MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Tigers have selected the following 11 players in the 2019 Bantam Draft.
First Round
With the 12th overall pick, the Tigers selected Oasiz Wiesblatt, a forward with the Calgary CBHA Bisons.
During his last season with the Bisons, Wiesblatt had 55 points (19 goals, 36 assists) in 28 games.
Wiesblatt, who is listed as 5’5” and 145 lbs, is the youngest of four bothers. His siblings Ocean, Orca, and Ozzy have all played junior hockey.
Second Round
The Tigers were busy in the second round, selecting a total of three players.
The team added left-winger Cayden Glover (25th overall), defenceman Henry Smith (34th overall) and centre Brayden Boehm(37th overall).
Glover, who played for the bantam Brandon Wheat Kings, had 66 points (47 goals, 19 assists) in 36 games. He is listed at 5’9” tall and weighs 162 lbs.
Smith and Boehm both played for the Delta Hockey Academy in British Columbia last season. Smith had 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 29 games during the regular season, while Boehm had 40 points in 30 games (16 goals, 24 assists).
Smith is listed as 5’10” and 168 lbs, while Boehm is 5’10” and 160 lbs.
Third Round
The team added a forward and defenceman during the third round of the draft.
Ryan Nolan, who played defence for the Calgary Northstar Sabres, was picked 56th overall, while forward Oren Shtrom was picked immediately after.
Nolan had 24 points in 31 games with the Northstars (8 goals, 16 assists) last season.
Shtrom, who is from Gilbert, Arizona, had 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 12 games with the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes.
Shtrom is also one of three American players the Tigers selected during this year’s draft.
Fifth round
The Tigers did not select in the fourth round, and drafted their only goaltender this year in the fifth round.
Dylan Silverstein of Calabasas, California was selected 95th overall. He played for the Islanders Hockey Club of the United States Premier Hockey League (16U) last season. In 13 games, he had a 3.46 goals against average and a 0.885 save percentage.
Sixth Round
Two prospects were drafted by the team in the sixth round.
Red Deer’s Tyler MacKenzie was selected 122nd overall, while Winnipeg’s Ben Bonni was selected 129th overall.
MacKenzie spent the 2018-19 season as a forward with the Red Deer Rebels bantam AAA team, scoring 51 points (20 goals, 31 assists) in 32 games.
Bonni, a defenceman with the Winnipeg Sharks, recorded six goals and 15 assists in 33 games.
Seventh Round
Emanuel Hudson from Lethbridge was drafted in the seventh round. He spent his last season as a defenceman with with the Golden Hawks, recording 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 33 games.
Eighth Round
The Tigers’ final pick for this year’s draft was defenceman Will Sinclair, picked 166th overall.
The Fullerton, California native played for the Rocky Mountain Roughriders, where he had 10 points in 30 games (four goals, six assists).
The first look at the drafted players will take place at the Prospects Orientiation Camp on May 24 at the Family Leisure Centre. A post from the Tigers says drafted and listed players born in 2003 and 2004 will be at the camp.
The on-ice sessions will be open to the public and free to attend. The team will release a schedule closer to the event.
Note: All statistics in the article are courtesy of Elite Prospects.
