WHL Prospects Draft: ‘Teen’ picks have proven fruitful for Rebels
The Rebels have never selected 15th overall at the WHL Prospects Draft. That’s slated to change on Thursday.
However, the Rebels have previously had five picks “in the teens” that each panned out pretty well.
2023 – Beckett Hamilton – 18th overall – Obviously, the final verdict remains out on Hamilton given the fact he’s played only three games with the Rebels, but his outstanding U18 AAA season with the Warman Wildcats in which he finished top ten in league scoring as a 15-year-old provides more than enough reason for optimism for this extremely talented forward.
2022 – Luke Vlooswyk – 17th overall – Vlooswyk looked right at home after joining the Rebels defence corps following a solid U18 season with the Edge Academy Mountaineers (for whom he scored the ‘Golden Goal’ in overtime to give Edge their second-straight league title). The Calgary native was playing full-time minutes by the time the postseason arrived and finished with four points in 16 total games (regular season and playoffs).
2018 – Kyle Masters – 16th overall – Following in the footsteps of his dad Kevin who played for the Rebels in their inaugural season, Masters played three strong seasons for the club, earning himself a fourth-round draft selection in 2021 by the Minnesota Wild, before being traded to the Kamloops Blazers prior to the 2022-23 season in exchange for fellow blue liner and NHL draftee Mats Lindgren.
2015 – Jacob Herauf – 16th overall – Played two and a half seasons with the Rebels (173 games, 39 points) before finishing his WHL career with Victoria. He was traded to the Royals for a second-round pick in 2020 that the Rebels used to select Matteo Fabrizi, and a sixth-round pick in 2021 that landed Derek Thurston.
2013 – Jeff de Wit – 14th overall – A hometown kid who once was a Rebels stick boy, de Wit started his WHL career by playing two and a half seasons with the club, including the 2016 Memorial Cup in Red Deer, before being traded to Regina. de Wit then made split time between Kootenay and Victoria before returning to play his overage season with the Rebels in 2018-19. He played 240 games with the Rebels, collecting 88 points.
Click here for a full history of players selected by the Rebels at the WHL Prospects Draft.
The 2024 WHL Prospects Draft takes place this Thursday (May 9) starting at 10 a.m.
The 2024 WHL U.S. Priority Draft goes Wednesday.
