Tuesday, 21 April 2020

Yager, Heidt to step into WHL Bantam Draft spotlight

Bedard signs WHL Standard Player Agreement with Pats

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. 
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.
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

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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