Silvertips 2014 Bantam Draft: LIVE Coverage
Everett Silvertips 2014 WHL Bantam Draft selections:
Round 1: #15 – Jantzen Leslie, Defenseman, Lloydminster, Alberta (Lloydminster Heat, AMBHL)
Round 3: #49 – Bryce Kindopp, Right Wing, Lloydminster, Alberta (Lloydminster Heat, AMBHL)
#59 – Nick Henry, Right Wing, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba (Pursuit of Excellence Academy)
Round 4: #82 – Brian King, Forward, Golden, Colorado (Rocky Mountain RoughRiders, CAHA)
Round 5: #103 – Ryan Anderson, Left Wing, Edmonton, Alberta (South Side Athletic Club, AMBHL)
#105 – Jake Christiansen, Defenseman, West Vancouver, BC (Hollyburn Huskies, PCAHA)
#107 – Connor Dewar, Center, Gilbert Plains, Manitoba (Parkland Rangers)
Round 6: #125 – Riley Sutter, Right Wing, Calgary, Alberta (Calgary Bisons, AMBHL)
#128 – Wyatte Wylie, Defenseman, Lake Stevens, Washington (EYH Junior Silvertips)
Round 7: #143 – Carson Dimoff, Left Wing, Scottsdale, Arizona (Phoenix Junior Coyotes)
#147 – Brendan Studioso, Right Wing, Mukilteo, Washington (EYH Junior Silvertips)
Round 8: #169 – Blake Bergquist, Forward, Duluth, Minnesota (Duluth East Bantam AA)
Round 9: #191 – Nate Knoepke, Defenseman, Farmington, Minnesota (Lakeville South)
Round 10: #213 – Matt Anderson, Defenseman, Minnesota (Holy Family)
Round 11: #235 – Reid Hill, Defenseman, Duluth, Minnesota (Duluth East Bantam AA)
Round 12: #257 – Pass
7:15 am – Good morning, Silvertip Country! Welcome to our live coverage of the Silvertips’ 2014 WHL Bantam Draft. Once again I’m Silvertips broadcaster Travis Huntington, and I’ll be providing live updates throughout the morning and into the afternoon on all today’s events. We’re glad to have you with us this morning as we track each of Everett’s draft picks and keep track of interesting news items around the league as well. It’s a busy and exciting day for all as the WHL’s 22 teams work toward finding the next generation of stars, so good luck to all the young players!
Remember to refresh this page often, as frequent updates will be provided below. You can also follow @WHLSilvertips on Twitter for up-to-the-moment tweets on all of the latest draft action and CLICK HERE to watch the WHL’s free online stream of the first round of the draft starting in about 15 minutes.
7:35 am – It’s just about time to get things rolling from Calgary. The first round webcast has begun, and the Brandon Wheat Kings will make the first pick shortly.
We’d like to take a moment here to wish good luck to all the local prospects with a chance to be drafted today, as a number of Snohomish County/Western Washington natives are on the WHL radar for today’s Bantam Draft. By the way, just to make you feel old this morning, the players being drafted today were born in 1999. Yes, 1999! Is that ridiculous or what?
7:40 am – The first pick is in! Brandon stays in Manitoba to select Winnipeg native Stelio Mattheos with the first overall pick in this year’s Bantam Draft. Congratulations, Stelio! Saskatoon actually won the draft lottery this year, but had traded that pick to to Brandon in exchange for Brendan Walker at the 2012 draft.
7:53 am – By virtue of tying for the seventh-best record during the WHL regular season, the Silvertips hold the 15th pick in this year’s draft. It’s the latest Everett has selected since 2010 (the ‘Tips traded their first rounder that year), which is a good thing after an exciting 39-win season.
8:15 am – Ten picks off the board, with Prince Albert taking the first goaltender in Ian Scott from Calgary, Alberta at ninth overall. No real surprise here, but seven of the first ten players chosen have been forwards. Five have been from BC, two each from Saskatchewan and Manitoba and one from Alberta. Last year it was the Alberta prospects who dominated the early picks in the draft.
8:21 am – Coming up on the Silvertips’ pick shortly. With their 11 previous first round picks, the ‘Tips have taken five forwards, five defensemen and one goaltender. Three of the past five have been defensemen, but the last two picks in this current draft have been D-men, so we’ll find out shortly who is highest player left on Everett’s draft board…
8:33 am – With their first round selection in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft, the Silvertips have selected defenseman Jantzen Leslie from Lloydminster, Alberta. Welcome to the club, Jantzen!
8:40 am – As usual, we’re leaning on the research of the esteemed Alan Caldwell and his Small Thoughts At Large blog for stats on today’s picks, and here’s what it looks like for Leslie:
| Jantzen Leslie – D, 6’0″, 167 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Lloydminster Heat (AMBHL AAA bantam) | 30 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 63 |
| Lloydminster Heat (St. Albert AAA bantam trnmt) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Lloydminster Heat (AMBHL AAA bantam – PLF) | 11 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 12 |
| Lloydminster Heat (Western Cdn bantam champ.) | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Northeast (Alberta Cup) | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
8:51 am – Western Elite Hockey Prospects had rated Leslie to go ninth overall in their Mock draft. Here is their breakdown of his game “Big defender with excellent poise and vision. Moves the puck quickly and smartly when under pressure. Has a heavy point shot and can produce without prime powerplay time. Not a terrific skater, but has tremendous power and can cover a lot of ice. Works very hard and finishes all his checks. Very aware in both ends. Showed well when pushed at the JRMT. Very steady shift to shift. Plays with character and has big upside. Should be a high pick based on ability, potential, and character.”
9:10 am – Just got off the phone with Silvertips Head Scout Bil La Forge (who is a bit under the weather – as you no doubt heard if you were watching the live webcast) to get some thoughts on Leslie: “He’s a big, physical defenseman who is good on both sides of the puck. He can play a shutdown role and can also work on the powerplay. He’s the captain of every team he ever plays on and a great addition to our organization. We see him as a number one or two defenseman in our league for a long time; a guy that’s going to be able to step in right away and play and have an impact. Much like our defensemen from the ’97 group (Kevin Davis and Noah Juulsen), we think he is a big cornerstone to our franchise.
9:28 am – Round two of the draft is now underway, but the ‘Tips don’t have a second round pick after surrendering the 37th pick to Portland with the hiring of GM Garry Davidson. Another note on Jantzen Leslie: He was captain of the Lloydminster Heat this year, a team that won the Alberta AAA Bantam Championship and advanced to the Western Canada Bantam AAA title game before falling in double overtime to the BC champion North Shore Winter Club. Not a bad resume for the young man!
9:38 am – The 37th overall pick that Everett traded to Portland was then dealt by the Winterhawks to Red Deer in the Matt Dumba trade this year. With that pick, the Rebels just took Red Deer native goaltender Dawson Weatherill.
9:52 am – Round 2 is now complete, with the ‘Tips preparing to make two picks in the third round. Everett has the fifth pick of the round (49th overall), which originally belonged to Prince George but was acquired by the ‘Tips from Edmonton in exchange for Reid Petryk (by the way, I’d like to take this moment to wish Reid good luck with Edmonton in the WHL Championship series!). The Silvertips will then make their own selection in the third round at #59 overall.
10:01 am – With the 49th pick, the ‘Tips have taken right wing Bryce Kindopp, also from Lloydminster, Alberta and the Lloydminster Heat Alberta AAA Bantam champions. Welcome to the club, Bryce! Stats for Kindopp:
| Bryce Kindopp – F, 5’11”, 148 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Lloydminster Heat (AMBHL AAA bantam) | 33 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 58 |
| Lloydminster Heat (St. Albert AAA bantam trnmt) | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Lloydminster Heat (AMBHL AAA bantam – PLF) | 11 | 16 | 9 | 25 | 10 |
| Lloydminster Heat (Western Cdn bantam champ.) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Northeast (Alberta Cup) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
10:18 am – Everett’s next pick at 59th overall is right winger Nick Henry from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Nick scored 25 goals and totaled 67 points in 45 games at the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in Kelowna, BC this year. Welcome to the club, Nick!
| Nick Henry – F, 5’9″, 160 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Pursuit of Excellence (Kelowna) (AAA bantam) | 45 | 25 | 42 | 67 | 56 |
| Pursuit of Excellence (Kelowna) (St. Albert AAA bantam trnmt) | 5 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 |
| Pursuit of Excellence (Kelowna) (CSSL varsity) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
10:25 am – Before the end of round three, we see our first Washington native taken off the draft board, as forward and Wenatchee product Matt Dorsey goes 63rd overall to the Calgary Hitmen. Dorsey is only the third U.S. born player taken in this year’s draft. Congrats Matt!
10:38 am – ‘Tips coming up again soon at 82nd overall in the fourth round. Interesting to note that Everett at one time or another owned picks #81, #82 AND #83. Their own 4th rounder, (#81) went to Kamloops for D Josh Caron in 2011-12, #82 was acquired from Seattle for D Griffin Foulk last year and #83 was gained from Medicine Hat for Miles Koules in 2011-12 – but has since been dealt to Prince George and then from PG to Calgary. That pick has now changed hands four times!
10:47 am – With the 82nd pick, the Silvertips choose American-born forward Brian King from Golden, Colorado. King totaled nine points (5g/4a) in 18 Tier I games with the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders program. Good to have you, Brian!
10:59 am – Congratulations to Jordan Sandhu, younger brother of Silvertips forward Tyler Sandhu, on being selected 88th overall by the Kelowna Rockets with the final pick of the fourth round! The end of round four means it’s time for a lunch break in Calgary, with round five commencing in about 20 minutes.
11:38 am – Round 5 is underway, and it’s about to get awfully busy for the Silvertips. Everett owns three picks in this round: their own, plus Medicine Hat’s pick acquired from Tri-City in the Ryan Chynoweth trade AND Calgary’s pick gained in exchange for Linden Penner. Then the ‘Tips have two picks in the sixth round and two more in the seventh!
11:49 am – With their first pick of the 5th round (#103), the ‘Tips select LW Ryan Anderson from the South Side Athletic Club in Edmonton, Alberta. Anderson was third on his team with 65 points this year on 29 goals and 36 assists in 30 games for the first-place Lions. Welcome Ryan!
| Ryan Anderson – F, 5’8″, 140 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Edmonton SSAC (AMBHL AAA bantam) | 30 | 29 | 36 | 65 | 32 |
| Edmonton SSAC (St. Albert AAA bantam trnmt) | 4 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Edmonton SSAC (AMBHL AAA bantam – PLF) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Edmonton South (Alberta Cup) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
11:51 am – At #105, the ‘Tips have chosen defenseman Jake Christiansen from West Vancouver, BC. Good to have you, Jake!
| Jake Christiansen – D, 5’8″, 150 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Hollyburn Huskies (PCBHL AAA bantam) | 54 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 30 |
11:53 am – Capping off their three 5th-round picks at #107, the ‘Tips select center Connor Dewar from Gilbert Plains, Manitoba. Hello Connor!
| Connor Dewar – F, 5’7″, 145 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Parkland Rangers (WMHA major bantam AAA) | 32 | 35 | 31 | 66 | 48 |
| Parkland Rangers (Manitoba bantam showcase) | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Norman (Manitoba Winter Games) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | n/a |
12:13 pm – With their first pick of the 6th round at #125, the ‘Tips choose RW Riley Sutter from Calgary, Alberta. Riley is a member of THE famous Sutter family as the son of longtime NHLer Ron Sutter.
| Riley Sutter – F, 6’1″, 160 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Calgary Bisons (AMBHL AAA bantam) | 26 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 34 |
| Calgary Bisons (St. Albert AAA bantam trnmt) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Calgary Bisons (AMBHL AAA bantam – PLF) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Calgary South (Alberta Cup) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
12:24 pm – And for the third straight year, the Silvertips have selected a local product! Everett uses the 128th pick on Lake Stevens native and EYH Bantam Junior Silvertips defenseman Wyatte Wylie! He’ll only have to cross the Hewitt Avenue trestle to show up in his hometown rink for training camp this fall! Great to have you, Wyatte.
12:33 pm – Now into round 7, the ‘Tips select another American in LW Carson Dimoff from Scottsdale, Arizona with the 143rd pick. Welcome Carson!
| Carson Dimoff – F, 5’9″, 150 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Phoenix Jr. Coyotes (Tier 1 Elite Major Bantam AAA) | 18 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 22 |
| Phoenix Jr. Coyotes (St. Albert AAA bantam trnmt) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
12:41 pm – And it’s another local boy at #147, as Mukilteo native RW Brendan Studioso is Everett’s latest pick! Good to keep you close to home as well, Brendan! Wyatte and Brendan are the first players from Everett Youth Hockey ever to be selected in the WHL Bantam Draft
1:04 pm – In the 8th round (#169), Everett selects forward Blake Bergquist from Duluth, Minnesota and the Duluth East Bantam AA program. Welcome Blake!
1:27 pm – In the 9th round with the 191st pick, Everett selects D Nate Knoepke from Farmington, Minnesota. Welcome to the organization, Nate!
1:40 pm – The local action in this year’s draft is really starting to heat up now, as four Washington natives have been selected in the last four rounds and five have been taken overall. After Matt Dorsey (Wenatchee, WA) went to Calgary in the third round and the ‘Tips took both Wyatte Wylie (Lake Stevens, WA) and Brendan Studioso (Mukilteo, WA), Tri-City selected goaltender Dominik Vlaha (North Bend, WA) in the eighth round and Seattle picked forward John Ormsby (Monroe, WA) in round nine. Congratulations to all our local players and we hope to see you in the WHL someday!
1:53 pm – With the 213th pick in the 10th round, the ‘Tips select defenseman Matt Anderson from Holy Family in Minnesota. Welcome Matt!
| Matt Anderson – D, 5’11”, 170 lb | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Holy Family (Minnesota H.S.) | 25 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 9 |
2:18 pm – Still going in the 11th round, the ‘Tips select Minnesota defenseman Reid Hill, a teammate of Blake Bergquist with the Duluth East Bantam program with the 235th pick. Welcome, Reid!
2:28 pm – And after every team passes in round 12, the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft has come to an end – seven hours and over 200 picks after it began. Thanks so much to everyone who followed along this morning to find out about the next generation of Everett Silvertips stars! Keep an eye out for more information coming up about the Silvertips’ picks and additional facts being added about some of the players above.
