Press Release Below…
Audio from GM Cam Hope and Dir. Player Personnel Grant Armstrong: https://soundcloud.com/voice_vicroyals
The Victoria Royals made 9 selections at the 2014 Bantam Draft in Calgary on Thursday. They chose 4 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 1 netminder. Victoria also selected a pair of Island born forwards, who both hail from Duncan and played for Cowichan Valley .
Overall, three are from British Columbia, two from Alberta and Saskatchewan, while Manitoba and the USA provided one player.
The Royals traded ’94 born defenseman Brett Cote to the Red Deer Rebels for a 2nd round pick (31st overall).
1st Round – 18th overall, D SCOTT WALFORD
6’0 185 lb 14yrs OHA, from Coquitlam 59 (12G 39A) 51pts, 38 pims
“A nice addition to our skill group. An offensive defenseman who likes to get the puck of the ice to support the rush. Will do a great job of allowing our transition game to pick up. Good size player that likes to crash and bang in the corners.” – Grant Armstrong, Director of Player Personnel
The Royals then acquired a 2014 2nd round pick (31st overall) from the Red Deer Rebels for ’94 born defenceman Brett Cote.
2nd Round – 31st overall, C RYAN PECKFORD
5-11, 174lb center who skated with the Parkland Athletic Club Saints.
Scored 60 points (28g-32a) in 33 games.
“Highly skilled centerman, really good in the faceoffs, works real hard at getting pucks to the net. He’s a little bit slippery for a guy with his size, good ability to fend off checks, supports the puck well…he’s got great hands, and as Ryan grows and gets stronger he’s going to be an offensive force.”
2nd Round – 40th overall, D BRAYDAN PACHAL
5-11, 160lb defenceman who scored 27 points (14g-13a) in 31 games with the Estevan Bruins.
“He’s got a lineage. His grandfather was a real good hockey player, and his Dad’s played the game. Another offensively gifted defenseman, real mobile, he’s got good size. He takes a lot of focus on defending as well. Good all round defenseman, plays both ends of the rink well. With his skating ability he’ll be a tremendous addition…”
3rd Round – 57th overall, F BARON THOMPSON
6’5, 210 lb right winger from the Omaha Lancers. Born Lakeville, Minnesota
“A lot of people have said he has the ability to be an Eric Lindros at some point, that’s a lot on a young guy. We wanted to get someone who can get a little gritty at times and have the skill to play the game.
At this point we thought we needed to add size and grit to support some of our guys coming through next year like Hannoun and Phillips.
A good addition, he’ll probably be a 6’7 guy when he stops growing. We’re really excited because I think he’ll be able to patrol the wing, and with his skill set he’s going to be real tough to contain.”
6th Round – 112th overall, G DYLAN MYSKIW
Winnipeg Hawks posting a 14-2-0-0 record, along with a 2.57 GAA, a 0.913 SV% and two shutouts.
“Dylan is a very athletic goaltender,” Armstrong said. “He moves well and he has good size. His strengths are his stick and his glove.”
7th Round – 140th overall, F BEN BERARD
5-8, 170lb winger from Cowichan Valley
*Duncan, BC native 3rd island player drafted by the Royals in team history.
7th round – 150th overall, D DAMIAN GORECKI
5-10, 150lb Calgary Wranglers. Scored 32 points (16-16a) in 25 games
8th round – 161st overall, F DAWSON FRANK
5-8, 150lb winger played for Cowichan Valley; 151 points (69g-82a) in 62 games.
*2nd island player drafted…From Duncan
8th round – 172nd, D KEEGAN RANDELL
5-11, 178lb Saskatoon Maniacs. 26 points (9g-17a) in 31 games
The Royals then traded their 9th round, 194th overall selection to the Prince Albert Raiders for their 2015 9th round selection.
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ROYALS SELECT NINE PLAYERS AT 2014 WHL BANTAM DRAFT
Victoria takes four forwards, four defenceman and one goalie at annual
draft.
For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Calgary, AB – The Victoria
Royals are proud to announce the selection of nine players at the 2014 WHL
Bantam Draft in Calgary, AB today.
Of the nine players drafted by the Royals, three hail from
British Columbia, with two calling Vancouver Island their home. Alberta and
Saskatchewan both contributed two players each, while Manitoba provided one
player and the United States supplied one player (Minnesota). By position, the
Royals picked up four forwards, four defencemen, and one goalie.
Round 1
The Royals used their first pick, 18th
overall, to select Scott Walford from the Okanagan Hockey Academy. Walford, a
6-0, 185 lb defenceman, suited up in 56 games and amassed 48 points (12g-36a)
and 35 penalty minutes last season. The Coquitlam, BC native also helped lead
his team to a gold medal at the 2014 John Reid Memorial Tournament.
“We’re very excited to have selected Scott today. He
is an intelligent hockey player, he skates well and he has a physical side to
his game,” said Royals’ Director of Scouting Garry Pochipinski.
Round 2
Victoria sent overage defenceman Brett Cote to the Red
Deer Rebels in exchange for the 31st overall pick which was used to
select Stony Plain, AB native Ryan Peckford. During the 2013-14 season,
Peckford skated for the Parkland Athletic Club Saints in the Alberta Major
Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL). The 5-11, 174 lb center appeared in 33 games for
the Saints and scored 60 points (28g-32a) to go along with 44 penalty minutes.
“Ryan is a highly-skilled centerman
who is good in the face-off circle and works hard to get pucks to the net,”
Royals’ Director of Player Personnel Grant Armstrong said. “He is slippery for
a player of his size and he has great hands. As Ryan grows and gets stronger we
believe he will be an offensive force.”
The Royals used the 40th overall selection
to pick 5-11, 161 lb defenceman Brayden Pachal. The Estevan, SK native played
with the Estevan Bruins of the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League (SBAAHL)
and collected 27 points (14g-13a) to go along with 66 penalty minutes in 31
games last season.
“We think that Brayden has tremendous upside. He is an
offensively gifted defenceman, mobile and has good size,” Armstrong said.
“Brayden also places a focus on defending and plays both ends of the ice well.”
Round 3
With the 57th overall selection, the Royals
chose Baron Thompson from the Omaha Lancers of the North American Prospects
League U16. Thompson, listed at a hulking 6-3, 225 lbs, is a right winger from
Lakeville, MN and skated in 10 games with the Lancers where he collected six
points (3g-3a) to go along with eight penalty minutes.
“Baron’s size is obviously attractive,” Armstrong
said. “We wanted someone that can be gritty as well as have the skill to play
the game and Baron certainly provides that.”
Round 6
The Royals used the 112th overall selection
to pick 5-11, 148 lb goaltender Dylan Myskiw. The Winnipeg, MB native spent the
2013-14 season with the Winnipeg Hawks of the Winnipeg Bantam AAA Hockey
League. Myskiw posted a 14-2-0 record with a 2.57 goals against average and a
.913 save percentage as well as two shutouts in 16 regular season games last
year.
“Dylan is a very athletic goaltender,” Armstrong said.
“He moves well and he has good size. His strengths are his stick and his
glove.”
Round 7
Victoria grabbed Vancouver Island product Ben Berard
with the 140th selection of the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft. The 5-8, 170
lb winger from Duncan, BC played with the Tier 1 Bantam Cowichan Valley
Capitals last season where he racked up 239 points (122g-117a) in 62 games.
Berard becomes the third Vancouver Island resident to be selected by the Royals
in team history.
“Ben is a top-end offensive player,” Pochipinski said.
“He has great speed, great skills and he can finish.”
The Royals used the 150th overall selection
on Calgary, AB native Damian Gorecki. The 5-10, 150 lb defenceman skated for
the Calgary Wranglers this past year and posted 32 points (16g-16a) in 25
games.
“Damian has been a pleasant surprise for us,”
Pochipinski said. “He is a compact, physical defenceman that skates well and
sees the ice. He makes great decisions and has offensive upside.”
Round 8
The 161st overall selection saw Victoria
take another Islander in 5-8, 150 lb winger Dawson Frank. The Duncan, BC native
played with the Tier 1 Bantam Cowichan Valley Capitals last year as a teammate
of seventh round pick Ben Berard and posted 151 points (69g-82a) in 62 games.
“Dawson is a young player with raw offensive talent
and instincts that we saw rapidly developing throughout this past season,”
Royals’ General Manager Cameron Hope said.
With the club’s final selection of the day, 172nd
overall, the Royals picked Keegan Randell from the Saskatoon Maniacs of the
SBAAHL. Randell, a 5-11, 178 lb defenceman from Saskatoon, SK, skated in 31
games and scored 26 points (9g-17a) to go along with 42 penalty minutes last
year.
“Keegan is a steady, smart defenceman,” Hope said.
“Keegan is reliable and can play a physical game as well.”
Victoria traded its ninth round pick this year to the
Prince Albert Raiders in exchange for the Raiders’ ninth round pick in the 2015
WHL Bantam Draft to close out the team’s activity for the day.
The WHL Bantam Draft is an annual event in which the
clubs of the Western Hockey League select players who have graduated from
bantam. For the 2014 draft, players born in 1999 are eligible. Draft order is determined by way of
points in the regular season, with the exception of teams that missed the WHL
Playoffs which are placed into a draft lottery for the first round only. With
the exception of the lottery results in the first round, teams will select in
order of fewest to most regular season points.
During the bantam draft, players from Western Canada
and the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas,
Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming are eligible to be
selected.
Season ticket packages for the 2014-15 season are on
sale now! Call 250-220-7889, visit www.selectyourtickets.com,
or head down to the Victoria Royals ticketing office at Save-On-Foods Memorial
Centre for more information.