going to develop a Bob Probert into a Wayne G (regardless of coach or system). This is why there is a draft. Some believe we would have liked to see this same type of young team two years ago. I think we all would have liked that. But who was the young talent (the 16 and 17 year olds) in our system two years ago? Look at our past drafts and lack of first and second rounder’s. With the high end talent we have coming we better get results, if not replace the coaches. I would also look at some of the player we have i.e. Henry, Johnston, Kizuik who have shown vast improvements since they have joined our team. I would also look at the season in Halves when looking at points against/defensive play. The round table gave me the perception that there are some issues with some of the kids? Not sure of the issue (or how severe) but if true this staff should be replaced or the kids creating the issue shipped out. This team is too young to have more issues than it already has.
ReplyDeleteYes, I forgot to mention that. I'm going to re-listen to the last Monday roundtable and try and find that spot in the show where they talk about some players causing some issues. I don't think much was said, but I'd be interested in a follow up. No sense alluding to it and then not following up on it.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the level of talent we've had on the team and lack of high Bantam picks as a correlation. You can't get blood from a stone. Phil Tot is really our only high pick from a few years ago and he suffered an early injury. I thought he showed some nice flashes late in the year though. Should be a good vet next year.
Darren
The panel talked about stability with the Business Manager's position. I whole-heartedly agree! I still can't figure out how Jim Bradley took the hit for the team's loss of revenue? Because he suggested the 25% discount on season ticket holder packages?? I mean, who the hell on the Board of Directors signed off on that?? Jim Bradley isn't the boss. He was an employee who put forth an idea which was endorsed by the Board of Directors. My question is: 'Who on the Board signed off on that idea and why isn’t someone else being held responsible for that?' I’m not a business manager, but I could’ve told Jim that there was NO WAY they were going to make up the 25% discount on season’s tickets unless the team was more successful on the ice and I was pretty confident they weren't at that stage.
ReplyDeleteThis is the second part of this problem of having a Board as opposed to a private owner. There's no real boss to make the final decisions and, if there is, there's nobody on the Board who will come forward and accept responsibility for the 25% discount in tickets. I'm not saying the general public MUST know all the finite details, but I think the shareholders should be given more information.
Anyway, hopefully we'll have a business manager in place before too long and the Board will make the correct hire.
Darren
Darren: at the risk of not having my comment posted again all I can say is that the business manager isn't with the team any longer just because of the 25% off but rather overall performance over the last two years. When it comes right down to it he was the man responsible for the finances. I don't know if you were at the shareholder's meeting in January but he stood there and tried to use his showmanship to gloss over his mistakes. The group of people sitting around me were offended by his arrogance and lack of accountability.
ReplyDeleteMy wife laughed when she heard someone on the round table say that the board needs to quit hiring their high school friends but the man was absolutely right. Let's get it right this time and put someone in the position for more than a year or two.
-cc
Hey cc......That's really good for me to hear. I wasn't at the last shareholders meetings, which is another story in itself! I couldn't figure out why I never received any notices about the meetings, so I emailed the Hurricanes office and Mr. Bradley replied and added me to their mailing list via email. So now I will actually know when the meetings are!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for the info about the business manager's position. I REALLY hope Mr. Bradley wasn't a friend of someone on the Board! THAT IS NOT how I would like to see this organization run. The candidate with the best resume and interview should be awarded the job, not someone's high school buddy.
If the Board truly did hire Mr. Bradley because of his friendship with someone on the board, then that person should also be relieved of his position. It all comes back to a lack of accountability for me in regards to the Board of Directors. There's always someone to talk about how the organization is run on the ice and Brad Robson seems to have a pretty good grasp of the scouting, but there's never anyone stepping up to the mic and taking responsibility for stupid decisions.
On a side note, the panel also brought up the ridiculous contract the Canes have with the City of Lethbridge and the Enmax. There's no way in hell the City should be profited from the concessions and the sale/rent of the luxury suites. I know for a fact that if I were a private owner and the City wouldn't renegotiate that contract, I'd be pulling up stakes and moving the franchise to a more friendlier deal.
Darren