A big Wednesday for Spokane.
For the third time in franchise history, the Chiefs will pick first overall in the W-H-L Draft following this morning’s four phase Prospects Draft Lottery. Formerly known as the Bantam Draft, the 2021 Prospects Draft will be held December 9th. The Saskatoon Blades were among four teams who will not have a first round selection on that date, having previously traded away that choice. The Bridge City Bunch will pick in the second round, 34th overall, plus have three choices in the third round…52nd, 61st and 64th overall. The Prince Albert Raiders ended up with the 14th overall pick from the Lottery.
Plus, the Edmonton Oil Kings swept all seven Central Division awards announced today by the W-H-L. The O-Ks coasted to the division title with a 20-2-1 record. Forward Dylan Guenther was the only multi-award winner, taking the Player-of-the-Year and Most Sportsmanlike honours. He is ranked fifth by Central Scouting for next month’s N-H-L Draft. Following are the news releases from the W-H-L…..
SPOKANE CHIEFS TO SELECT FIRST OVERALL IN 2021 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021
Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League announced today the Spokane Chiefs will select first overall in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft following the completion of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery.
The 2021 WHL Prospects Draft is scheduled for Thursday, December 9, 2021.
All 22 WHL Clubs participated in the four-phase lottery, unique for the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft. The lottery proceedings determined the order of selection for the first round of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, with inverse order of standing from the 2020-21 WHL Regular Season determining the order of selection for the second round and all subsequent rounds.
WATCH: 2021 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT LOTTERY
2021 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT – FIRST ROUND ORDER OF SELECTION
1. Spokane Chiefs
2. Tri-City Americans
3. Brandon Wheat Kings (from Victoria Royals)
4. Brandon Wheat Kings (from Moose Jaw Warriors)
5. Red Deer Rebels
6. Swift Current Broncos
7. Swift Current Broncos (from Portland Winterhawks)
8. Medicine Hat Tigers
9. Seattle Thunderbirds
10. Regina Pats
11. Vancouver Giants
12. Calgary Hitmen
13. Edmonton Oil Kings (from Kelowna Rockets)
14. Prince Albert Raiders
15. Prince George Cougars
16. Moose Jaw Warriors (from Saskatoon Blades)
17. Lethbridge Hurricanes
18. Winnipeg ICE
19. Edmonton Oil Kings
20. Everett Silvertips
21. Kamloops Blazers
22. Brandon Wheat Kings
Teams from Pool B and Pool C had the opportunity to obtain the first-overall selection in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, while WHL Division Champions from Pool A had the opportunity to move up and select sixth overall. The selection process for the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft Lottery was administered by Kevin Jenkin from KPMG.
Pool A teams included WHL Division Champions from 2020-21 – the Brandon Wheat Kings, Edmonton Oil Kings, Everett Silvertips, and Kamloops Blazers.
Pool C teams included the lowest place Club from each of the B.C., Central and U.S. Divisions, and the two lowest place Clubs from the East Division for a total of five teams – the Moose Jaw Warriors, Red Deer Rebels, Swift Current Broncos, Tri-City Americans, and Victoria Royals.
Pool B teams included the Calgary Hitmen, Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Medicine Hat Tigers, Portland Winterhawks, Prince Albert Raiders, Prince George Cougars, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, Vancouver Giants, and Winnipeg ICE.
The order of selection for the second round and all other rounds will be the inverse order of final 2020-21 WHL Regular Season standings.
2021 WHL PROSPECTS DRAFT – SECOND ROUND (AND SUBSEQUENT ROUNDS) ORDER OF SELECTION
*traded picks are not reflected
1. Victoria Royals
2. Red Deer Rebels
3. Swift Current Broncos
4. Tri-City Americans
5. Moose Jaw Warriors
6. Spokane Chiefs
7. Lethbridge Hurricanes
8. Regina Pats
9. Seattle Thunderbirds
10. Prince Albert Raiders
11. Prince George Cougars
12. Vancouver Giants
13. Calgary Hitmen
14. Portland Winterhawks
15. Medicine Hat Tigers
16. Kelowna Rockets
17. Saskatoon Blades
18. Winnipeg ICE
19. Brandon Wheat Kings
20. Kamloops Blazers
21. Everett Silvertips
22. Edmonton Oil Kings
Players eligible for the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft will be 2006-born players who reside in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
WHL NAMES 2020-21 CENTRAL DIVISION AWARD WINNERS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021
Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League announced today the Central Division individual award winners for the 2020-21 WHL season.
WHL Division Awards are voted upon by General Managers and Head Coaches.
All individual WHL Division Award winners will be eligible for the overall WHL Awards, to be announced the week of June 7, 2021.
2020-21 WHL Central Division Award Winners
Central Division Player of the Year presented by Kia Canada – Dylan Guenther (Edmonton, Alta.) – Edmonton Oil Kings
Nominee for WHL Player of the Year (Four Broncos Memorial Trophy)
Central Division Goaltender of the Year – Sebastian Cossa (Fort McMurray, Alta.) – Edmonton Oil Kings
Nominee for WHL Goaltender of the Year (Del Wilson Memorial Trophy)
Central Division Defenceman of the Year presented by RE/MAX of Western Canada – Matthew Robertson (Sherwood Park, Alta.) – Edmonton Oil Kings
Nominee for WHL Defenceman of the Year (Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy)
Central Division Rookie of the Year presented by Wawanesa Insurance – Carson Latimer (Surrey, B.C.) – Edmonton Oil Kings
Nominee for WHL Rookie of the Year (Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy)
Central Division Most Sportsmanlike Player presented by Real Canadian Superstore – Dylan Guenther (Edmonton, Alta.) – Edmonton Oil Kings
Nominee for WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player (Brad Hornung Trophy)
Central Division Scholastic Player of the Year presented by CIBC – Ethan Peters (Moose Jaw, Sask.) – Edmonton Oil Kings
Nominee for WHL Scholastic Player of the Year (Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy)
Central Division Top Scorer presented by Kubota Canada – Jake Neighbours (Airdrie, Alta.) – Edmonton Oil Kings
Nominee for WHL Top Scorer (Bob Clarke Trophy)
WHL Central Division Award Winner Biographies
Forward Dylan Guenther (Edmonton Oil Kings): Guenther scored 12 times in 12 games played, posting 24 points (12G-12A) during the 2020-21 WHL season before helping Canada to a gold medal performance at the 2021 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. The 18-year-old product of Edmonton, Alta. finished third among Oil Kings skaters in goals. The 6-foot-2, 181-pound forward sits #5 among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings ahead of the 2021 NHL Draft, and has amassed 87 points (41G-46A) in 78 WHL regular season games.
Goaltender Sebastian Cossa (Edmonton Oil Kings): In 19 games, Cossa compiled a 17-1-0-1 record, 1.57 goals-against average, 0.941 save percentage, and four shutouts as the Oil Kings captured the Central Division title. The 6-foot-7, 203-pound product of Fort McMurray, Alta. led WHL goaltenders in GAA and SV% while finishing tied for the league lead in shutouts, and second among WHL netminders in wins. The 18-year-old is ranked #1 among North American goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2021 NHL Draft. In 52 career WHL regular season appearances, Cossa boasts a record of 38-7-2-2, with a 1.98 GAA, 0.928 SV% and eight shutouts.
Defenceman Matthew Robertson (Edmonton Oil Kings): Robertson put up 22 points (4G-18A) during the 2020-21 season, finishing tops among WHL defencemen in plus/minus with a career best +26. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound blueliner helped the Oil Kings finish the season with the best record in the WHL. A prospect of the New York Rangers, the Sherwood Park, Alta. product has recorded 127 points (31G-96A) in 208 WHL regular season games.
Forward Carson Latimer (Edmonton Oil Kings): The 18-year-old Latimer led all Central Division rookies in scoring with 16 points (5G-11A), chipping in with a pair of power-play markers for the Central Division champion Oil Kings. The 6-foot-1, 181-pound forward set a personal best April 18, 2021 when he recorded a goal and two assists for a three-point game. The Surrey, B.C. product has scored 17 points (6G-11A) in 28 career WHL regular season games.
Defenceman Ethan Peters (Edmonton Oil Kings): The 18-year-old Peters appeared in 23 games during the 2020-21 WHL season, collecting a total of five points (1G-4A). The product of Moose Jaw, Sask. has achieved a core average of 94.67% in his completed Grade 12 courses, including a 98% grade in Math 30 Pre Calculus and 97% in English 30. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound blueliner scored his first career WHL goal April 2, 2021.
Forward Jake Neighbours (Edmonton Oil Kings): With 33 points (9G-24A) in 19 games, Neighbours led the Central Division in scoring. The 6-foot-0, 197-pound product of Airdrie, Alta. posted 11 multi-point efforts and finished second on the Oil Kings in power-play assists with eight. The prospect of the St. Louis Blues has put up a total of 131 points (43G-88A) in 152 WHL regular season games.
