Wheat Kings Select Twelve

The 2011 Western Hockey League Bantam draft was held Thursday in Calgary and the Brandon Wheat Kings selected a total of twelve players, including two in the opening round - for the first time in seventeen years.

The Wheat Kings, who finished the 2010-11 season as the youngest team in the WHL, had the eleventh and twenty-second overall selections Thursday morning and used them to draft 5'10" 169 lb defenceman Kord Pankewicz and highly touted netminder Jordan Papirny respectively.

A Drayton Valley, Alberta  product, Pankewicz scored 22 goals and 69 points in 33 games with the Leduc Bantams this past season and was the highest scoring defenceman in the AMBHL.

"He's a real good player...tremendous poise...has a big shot who controls the game from the defence position," says Brandon Wheat Kings' general manager and head coach Kelly McCrimmon.

Meanwhile Papirny was thought to be the best goaltender available in Thursday's draft. A 5'10" 140 lb Edmonton product, McCrimmon says the Wheat Kings didn't hesitate in making him the first ever netminder to be chosen in the opening round in franchise history.

"We really stepped up to take a goalkeeper...but we felt strongly about this player. Because we had the luxury of having two first round picks and since we believe that he was the best goalkeeper available we're happy to add him."

Papirny compiled an impressive 14-2-2 record, a goals against average of 1.81 and a .918 save percentage with the Edmonton SSAC Bantam Lions this past year.

In round two, Brandon chose Roblin's Jayce Hawryluk. A member of the Russell Bantam Rams in 2010-11, the 5'9" 150 lb Hawryluk scored 138 goals and 264 points in 54 games this past winter.

Round three saw the Wheat Kings return to Edmonton and the Lions, choosing 6' 190 lb left-winger John Quenneville. In 33 games this season, he scored 35 goals and 75 points, which was good for fourth place in league scoring.

With their only pick in the fourth round, the Wheat Kings looked to the Winnipeg Hawks and 6' 160 lb center Dallas Starodub. In 30 games this past season, Starodub scored 28 goals and 56 points in helping Winnipeg capture the provincial bantam title.

The Wheat Kings had a total of three picks in the fifth round and used them to select local product Brett Kitt (94th), center Ryley Lindgren from East St. Paul Manitoba (96th) and defenceman Riley Van Horne of Calgary (99th).

At 6' 178 lbs., Kitt scored sixteen goals and 28 points in 28 games for the Bantam AAA Wheat Kings in 2010-11. The 5'10" 145 lb Lindgren scored 21 goals and 35 points in 30 games for the Winnipeg Sharks while the 6'1" 165 lb Van Horne had three goals and 23 points for the Calgary Royals.

The Wheat Kings, who didn't have a pick in either the sixth or seventh rounds, had back to back selections in round eight and opted for 5'8" 148 lb center MacKenzie Bauer of Three Hills, Alberta (165th) and 5'8" 140 lb right-winger Jason Miller of Stony Plain, Alberta (166th overall).  Miller scored 22 goals and 43 points in 31 games for Spruce Grove Bantams this past season while Bauer scored 35 goals and 72 points in 33 games for the Airdrie Xtreme.

In the ninth round, Brandon selected 6'2" 165 lb defenceman Dominic Thom from Calgary. In 28 games with the Calgary North Stars last season, Thom had eleven assists and 60 minutes in penalties.

Brandon's tenth round and final selection of the day (209th overall) turned out to be Beaumont, Alberta left-winger Liam Gregor. A teammate of Pankewicz with Leduc this past season, Gregor scored 68 points including thirty goals in 33 games.

Of the twelve players chosen by the Wheat Kings - there was one goalkeeper, three defencemen and eight forwards. Four were from Manitoba - Hawryluk, Starodub, Kitt and Lindgren. The other eight call Alberta home.

Some interesting bloodlines among the players drafted by Brandon on Thursday. While Pankewicz is a cousin of former Regina Pat and Manitoba Moose forward Greg Pankewicz, Quenneville is a cousin of Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. Miller's great uncle  is former Wheat King Don Gillen.

Brandon's second first round pick this year was one of the key pieces that the Wheat Kings acquired from the Blades in January's deal that saw former captain Brayden Schenn go to Saskatoon. In 1994 - the last year that Brandon had two first round picks - the Wheaties chose David Darguzas and Josh Woitas.

The Calgary Hitmen, who finished last in the WHL this past season, had the first overall selection in Thursday's draft and used it to select Abbotsford BC right-winger Jake Virtanen. The Swift Current Broncos had the second pick and opted for defenceman Brycen Martin of Calgary. With their first of two first round picks, Lethbridge selected Warman, Saskatchewan blueliner Ryan Pilon.

The top Manitoban chosen was Wawanesa's Jordan Thomson, who went fourth overall to the Kamloops Blazers. Thomson is a 5'11" 165 lb blueliner who spent this past season with the Southwest AAA Midget Cougars.

Thomson was one of nine players from western Manitoba to be chosen in this year's draft and Wawanesa was one of seven communities to be represented, joining Boissevain, Russell, Roblin, Elkhorn, Souris and Virden.