Bantam Draft Recap
The Western Hockey League held its annual Bantam Draft Thursday, and the Winterhawks selected 10 players.
Here is a recap of all the Winterhawks’ picks:
Player Round/Pick Pos 2010-11 Team GP G A PTS
Zach Paterson 2nd/34th D Edmonton SSAC 29 9 15 24
Tyler Sandhu 2nd/42nd C Seafair Islanders 40 46 45 91
Dominic Turgeon 3rd/64th C Colorado Thunderbirds U14 28 26 22 48
Mitch Skapski 4th/86th LW Abbotsford Hawks 58 33 46 79
Michael Fortin 5th/92nd C Souris Elks 59 108 34 142
Ryan Norman 5th/108th LW Shattuck-St. Mary’s 61 50 50 100
Josh Blanchard 7th/152nd C Kelowna Rockets (KIBIHT AAA) Full season stats not available
Ryan Collins 8th/174th D St. Louis Park Bantam Full season stats not available
Layne Viveiros 9th/196th D Klagenfurter AC (Austria) Full season stats not available
Rhett Willcox 10th/218th F Surrey Thunder 53 23 40 63
The team’s first pick was defenseman Zach Paterson, whom the team traded up to draft 34th overall in the second round. The Winterhawks sent their third, fourth and eighth round picks in the 2012 Bantam Draft to the Victoria WHL franchise for the 34th pick to take Paterson. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, he had nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points in 29 games with the Edmonton South Side Athletic Club.
The Winterhawks were without a first round pick this year, trading it to Vancouver as part of the deal to acquire Craig Cunningham.
With the 42nd pick in the draft, Portland selected center Tyler Sandhu, from Richmond, B.C., who posted 91 points in 40 games for the Seafair Islanders of the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association (PCAHA).
Portland’s third round pick, 64th overall, was Dominic Turgeon from the Colorado Thunderbirds’ U14 team in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League. The son of long-time NHLer Pierre Turgeon, Dominic posted 48 points in 28 games this season.
With their fourth round pick, 86th overall, Portland selected left winger Mitch Skapski from the Abbotsford Hawks of the PCAHA. Skapski had 79 points in 58 games this season.
With two fifth round picks, the Winterhawks took Michael Fortin 92nd overall from Manitoba’s Souris Elks, followed by Ryan Norman from Shattuck St. Mary’s High School in Minnesota 108th overall.
In the seventh round, 152nd overall, Portland took Josh Blanchard from center the Kelowna Rockets AAA team in British Columbia, followed by eighth round pick, 174th overall, Ryan Collins from Minnesota.
The Winterhawks’ ninth round pick, 196th overall, was Layne Viveiros who played last season in Austria. He is the son of former WHL and player Emanuel Viveiros. With their last pick in the draft, Portland selected Rhett Willcox from the Surrey Thunder in the 10th round, 218th overall. Willcox is the brother of Reece Willcox, whom Portland drafted in the third round of the 2009 Bantam Draft.
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