Oil Kings select eleven players in 2020 WHL Bantam Draft
The Edmonton Oil Kings welcomed eleven new prospects to the organization following the conclusion of the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft on Wednesday.
Oil Kings President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Kirt Hill, was pleased with the selections made by his Club today and acknowledged the effort and importance of the Draft to players and their families.
“As a Club, we were very happy with the prospects we added to our organization,” said Hill. “We know a lot of hard work and sacrifice by a lot of players – and parents – culminated in these players seeing their names come up, and we want to congratulate those players and their families on this achievement.
“As for players who may not have been selected by a WHL team today, we just want to remind those young men to keep working hard and maintain your determination.”
In total, the provincial breakdown of the players is as follows: Alberta (5), Saskatchewan (3), Manitoba (2) and British Columbia (1).
1st round, 20th overall
Dawson Seitz (C) – SEAC Tigers Bantam AAA
With their first pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft (1st round, 20th overall), the Edmonton Oil Kings selected centre Dawson Seitz of the SEAC Tigers Bantam AAA (AMBHL), the Club announced on Wednesday.
Seitz (pronounced SIGHTS), a 6-foot-1, 160-pound product of Medicine Hat, AB was limited to seven regular season games (7G, 0A = 7 points) during the 2019-20 campaign due to injury. He dressed in five playoff games with the Tigers, registering a point-per-game with three goals and a pair of assists.
“Dawson is a very skilled forward and dynamic skater with one of the best shots in the Draft,” said Oil Kings Director of Scouting, Jamie Porter. “His injury probably affected his Draft status, but we’re very excited that he was available when it was our turn to pick at 20.”
“I’m so thrilled. The best part was when I saw it was Edmonton who took me; I jumped right out of my chair,” said Seitz. “I’m just glad that the Oil Kings believe in me and feel that I’ll be a good fit for the organization.”
Hometown: Medicine Hat, AB
DOB: March 1, 2005
Position: Centre
Shoots: Right
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 160 pounds
4th round, 75th overall
Ryan Taylor (D) – Battleford Barons Bantam AA
(from Victoria Royals in Kaid Oliver/Jacson Alexander trade)
The second selection of the day was defenceman Ryan Taylor of the Battleford Barons Bantam AA (SBAAL).
The 6-foot-0, 171-pound native of Battleford, SK was a point-producer from the backend, tallying six goals and 19 assists for 25 points in 30 regular season games played with the Barons in the 2019-20 campaign.
“We think that he’s a very responsible, two-way defenceman,” said Porter. “We like his character and his leadership and we feel like we saw some real growth in his game over the past year.”
Hometown: Battleford, SK
DOB: October 10, 2005
Position: Defence
Shoots: Right
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 171 pounds
4th round, 86th overall
Carter Kowalyk (D) – Northern Alberta Xtreme Bantam Prep
The Oil Kings elected to remain on the blue line for their next pick and third of the afternoon, selecting rearguard Carter Kowalyk from St. Albert, AB.
The Northern Alberta Extreme Bantam Prep product tips the scales at 6-foot-1 and 163 pounds, and posted 18 points (6G, 12A) in 28 regular season games in 2019-20.
“We saw quite a bit of Carter this year playing here in Edmonton in the NAX [Northern Alberta Xtreme] program,” said Porter. “He’s got some real jump to his game, we like his size and how aggressive he plays, and we think there’s some real upside to him offensively.”
Hometown: St. Albert, AB
DOB: July 8, 2005
Position: Defence
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 163 pounds
5th round, 108th overall
Alex Worthington (G) – Warman Wildcats Bantam AA
With their fourth choice of the day, the Oil Kings moved from the blue line to the blue paint, selecting goaltender Alex Worthington from the Warman Wildcats Bantam AA program.
Hailing from Waldheim, SK, Worthington appeared in 20 games for the Wildcats in the 2019-20 season, posting a 7-10-0-0 record over 1,088 minutes played, registering a save percentage of .903% and a goals against average of 4.19.
“Alex was a goalie that we saw going before he did, luckily for us. He’s athletic and has good size, and we were very impressed with the season he had in Saskatchewan,” Porter said. “We were happy that a player of his caliber was still there when he was.”
Hometown: Waldheim, SK
DOB: May 2, 2005
Position: Goaltender
Catches: Left
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 150 pounds
6th round, 111th overall
John Szabo (LW) – Lethbridge Golden Hawks Bantam AAA
(from Swift Current in Kaid Oliver/Jacson Alexander trade)
Just three selections later the Oil Kings were on the clock again, this time selecting Lethbridge, AB native John Szabo from the Lethbridge Golden Hawks Bantam AAA.
Szabo, a left winger, measures 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds and collected 13 goals and five assists for 18 points in 20 regular season games.
“John had a bit of a similar circumstance to his season as Dawson Seitz in that he had to deal with an injury,” said Porter. “Whenever our staff got to see him, both last year and this year, they were really high on what he brought to the ice.”
Hometown: Lethbridge, AB
DOB: May 24, 2005
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 173 pounds
6th round, 130th overall
Luke McCrady (D) – Edge School Bantam Prep
With their sixth pick of the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft, the Oil Kings named defenceman Luke McCrady of Edge School Bantam Prep.
The blueliner from Calgary, AB skated in 22 games during the 2019-20 campaign, tallying eight assists along with eight penalty minutes.
“Luke comes from a strong hockey background,” said Porter. “We think that as he matures physically over the next few years he’s going to make some leaps and bounds in this League.”
Hometown: Calgary, AB
DOB: November 8, 2005
Position: Defence
Shoots: Left
Height: 5-foot-3
Weight: 101 pounds
8th round, 158th overall
Dawson Zeller (LW) – Winnipeg Hawks B1AAA
(from TC via PG in Aidan Lawson trade)
The Oil Kings utilized their seventh selection of the Draft to choose forward Dawson Zeller of the Winnipeg Hawks Bantam AAA.
Zeller, from St. Andrews, MB, skated in 36 regular season games for the Hawks last season, amassing 24 goals and 14 assists for 38 points before adding a goal and two assists for three points in five playoff games.
“Dawson is another skilled, two-way player we were able to add to our group of prospects today,” Porter said. “We really liked how his game progressed throughout the season and we believe there’s a really high ceiling for him to grow as a player.”
Hometown: St. Andrews, MB
DOB: November 2, 2005
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 125 pounds
8th round, 174th overall
Reid Larson (D) Calgary Flames Bantam AAA
The eighth selection of the Draft by the Oil Kings was defenceman Reid Larson from the Calgary Flames Bantam AAA.
Standing 5-foot-11 and 144 pounds, the Calgary native posted one goal and eight assists for nine points in 33 contests in 2019-20.
“Reid really started to make an impression on us in the second half of the year. Responsible and mobile, we liked how well he looked after his own end,” offered Porter. “We think he’s got the potential to be a sturdy and steady defenceman in the League.”
Hometown: Calgary, AB
DOB: April 24, 2005
Position: Defence
Shoots: Left
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 144 pounds
9th round, 196th overall
Hayden Wheddon (C) – Interlake Lightning Bantam AAA
The Oil Kings ninth round selection was centre Hayden Wheddon of the Interlake Lightning Bantam AAA program.
The 5-foot-9, 142-pound forward from Stonewall, MB posted a whopping 42 goals and 32 assists for 74 points in just 35 games with the Lightning last season before joining the Midget club in the WU17MP (Winnipeg AAA U17 Midget Prep) League where he tallied five points (3G, 2A) in eight games, as well as one goal in one playoff contest.
“Hayden had a very good season offensively,” said Porter. “We like that he’s such a good skater, and see a lot of upside to come in his game.”
Hometown: Stonewall, MB
DOB: October 5, 2005
Position: Centre
Shoots: Left
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 142 pounds
10th round, 218th overall
Ben Wright (C) – Shawnigan Lake School Bantam Prep
Centre Ben Wright was the next name called by the Oil Kings from Shawnigan Lake School Bantam Prep.
The 6-foot-1, 155-pounder from Mill Bay, BC collected 22 goals and 25 assists for 47 points in 30 regular season games in 2019-20.
“Ben is a big centreman with obvious size and skill to boot,” added Porter. “He had a great second half of the season and we liked where his game was going.”
Hometown: Mill Bay, BC
DOB: October 23, 2005
Position: Centre
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 155 pounds
11th round, 240th overall
Easton Adrian (D) – Martensville Marauders Bantam AA
The Oil Kings final selection was their 11th pick, defenceman Easton Adrian of the Martensville Marauders Bantam AA.
Adrian posted five goals and 36 helpers for 41 points in 25 regular season games played in 2019-20, then followed that with a pair of goals and six assists for eight points in four playoff games.
“We liked both what we saw, and what we heard from Easton,” Porter said. “His game continued to get better as the season went on. He’s a hard worker and we’re looking forward to seeing how his development progresses.”
Hometown: Dalmeny, SK
DOB: April 22, 2005
Position: Defence
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 175 pounds
12th round, 262nd overall – PASS
13th round, 284th overall – PASS
14th round, 306th overall – PASS
15th round, 328th overall – PASS
For all Edmonton Oil Kings WHL Bantam Draft selections, click here.
| PICK | PLAYER | HT | WT | HOMETOWN | DOB |
| 1/20 | (C) Dawson Seitz | 6’1 | 160 | Medicine Hat, AB | 3/1/05 |
| SEAC Tigers Bantam AAA | |||||
| 4/75 | (D) Ryan Taylor | 6’0 | 171 | Battleford, SK | 10/10/05 |
| Battleford Barons Bantam AA | |||||
| 4/86 | (D) Carter Kowalyk | 6’1 | 163 | St. Albert, AB | 7/8/05 |
| Northern Alberta Xtreme Bantam Prep | |||||
| 5/108 | (G) Alex Worthington | 5’10 | 150 | Waldheim, SK | 5/2/05 |
| Warman Wildcats Bantam AA | |||||
| 6/111 | (LW) John Szabo | 5’11 | 173 | Lethbridge, AB | 5/24/05 |
| Lethbridge Golden Hawks Bantam AAA | |||||
| 6/130 | (D) Luke McCrady | 5’3 | 101 | Calgary, AB | 11/8/05 |
| Edge School Bantam Prep | |||||
| 8/158 | (LW) Dawson Zeller | 5’10 | 125 | St. Andrews, MB | 11/2/05 |
| Winnipeg Hawks Bantam AAA | |||||
| 8/174 | (D) Reid Larson | 5’11 | 144 | Calgary, AB | 4/24/05 |
| Calgary Flames Bantam AAA | |||||
| 9/196 | (C) Hayden Wheddon | 5’9 | 142 | Stonewall, MB | 10/5/05 |
| Interlake Lightning Bantam AAA | |||||
| 10/218 | (C) Ben Wright | 6’1 | 155 | Mill Bay, BC | 10/23/05 |
| Shawnigan Lake School Bantam Prep | |||||
| 11/240 | (D) Easton Adrian | 6’1 | 175 | Dalmeny, SK | 4/22/05 |
| Martensville Marauders Bantam AA | |||||
| 12/262 | PASS | ||||
| 13/284 | PASS | ||||
| 14/306 | PASS | ||||
| 15/328 | PASS | ||||
