2019 WHL Bantam Draft

[Huck Cheever]

Anyone watching the Chilliwack International Challenge Cup this weekend

 

[Labrador]

Got to watch several games on hockeytv and made a point of trying to watch West Van Burnaby and DG. DG seemed to impress me the most. WV and BWC; jury is still out for me. Would like to see them play stronger teams

Who should we be keeping an eye out for? Anyone impressing early amongst those 3 teams?

 

[Huck Cheever]

Who should we be keeping an eye out for? Anyone impressing early amongst those 3 teams?

Connor Bedard on West Van is an 05 birth but is tearing the CSSHL up. He played in the Bantam Teir 1 Division at Kibiht last year and was a standout. He was supposed to be in peewee....

 

[bdu754]

Haven't seen them play and their game vs. BWC wasn't broadcast. BWC handled them fairly easily by the looks of the score. Tough to tell how the team will be until they get a few more games in. They have some out of country players, Beijing x 2, Hong Kong, Norway, Korea. Anyone seen any of them play? How do they stack up in the 04 group talent wise? I think Shawnigan may struggle to be a top team this year, but once they have enough time to come together as a team, they may surprise.

You might not believe me, but I am friends with one of their players, Alex Pan. I also met one of their out of country players, Teddy, and his family. They're both pretty good people off the ice, and Alex is really nice. Both of them put in a lot of work in training and their work ethic should really boost their draft stock for the bantam draft.

 

[howbowdat]

looks like OHA E was a powerhouse this past weekend and the top club teams couldn't really hang with the top cshhl. Which is not really a surprise nor should be.

 

[Maritimehky]

Savoie is the best minor midget player in Canada. Be surprised if he didnt get exceptional status along with Shane Wright in Ontario.

 

[Capitals03]

Savoie is a very good player. The 2nd overall is a not close compared to last year. ( Where any number of 7 to 10 players could have gone 1) Savoie would have gone top 7 for the 03's. He also learned alot last year playing with a very good group.

The O4 year is not as deep as prior years and the 05's are very deep. So 04 parents do not get all excited. Its pretty common the 99's were in the same boat. Some will develop a little later. The 04's and 05's also have to weigh in the mass amounts of teams and organizations. With more teams comes more watered down talent. A player can look great then at St Albert the sizzle is not there.

The 03's have this in the U15 group. Its a very weak group playing in 3 areas ( 4 really) 15's are currently playing in U18, U15, Minor Hockey and MML. Players who were not superstars last year and scoring this year. Pretty simple to see. All of the very strong players are scattered all over. The big test will be the U16 teams playing each other. As for the 04's the best way to see how strong they are is for them to play in the World Select Tournament.

 

[Huck Cheever]

Club teams to watch for,

Calgary Bisons (AMBHL)
Calgary Northstar Sabres (AMBHL)
North Central Zone Cougars (OMAHA)


Any one of these club teams can hang with the top CSSHL teams.

 

[Daximus]

Savoie is the best minor midget player in Canada. Be surprised if he didnt get exceptional status along with Shane Wright in Ontario.

Would be the first time two kids from the same draft year applied for it. They will likely both get it as well if they do.

 

[Huck Cheever]

Savoie is the best minor midget player in Canada. Be surprised if he didnt get exceptional status along with Shane Wright in Ontario.

Savoie is playing Midget PREP, not minor midget. He's playing the highest AAA caliber in Western Canada that rivals Major Midget (BCMML).

Minor midget is an Elite 15s for club hockey which is alot lower in caliber than Midget Prep.

 

[howbowdat]

Got to watch a bedard play last night in person. They suffered first loss to Rink which was their first league game.

Bedard is really good. Not quite Savoie good. But certainly leads his group.

 

[Capitals03]

Would be the first time two kids from the same draft year applied for it. They will likely both get it as well if they do.

While anything is possible, I would not bet on either one. They are very good players. but they are not Matthew Barzel caliber... yet. And he did not get it either. They dont hand it out every year. Nor should they , it does not do anything for them.( maybe parents ego) You dont want to injure them to the point where they could end their careers. They have have the skill set, but they also need the street smarts of learning who this works and how to grow. There is no hurry. He may go NCAA. Which would take the whole WHL off the table completely. They tried to rush Tyler Benson with the Giants and he had injuries for 3 years. He learned but it takes time.

 

[Huck Cheever]

While anything is possible, I would not bet on either one. They are very good players. but they are not Matthew Barzel caliber... yet. And he did not get it either. They dont hand it out every year. Nor should they , it does not do anything for them.( maybe parents ego) You dont want to injure them to the point where they could end their careers. They have have the skill set, but they also need the street smarts of learning who this works and how to grow. There is no hurry. He may go NCAA. Which would take the whole WHL off the table completely. They tried to rush Tyler Benson with the Giants and he had injuries for 3 years. He learned but it takes time.

Savoie is born on Jan.1st... he's literally hours away from being a midget. He IS a legitimate midget who should play Major Jr or Jr.A next yr.

Benson was more physically mature than most bantams that age, different situation. Savoie's skating is levels above Benson at the same age.

 

[howbowdat]

Delta Green certainly has the most draft potential kids. They are deep! Some good talent at csshl showcase this past weekend

 

[Huck Cheever]

Anybody check out the draft guides for the 2004s? Draft geek has a good reputation but I think they're out to lunch on some of their BC player rankings.

 

[howbowdat]

Anybody check out the draft guides for the 2004s? Draft geek has a good reputation but I think they're out to lunch on some of their BC player rankings.

Curious. You mean too high, too low or all over?

 

[Huck Cheever]

Curious. You mean too high, too low or all over?

They're all over the place when it comes to the top Okanagan players. I get they don't take in as much club hockey in the Okanagan so Ill let that one go. The cream rises to the top eventually.

 

[howbowdat]

Well that’s just it. And parents worrying about why Johnny is ranked 65th and he’s a legit first rounder need to understand that if he is; the scouts know that. They aren’t sitting at the draft table saying we can’t take this kid ***** and ***** had him at 65th.

 

[Huck Cheever]

Well that’s just it. And parents worrying about why Johnny is ranked 65th and he’s a legit first rounder need to understand that if he is; the scouts know that. They aren’t sitting at the draft table saying we can’t take this kid ***** and ***** had him at 65th.

I don't have a kid in this draft, nor do I know any of them ranked... I'm just saying i've seen lots of these players and club hockey especially in BC doesn't get scouted enough and the rankings show it. Look at last year with Seafair AAA. Not sayin X PLAYER should be higher, I'm just saying the best players in the region are scattered and not quite organized right IMO.

 

[WHLINDEPENDANT]

Well that’s just it. And parents worrying about why Johnny is ranked 65th and he’s a legit first rounder need to understand that if he is; the scouts know that. They aren’t sitting at the draft table saying we can’t take this kid ***** and ***** had him at 65th.

Who are these rankings for? Who comes out with them and why? Parents seem to think they are written in stone and that it is an official rating for scouts. I have seen some of these lists and there are kids ranked high who I have seen and are average at best and some that are rated low that are fun to watch and know the game but have been flying under the radar the last few years. Some of these kids are high on the list because they have been talked about for years but they are average at best.

 

[Huck Cheever]

Who are these rankings for? Who comes out with them and why? Parents seem to think they are written in stone and that it is an official rating for scouts. I have seen some of these lists and there are kids ranked high who I have seen and are average at best and some that are rated low that are fun to watch and know the game but have been flying under the radar the last few years. Some of these kids are high on the list because they have been talked about for years but they are average at best.

Not sure if WHL teams use these lists as an easier way to consolidate the available players at the draft...or if these lists are just for parents/friends to buy.

I like reading these lists and reports because Im a big fan of WHL & grassroots hockey. Sometimes i see an average player ranked high and wonder the bias around certain players... are these lists really unbiased like they claim?

 

[howbowdat]

Not sure if WHL teams use these lists as an easier way to consolidate the available players at the draft...or if these lists are just for parents/friends to buy.

I imagine it's used for both reasons you stated; moreso by the latter. Actually heavily leaned on by the latter. I think scouts might look for kids they have missed or use as just a basic ID list. But if they are using it as an actual draft ranking I imagine they could lose there jobs by some of the decisions made based on it.

I like reading these lists and reports because Im a big fan of WHL & grassroots hockey. Sometimes i see an average player ranked high and wonder the bias around certain players... are these lists really unbiased like they claim?

With these lists; it's all opinion just like the draft table. Certain "hockey minds" value certain things.

 

[WHLINDEPENDANT]

Well this year I have seen 4th line players ranked higher than their 2nd line team mates. I do think thers a little bias abut players for sure, and yes, a scout would lose his job if he were to go by some of these lists. Some kids that shined a few years ago still remain rated high even though they have been outplayed by some new kids on the scene. Rumor has it that if you subscribe to the list your kid will remain on the list. Having said that, the top 20 are usually accurate for the most part. it when you get to the 3-4-5th rounders that it can get a little weird.

 

[Huck Cheever]

Well this year I have seen 4th line players ranked higher than their 2nd line team mates. I do think thers a little bias abut players for sure, and yes, a scout would lose his job if he were to go by some of these lists. Some kids that shined a few years ago still remain rated high even though they have been outplayed by some new kids on the scene. Rumor has it that if you subscribe to the list your kid will remain on the list. Having said that, the top 20 are usually accurate for the most part. it when you get to the 3-4-5th rounders that it can get a little weird.

Ive compared WEHP and Draftgeek this year...WEHP actually looks more unbiased. As for DG, in the 3rd to 5th rnd range I see players ranked that I didn't think were getting any looks by scouts.

One player I was surprised didn't get selected late was 2003 Owen Barrow (Thompson Blazers). He had decent offense and could play a rough game too. He led his club team to the BC Cup and went unselected. That's where I see bias towards academy hockey and club players don't get their fair shake from scouts.

 

[WHLINDEPENDANT]

Anybody check out the draft guides for the 2004s? Draft geek has a good reputation but I think they're out to lunch on some of their BC player rankings.

Where is this? Id like to see. What rankings is he out to lunch on? I find most of these sites are absurd very obviously biased after the top 10. Sadly there are players that will never make these lists that are playing in minor and better than some of the ones playing CSSHL