 |
| Riley Heidt, in the air right, celebrates a playoff goal with the Contacts. |
Having been
best friends since playing spring hockey together at age eight, Heidt and Yager
were selected second and third overall respectively in the first round of the
WHL Bantam Draft. The draft, which was originally slated for May 7 in Red Deer,
Alta., was conducted via an online format on Wednesday due to the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.
Heidt went
second overall to the Prince George Cougars. Yager was selected third overall
by the Moose Jaw Warriors.
It is hard
to imagine that two 15-year-olds from Saskatoon and the surrounding area could
be picked with back-to-back selections in the WHL Bantam Draft ever again. The
two skilled forwards were allowed to play last year as 14-year-old underage
players in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League with the Saskatoon
Contacts.
The two
were taken after forward Connor Bedard was picked first overall by the Regina
Pats. The Pats stated they would select Bedard after landing the first overall
selection in the WHL Bantam Draft Lottery held on March 25 and as a
result, the WHL allowed the Pats to sign Bedard to a WHL Standard Player
Agreement on Tuesday.
Bedard is the first player to be granted exceptional status
to play in the WHL full time as a 15-year-old.
 |
| Riley Heidt was picked second overall by the Prince George Cougars. |
Even without getting that tag, they are viewed as can’t miss
prospects.
They have elite skill sets you rarely see in other players.
They have maturity that is beyond their years.
If you didn’t see their baby faces, you would think they
would a lot older than 15 years of age.
They have been best friends for an extend period of time.
Overall,
they are just a cool story.
Can anyone
remember a pair of best friends that have come up through minor hockey together
and proceeded to be highly touted prospects to play in one of CHL’s three major
junior leagues?
That would
be a hard question for even the biggest hockey statistics geek to answer.
Before
joining the Contacts, Heidt and Yager played two seasons together for the
Martensville Marauders bantam AA team from 2017 to 2019 while residing in
Dundurn, Sask.
During
their final campaign with the Marauders in 2018-19, they put up mindboggling
numbers.
Heidt compiled
36 goals and 63 assists for 99 points in 31 regular season games. Yager piled
up 44 goals and 59 assists for 103 points in 31 regular season games.
 |
| Brayden Yager was picked third overall by the Moose Jaw Warriors. |
The puck moved effortlessly between the two on rushes and in
the offensive zone.
The Saskatchewan midget AAA league is a tough circuit for
younger players to play in, and both had outstanding campaigns with the
Contacts.
Heidt, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 160 pounds, appeared
in all of the Contacts 44 regular season games posting 17 goals and 20 assists
for 37 points. Yager, who stands 6-feet and weighs 163 pounds, also appeared in
all of the Contacts 44 regular season games piling up 18 goals and 24 assists
for 42 points.
Together,
they helped the Contacts finish third overall in the SMAAAHL with a 30-12-2
regular season record.
WHL scouts
flocked to Contacts games to see the duo play all season. Both went to WHL teams
that really wanted them.
Their
selections marked a highlight day for the province of Saskatchewan at the
draft. A total of 53 players were chosen from Saskatchewan which was second
most out of the four provinces in Western Canada.
They weren’t
the only players from Saskatoon and area to be selected in the first round too.
Offensive defenceman Reid Andresen, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 125 pounds,
went 11th overall to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Andresen posted 13
goals and 38 assists for 51 points in 31 regular season games with the
Saskatoon bantam AA Generals last season.
 |
| Riley Heidt had 37 points in 44 games with the Contacts. |
Out of the
other Saskatchewan selections from the first round, another potential head
turner might be Kalan Lind from Shaunavon, Sask. Lind, who stands 5-foot-10 and
weighs 145 pounds, piled up 68 goals and 52 assists for 120 points in 27 games
with the Swift Current bantam AA Broncos.
He is the
younger brother of Kole Lind, who starred for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets from
2014 to 2018 and currently plays for the AHL’s Utica Comets, and Taylor Lind, who
starred for the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats of the Saskatchewan
Female Midget AAA Hockey League from 2016 to 2019 and currently played for the
St. Cloud State University Huskies women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks.
Kalan Lind
was selected sixth overall by the Red Deer Rebels.
The
Saskatoon Blades selected 11 players in the WHL Bantam Draft. With the fifth
overall selection in the first round, the Blades picked defenceman Tanner Molendyk
from McBride, B.C.
 |
| Brayden Yager had 42 points in 44 games with the Contacts. |
The Prince
Albert Raiders took nine players in the WHL Bantam Draft. With the 15th
overall selection in the first round, the Raiders picked towering defensive defenceman
Terrell Goldsmith from Fort St. James, B.C.
Goldsmith,
who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 199 pounds, posted four goals and 15 assists for
19 points in 23 regular season games with the Delta Hockey Academy Bantam Prep
Green team in Delta, B.C.
Overall,
the WHL Bantam Draft was a banner day for Heidt and Yager, and it marked a
great tribute and celebration for all they’ve accomplished to this point in
hockey as best friends.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
-------
