Rebels stock up at new-look WHL Prospects Draft
By DANNY RODE – There was a major change in the WHL Prospects Draft this week, one that the Red Deer Rebels took advantage of.
With the U.S. Priority Draft now merged with the WHL Prospects Draft, the Rebels selected four Americans out of their 10 total selections.
“This is a first for me in my 30 years in the league,” said Rebels Director of Player Personnel Jamie Novakoski. “I think we had a good draft with the Americans coming in. I think we got some guys later because of it. With the NCAA rule changes there are more guys wanting to come into the league.”
“It made it more interesting,” added Rebels Director of U.S. Scouting Chase Fuchs. “It’s a little more adventurist … a little more fun to see where certain guys are going to go. There is still the National team (USNTD) risk so we’re trying to figure out where guys are going to go and trying to figure out if you’re willing to take a little risk in recruiting them.”
Six-foot, 160-pounds forward Charlie Pohl from Woodbury, MN, who played for the Woodbury Bantam AA program, was the first American selected by the Rebels in the fifth round, 98th overall.
Pohl looks to have a high offensive side. He scored 65 goals and added 72 assists for 132 points in 65 games last season.
“He’s a bigger body but you don’t get 130 points in bantam by accident,” said Fuchs. “He’s very talented but can bring a physical aspect to his game as well.”
The other trio of Americans were selected with the Rebels final three picks all in the seventh round.
While they more than pleased with the U.S. side of the draft they were equally as happy with their first overall selection – Danny Ramazanov, a five-foot-nine, 150-pound forward from the NAX U15 Prep team.
Ramazanov is a native of Kazakhstan, whose family moved to Saskatoon when he was nine.
“We moved to Canada to play hockey,” he said in an interview with Rebels Director of Broadcast and Communications Troy Gillard.
He indicated his parents made the move to benefit the growth of himself and his older brother.
Both of his parents played hockey and were involved in coaching. His dad, Ilyas Ramazanov, played for Kazakhstan’s national junior team in 2009-10.
Ramazanov moved to Devon, AB to join the NAX program last year and finished the 29 game schedule with 26 goals and 32 assists in the CSSHL U15 Prep circuit.
“He is a very skilled, solid player,” said Novakoski. “He’s an exciting player with the ability to score highlight reel goals and also make plays at very, very high speed. He makes everyone around him better and is very competitive for an average size guy.
“He likes to go into the dirty areas and do whatever it takes to score a huge goal.”
Part of that comes from the fact he trains as a boxer.
Like in a lot of cases Novakoski indicated “We had him ranked higher than where we took him.
“He brings a level of excitement only a certain number of kids do in the draft. We anticipate him to be a top six forward and score some big goals for us down the road.”
Ramazanov is just part of what the team was looking for in the draft.
“The first thing we wanted to do was add some skill and add guys who could play with pace which you need nowadays. Size isn’t such a huge thing as the game has changed a little bit, but you still do need to balance that out with size. You can’t go too small or too big and we did just that this year. We have good speed and some length guys near the end.”
Those guys near the end are the Americans Carter Crowley, Blake Schmitt and Brando Duncan, who were selected 144th, 146th and 147th respectively.
Both Crowley and Schmitt played for the highly regarded Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U AAA program.
Crowley (five-foot-six, 125 pounds from Faribault, MN) had 17 goals and 50 assists in 59 games last season while Schmitt (six-foot-three, 165-pounds from Edina, MN) had 27 goals and 35 helpers in 59 games.
Duncan (five-foot-11,160-pounds from Irving, TX) played with the Dallas Stars Elite U14 AAA squad where he had 19 goals and 31 assists in 51 games and 89 minutes in penalties.
“Blake is six-three or four and gives us some length,” said Fuchs. “Carter and Brando are both kids who need a little physical development but are very good players who we look forward to being here.”
Fuchs likes what he sees from not only the Americans but the Canadians as well.
“The guys all compliment each other in a certain way. We were able to fill a lot of the organizational needs and with the best players available too. Overall, it was a very good draft.”
One thing Fuchs liked was the fact the American kids come from good programs.
“Shattuck St. Mary’s has had a long line of success and to get a couple of kids out of there and come in they know how to win and have been playing fora championship every year. It’s a winning culture which is important as they know how to do things the right way. As well Woodbury was a top five team in the State and played for the State championship and the Dallas program is one of the preeminent clubs in the U.S.”
The other selections for the Rebels were:
R3, 48th: Keyn Lindberg, D, 5’10” 160lbs, Calgary, Edge School
(29GP,5G, 18A, 23Pts, 40PIM)
“He’s one of the harder hitters in the league. Good puck skills and we see some growth as well” – Novakoski.
R4, 71st: Connor Baines, F, 6’0”, 160lbs, Maple Ridge, B.C., Yale Academy U15 Prep
(59GP, 17G, 50A, 67 Pts, 34 MIP)
“From a really good team, He’s the straw that stirs the drink. He can fly. We’re excited he ended up where he did.” – Fuchs.
R4, 72nd: Parker Bleich, D, 6’0”, 165lbs, Nipawin, SK, North East Wolfpack U15 AA
(27GP, 12G, 18A, 30Pts, 48PIM)
He also played eight games with the Tisdale U18 AAA team where he had a goal and three assists
“A good farm boy. A stay-at-home defenceman. There’s nothing tansy but not easy to play against, Very responsible defensively, Can see him adding an inch or two and will be a solid player for a long time” – Novakoski.
R6 121: Kash Andersen, G, 6’1”, 155 lbs, Wainwright, NAX U15 Prep
(15 GP, 2.83 GAA, .908 save percentage, 11-1-2 record)
“His game really took off from the start of the season to now, He didn’t face a lot of rubber early but toward the end of the season started to see more rubber and played real well. He always gave them a chance to win.” – Novakoski.
R6, 127: Madden Atkinson, D, 6’1”, 165 lbs, Swan River, MB, Parkland Rangers U15 AAA
(24GP, 8G, 18A, 26Pts, 18 PIM)
“Another late bloomer. He’s a tall lanky kid just growing into his body, Again, a stay-at-home guy who takes care of his own end. Limited offensively but we have that in Lindberg.” – Novakoski.
