Will and Dyk picked in Euro Draft
It appears the Moncton Wildcats will have a European goaltender for the first time in franchise history next season.
They selected Roman Will, 19, with the 29th overall pick in the 2011 Canadian Hockey League import draft yesterday. (http://bit.ly/mB5kBM) The six-foot, 195-pound youngster has played for the Czech Republic in three international tournaments.
He had a 2.24 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in 48 games this season in the Czech under-20 league. He played for the Czech national under-19 team in the Five Nations Cup and also represented his country in the world under-18 championship and the under-18 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament.
“The Czech national junior team is now having their training camp and he’s one of four goalies there,” said Moncton head coach and director of hockey operations Danny Flynn. “I didn’t see him play, but I spoke to a lot of NHL people about him and heard exceptionally solid reviews.
“We’ve had his name circled probably for two months. He definitely wants to come to North America. I spoke to him after drafting him and he’s extremely excited about coming to Moncton. He’s coming off an outstanding season and he sees coming here as an opportunity to get more exposure to NHL scouts.”
The 59 teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League participate in the CHL import draft. The OHL’s London Knights took Finnish defenceman Olli Maatta, 17, with the first overall pick.
Moncton now has five goaltenders pencilled in for training camp. Aside from Will, the others are 18-year-olds Brandon Thibeau, Jordan Kennedy and Aiden Wade and 16-year-old Jack Flinn.
Thibeau, a callup from the junior A Dieppe Commandos, took over as the Wildcats starter late in the regular season and played every playoff game. Kennedy has really struggled in the QMJHL and has plenty to prove. Wade is a free agent from Ontario midget AAA and Flinn was a fifth-round pick in the 2011 QMJHL draft.
“We’ve got a couple of solid young goalies, but we just felt that a veteran goalie with significant junior experience and some international experience would be a nice fit for our team,” said Flynn. “Roman Will was one of three goalies that we had targeted in the European draft and we were fortunate that he was still available.”
Each major junior team is allowed to have two Europeans. It’s very difficult to imagine that Moncton would use one of these roster spots on a 19-year-old veteran backup goaltender. It seems obvious the club surely must have had the starter’s job in mind when it drafted Will. The question is whether Will lives up to expectations in training camp and proves he can be a starting goaltender in the QMJHL. The other uncertainty is the Wildcats could end up with three Europeans. Which two would they keep if such a scenario arises?
“Training camp is for evaluation and we put together the best team from what we see there,” said Flynn. “With our depth at all three positions, we’re expecting a really competitive camp. There’s battles for jobs throughout our roster.”
Moncton claimed forward Sebastien Dyk with the 32nd overall pick in the 2011 CHL import draft. (http://bit.ly/mBaAQh) The six-foot, 190-pound youngster had 17 points, including eight goals, in 20 games this season in Sweden’s under-20 elite junior league.
He then got called up to Sweden’s second division pro league where he had four points, all assists, in 36 games. Keep in mind that he was a junior age player suiting up against older men in that league.
Moncton now holds the rights to three Europeans – Will, Dyk and left winger Marek Hrivik. Hrivik was the Wildcats second leading scorer this past season with 79 points, including 38 goals, in 59 games.
Hrivik, whose status for next season is unknown, is on a special list for 20-year-old Europeans. He’s hoping to sign a free agent contract and turn professional. If he returns and the Wildcats have three Europeans, they will have 14 days to reduce that number to two.
“We feel that Roman Will and Sebastien Dyk are both ready to step into major junior and help our team,” said Flynn. “They’re both 19-year-olds with international experience and both are candidates to play for their country at the world junior championship. We think we added two good veterans in this draft.”
Dyk was a member of Sweden’s national under-16 team in 2007-08, national under-18 team in 2009-10 and national under-19 team in 2010-11. He was named to the Junior European All-Star Team in one tournament this past season.
The Red Line Report ranked him as the 123rd best prospect in the world for the 2011 National Hockey League draft. That would’ve made him a fifth-round pick, but he was passed over.
The Red Line Report describes Dyk as a “Quick and elusive two-way winger with smarts.”
“We had him targeted for quite some time and had steady discussions with his agent,” said Flynn. “We spoke to him after drafting him and he’s extremely excited about coming over to play for us. Like most Swedes, he speaks perfect English.
“He’s a good solid two-way forward and an ‘A’ level skater. He’s played on Swedish national teams at three different age levels. We think he has a chance to be a very solid player for us.”
The Acadie-Bathurst Titan selected German forward Nicolas Krammer with the 38th overall pick. Their other European is forward Tomas Filippi, who was acquired from the Quebec Remparts in a trade last month.
The Saint John Sea Dogs didn’t participate in yesterday’s draft. Their two European spots are already spoken for with returning forwards Stanislav Galiev and Tomas Jurco.
Cat Tracks
* Moncton announced yesterday it has invited four more free agents to training camp. They are Moncton midget AAA forward Lyndon Beckwith, Fredericton midget AAA forward Brandon Parsons, Pictou County, N.S. midget AAA forward Daniel Thomson and Rothesay Netherwood High defenceman Brandon Leonardo.
* Neil Hodge is a Times & Transcript sports reporter who covers the Moncton Wildcats.
