Three Rebels Taken In NHL Draft
It was never a matter of ‘if’; it was ‘how many’.
The expectations entering the NHL entry draft held Friday and Saturday in Buffalo was that the Rebels would have at least three players selected.
Jeff de Wit would have made it four but the 18-year-old forward was passed over despite being ranked 80th among North American skaters by Central Scouting.
And so three Rebels were plucked, with all three being picked roughly in the neighbourhood that Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter anticipated would be the case.
Defenceman Josh Mahura was the first Red Deer player off the board, going in the third round, 85th overall, to the Anaheim Ducks.
Forward Conner Bleackley, who re-entered the draft after being selected by Colorado in the first round two years ago, was plucked by the St. Louis Blues in the fifth round and forward Brandon Hagel was a sixth-round pick, 159th overall, of the Buffalo Sabres.
“We kind of felt that Mahura would go late in the second round or in the third, which he did,” said Sutter. “And with ‘Hages’, from conversations we had with NHL teams before the draft . . . from what we heard he was expected to go anywhere between the fifth and seventh rounds.”
Bleackley, 20, went back into the draft after the Arizona Coyotes, who acquired his rights from the Avalanche earlier this year, decided not to sign him prior to the June 1 deadline.
“Those players who go back into the draft usually go after the fourth round. Where he was picked was kind of where we thought he’d be drafted,” said Sutter.
As for de Wit . . .
“Just from the conversations we did have with NHL teams, it was kind of like we weren’t 100 per cent sure whether he would or wouldn’t be drafted,” said Sutter. “We didn’t have a real good feel for it.”
The Rebels boss suggested that if the six-foot-three center uses the snub as motivation and continues to develop his game during the 2016-17 WHL season, he’ll stand a solid chance of hearing his name called during next year’s NHL draft.
“This coming year is a big year for Jeff,” said Sutter. “Responsibility has to grow on his shoulders and he has to take that next step now.
“The biggest thing with Jeff is consistency and that’s something he has to really work on — playing a heavier and harder game on a nightly basis. If he does that he’ll have a strong chance of being drafted next year.
“He’s a big kid, a big boy and we like him. But there are certain aspects of his game he has to work on.”
Meanwhile, the Canadian Hockey League import draft will be conducted Tuesday. The Rebels are tabbed to make the 49th selection, but they will pick no later than 47th due to the fact at last two teams have indicated they will not participate.
“And there might be other teams who pass before we make our pick,” said Sutter.
With forward Michael Spacek set to return to the club this fall, Sutter will select one player to fill out the club’s allowed quotient of two imports. Russian forward Ivan Nikolishin, 20, is still on the Rebels roster and a decision on his eventual status will be made at a further date.
On another note, Sutter will announce on Wednesday who he has hired to replace Steve O’Rourke as an assistant coach. O’Rourke served three seasons as a Rebels assistant before leaving at the end of May and then joining the Prince George Cougars as an associate coach.
