Bantam Draft Preview W/ Alan Millar

Future Moose Jaw Warriors will be decided this Thursday during the league’s annual Bantam Draft in Calgary.

Last season the tribe used their first pick (2^nd round, 33^rd overall) to draft goalie Zachary Sawchenko, in 2011 they utilized two first round pick to draft Brayden Point (14^th overall) and Miles Warkentine (16^th overall).  Leading into this year’s draft there has excitement due to the face that the team is making the fifth overall pick, and will be looking to land a cornerstone player.

“The goal is to play as long as you can; it’s our goal in the future to be playing at this time of the year.  That’s ultimately why we made some of the decisions we made this past season, the end result is the six non-playoff teams went into the lottery and we came out with the fifth overall pick,” said Warriors General Manager Alan Millar.

“I think it’s a very strong group of players at the top of the draft,” he added.  “I think it’s a very versatile group in terms of by position and the types of players that are available.  I think they’re all very close in terms of their abilities, and you certainly have some options by position and what type of player you like.”

For many, the WHL Trade Deadline Day is viewed as the biggest day of the year, however, Millar is adamant even though deadline day brings excitement, the Bantam Draft is the biggest day of the year.

“The reality is that for the most part trade deadline day has more hype to it, it has more appeal from a fan and media perspective.  The reality is that in terms of importance to the organization it’s not even close how important draft day is compared to trade deadline day.”

“Draft day is much more important, it’s much more vital to our organization.  That is the day that is the lifeblood of our organization,” added Millar.  “Our organization wants to draft and develop more than we want to trade.  This is an important process, it’s yearlong.  It’s all part of our scouting and player development and it culminates with the most important day of the year and a very important day for the organization.”

Preparations for the Bantam Draft begin long before the teams gather in Calgary, management and scouts spend countless hours identifying players.  Millar says this is when he leans on Assistant General Manager and Head Scout Rob Maclachlan and his scouts.

“Under Rob’s great leadership, those are the guys who are in the rinks five or six days a week and 12 to 14 hour days the weekends of big tournaments.  Rob plays a critical role on the hockey club, not only as our head scout but as Assistant General Manager.  He’s my right hand man in terms of all hockey decisions whether that’s with our roster and player moves.”

“He takes a lead role in regards to the Bantam Draft and works very closely with his staff who are a bunch of loyal, trusting, and hard-working guys.  They are very committed to the program, they’re very committed to the success of the Warriors, they’re certainly a very solid team of their own away from our roster but are a big part of our team.”

Moose Jaw owns the fifth overall pick and then won’t make a selection until the fourth round where they own two draft slots.  “We head into draft week without a second (round) based on the Cam Braes deal a year ago, and we’re without a third (round) as a result of the James Henry deal a year ago.  Things could change but at the same time we have no regrets with those moves in terms of trying to win a WHL championship a year ago,” explained Millar.

“Moving forward we feel confident with our list,” added Millar.  “Obviously five is an important pick but two picks at the top of the fourth will be key for us on this day.”

“We want to be a skating team.  We want to be a hard working team.  We want to draft players who have good hockey sense, and certainly the type of person and character are all what we’re looking for,” Millar said on the type of players they’re looking for.  “Ultimately we want to play the game the right way, we want players who work hard and compete hard.  We want to be a skating team, we want to be fast and play a high-tempo game.  Those are certainly things that we look for in players, but as the day goes along you try to project and fill some slots.

“The impact of this draft is three years away.  You’re organizational needs are certainly projected but change as you go along.  The only time when we’ll consider organizational needs, which traditionally is by position or the type of player you want, is when we feel when it’s our pick that the two players are very close.  In saying that, if everything is not equal or not a tossup in the player, we will take the best player available.”

Warriors management and scouts will attend the WHL Awards Luncheon Wednesday, and then make final preparations for Thursday Bantam Draft.

The Vancouver Giants own the first overall pick; the Regina Pats will select second; Prince George and Brandon pick third and fourth; Moose Jaw and Lethbridge select fifth and sixth.

You can follow the WHL Bantam Draft at WHL.ca; follow @MJWARRIORS and @jamesgallo2 to receive up to the minute details from the draft.

Below are the results for the Warriors at the last three Bantam Drafts:

2012
Name	RND	Overall
Zachary Sawchenko	2	33
Ryan Gardiner	3	52
Dustin Perrilat	4	82
Ethan Williams	5	90
Tyler Brown	5	106
Ethan Lazaro	7	150
Christos Zinis	8	172
Shane Roulette	9	194
Zac Whitby	10	211
Riley Thomsen	10	216
Blake Holowaty	11	238

 

2011
Name	RND	Overall
Brayden Point	1	14
Miles Warkentine	1	16
Josh Uhrich	2	33
Logan Hermus	4	80
Jaden Sveinson	6	130
Royce Rossignol	7	146
Ben Duperreault	8	168
Tanner Lewis	9	190
Brandon Del Grosso	9	191

 

2010
Name	RND	Overall
Carter Hansen	1	10
Torrin White	1	21
Brandon Potomak	2	32
Spencer Morse	2	43
Braiden Doucette	4	76
Daniel Wapple	4	82
Kurt Keats	5	95
Jordan Wiest	6	120
Braydon MacDonald	6	124
Conner Baugh	7	142
Latrell Charelson	7	154
Justin Paulic	8	164