Bedard signs WHL Standard Player Agreement
with Pats
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| Brayden Yager had an outstanding season with the Contacts. |
WHL Bantam Draft is lining up to be a special day for
Brayden Yager and Riley Heidt.
The two skilled forwards met in spring hockey at around age
eight and have played together in Saskatoon and the surrounding area ever
since. Last season, they both gained special permission from the Saskatchewan
Hockey Association to play as 14-year-old underage players in the Saskatchewan
Midget AAA Hockey League with the Saskatoon Contacts.
Due to an SHA rule change, the pair had to go through an
application process to enter the midget AAA level as underage players, where
they were interviewed by officials from the SHA, and SHA officials also
interviewed some of their school teachers.
Yager and Heidt were both prospects to be tagged for exceptional
player status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as 15-year-olds. Their
applications for that status were denied.
Still, they are pegged to potentially to be selected second
and third overall in the Wednesday’s WHL Bantam Draft after phenom forward
Connor Bedard, who is the first player to be granted exceptional player status
to play in the WHL. The WHL Bantam Draft will be held online starting at 10
a.m. Saskatchewan time.
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| Riley Heidt had a stellar season with the Contacts. |
This year’s WHL Bantam Draft is being held online due to the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
After obtaining the first overall selection in the WHL
Bantam Draft after the WHL Bantam Draft Lottery held on March 25, the Regina
Pats let it be known they were going to select Bedard, who was granted
exceptional player status on March 24.
Bedard, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 165 pounds, played
for West Vancouver Academy’s under-18 team this past season in the Canadian
Sport School Hockey League. He piled up 43 goals and 41 assists for 84 points
in 36 games.
For his efforts, Bedard was named the MVP of the CSSHL’s
under-18 division.
Due to having the first overall pick, the Pats were
permitted to negotiate with Bedard before selecting him in the WHL Bantam
Draft.
On Tuesday, the Pats signed Bedard to a WHL Standard Player Agreement before even formally selecting him first overall in the WHL Bantam
Draft. That allowed the Pats and the WHL to announce the signing on Tuesday and
gain a sizable media hit both locally and nationally that including holding an
online media press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“Obviously, it is a dream come true,” said Bedard, who will
turn 15-years-old in July. “When I was a young guy growing up watching the WHL,
I always had dreams of playing there.
“Getting the chance to be with the oldest organization in
the league and such a great organization, I’m obviously couldn’t be happier,
and I am very excited to get started.”
On a marketing front, this turned out to be gold for the WHL
as a league. They got a big media hit on Tuesday the day before the Bantam
Draft with Bedard officially signing with the Pats, who are the oldest
franchise in major junior hockey dating back to 1917.
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| Brayden Yager will be a great addition to any WHL roster. |
The circuit will get another big hit on Wednesday with the Bantam
Draft itself.
With Bedard’s signing out of the way, that allows Yager and
Heidt to step into the spotlight for Wednesday’s proceedings.
They had outstanding campaigns as underage players helping
the Contacts finish third overall in the tough SMAAAHL with a 30-12-2 regular
season record.
Yager, who stands 6-feet and weighs 163 pounds, appeared in
all of the Contacts 44 regular season games piling up 18 goals and 24 assists
for 42 points. Heidt, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 160 pounds, also appeared
in all of the Contacts 44 regular season games posting 17 goals and 20 assists
for 37 points.
Both players have turned 15-years-old.
Before joining the Contacts, Yager and Heidt lived in
Dundurn, Sask., and played two seasons of bantam AA hockey with the
Martensville Marauders. With the Marauders in 2018-19, Yager piled up 44 goals
and 59 assists for 103 points in 31 regular season games.
Heidt was also impressive that same season with the
Marauders compiling 36 goals and 63 assists for 99 points in 31 regular season
games.
This past season, WHL scouts flocked to Contacts games to
see Yager and Heidt in action.
 |
| Riley Heidt displayed a maturity beyond his years. |
They gave midget AAA spectators huge bang for
their buck, because the onlookers got to see something special performance wise
night in and night out.
They both have a maturity way beyond their years, and when
you talk to them, you wouldn’t realize how young they actually are outside of
their baby faces being a giveaway.
While they weren’t granted exceptional player status, Yager
and Heidt are as close to sure bets as you can get that they will be stars in
the WHL. On and off the ice, they are two individuals you don’t see come along
very often at age 15.
At the moment, the Prince George Cougars hold the second
overall selection, the Moose Jaw Warriors the third overall pick and the
Tri-City Americans hold the fourth overall selection.
The Saskatoon Blades will pick fifth overall in the first
round and usually in the 11th spot in subsequent rounds.
The Prince Albert Raiders have the 15th overall
selection in the first round and will usually select in the 15th
spot in subsequent rounds.
On Wednesday, Yager and Heidt will step into the WHL’s
bright lights for the first time, and you can expect it is a moment they are
ready for and will be the continuation of their special stories.
Pronghorns hockey gets chopped, other notes
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| Russell Maxwell in action for the Pronghorns men’s hockey team last season. |
The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns hockey teams fell
victim to the financial numbers game.
On Monday, the U of L announced both the men’s and women’s
Pronghorns hockey teams were discontinued due to sizable post-secondary budget
cuts from the Government of Alberta.
A total of 52 student-athletes were affected by the decision
including several recruits and coaches for the two U Sports teams.
The U of L said it will continue to honour scholarship
commitments to the Pronghorns athletes for the axed programs, if they elect to
continue their studies at the institution.
Both Pronghorns hockey teams finished last in their
respective eight-team circuits in the Canada West Conference. The men’s team
posted a 5-20-2-1 record, while the women’s team had a 9-16-1-2 mark.
A number of Pronghorns players and alums of both teams
expressed surprise by the move via social media saying it came out of the blue.
A number of critics said via social media there should have been discussions
about alternative ways to fundraise to support the teams.
Unfortunately in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic causing
massive shutdowns to occur across Canada, I suspected you could find more
announcements like this one happening.
It should be noted that COVID-19 was not referenced in the
released issued by the U of L stating the Pronghorns hockey teams were being
cut. I believe it is fair to say that the current COVID-19 situation likely
hastened the decision to cut the Pronghorns hockey teams.
 |
| Kyra Greig was a Pronghorns women’s team standout. |
If there was not COVID-19 pandemic situation, you could
safely argue the cuts were heartless. With COVID-19 hanging like a specter over
the world, most businesses have experienced massive cuts to revenue, and to be
realistic, the sponsorship dollars aren’t out there.
Right now, businesses are doing what they can to hold on to
money and assets.
Due to the uncertainty about how long the COVID-19 pandemic
could go on, the odds to successfully fundraise to keep the Pronghorns hockey
teams going would not be good.
It is sad to see the Pronghorns hockey teams become a
casualty here. The men’s hockey team debuted in the 1984-85 campaign.
In the 1993-94 season, the Pronghorns men’s team won their
only Canada West championship and U Sports national title in the lone season
the squad had Mike Babcock as head coach. Babcock would go on to rise to star
status as an NHL head coach.
The Pronghorns women’s team debuted in the 1997-98 campaign,
which was the inaugural season for U Sports women’s hockey. The Pronghorns
women’s hockey team appeared in U Sports nationals in 2003.
Unfortunately going forward, the Pronghorns hockey teams
might not be the only programs in Canadian sports that cease to exist during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
- On Friday, Gerry
Moddejonge of Postmedia did a story on letter his media organization
obtained from University of Alberta athletic director Ian Reade to Golden
Bears and Pandas coaches, sponsors, donors, volunteers and alums outlining
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the school’s sports and recreation
programs. That goes on top of cuts the Government of Alberta is making to
post-secondary institutions. Overall, the U of A athletics program is one
of the most storied in U Sports and has diversified revenue sources under
normal circumstances. Reade wrote in his letter, “As you can see, however,
we could not plan for a situation where every revenue source is eliminated
or threatened.” Moddejonge’s story can be found by clicking right here.
- On Tuesday, Saskatoon
Youth Soccer Incorporated cancelled the outdoor season for May and June
for all under-5 and under-19 leagues registered with its member zones and
community associations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and measures that have
been put in place by various governments to fight that pandemic.
- TheWHL continued to
announce its player awards online. On Monday, Calen Addison of the
Lethbridge Hurricanes was named the Eastern Conference defenceman of the
year. Playing through his 19-year-old season, Addison appeared in 50
regular season games recording 10 goals, 42 assists and a plus-seven
rating in the plus-minus department. Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs was
named the Western Conference defenceman of the year. Smith appeared in 46
regular season games with the Chiefs recording 19 goals, 40 assists and a
plus-49 rating. On Tuesday, centre Dylan Cozens of the Hurricanes was
named the Eastern Conference player of the year. Skating through his
18-year-old season, Cozens appeared in 51 regular season games recording
38 goals, 47 assists and a plus-23 rating. Adam Beckman, who is an
18-year-old left-winger with the Chiefs and a Saskatoon product, was named
the Western Conference player of the year. Beckman appeared in 63 regular
season games with the Chiefs recording 48 goals, 59 assists and a plus-44
rating. He was the leading scorer in the WHL.
- The Prince Albert Raiders
continued to roll out their team awards online. On Monday, overage captain
and star defenceman Zack Hayes was named the winner of the Players Choice
Award, which is voted on by the players for their teammate who best
exemplifies what it means to be a Prince Albert Raider. Also on Monday,
Hayes and sophomore import centre Aliaksei Protas, who was playing through
his 18-year-old season, were named the co-winner of the Orland Kurtenbach
Award as the team’s most valuable player.
- The Saskatoon Blades put
out a fun video on Twitter on Monday. They did a pass the puck challenge,
where fans submitted videos that the Blades out together to make it look
like their faithful were passing the puck to each other. The final product
was enjoyable to watch.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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