33 Manitobans selected in WHL Draft, WHeat Kings make 10 picks
Thursday marked the culmination of a highly-anticipated week for Manitobans in the hockey world.
The Western Hockey League held its annual prospects draft, beginning in the morning, which saw exactly 237 players selected by its respective WHL clubs. Of those 237, 130 were forwards, 84 were defencemen, and 23 were goaltenders. Among the promising 237 players selected, 33 hailed from Manitoba.
Thirty-three players closely resembles Manitoba’s previous two years of representation in the WHL Prospects Draft, where 38 Manitobans were selected in 2023 and 31 Manitobans were selected in 2022.
With no Manitobans being taken off the draft board in the top twelve, the Lethbridge Hurricanes selected Winnipeger Tyden Lafournaise at 13th overall, winning the honour of choosing the first Manitoban of the draft.
The 5-foot-11, 168-pound centreman racked up 66 goals and 60 assists for 126 points in just 32 games with his Winnipeg Bruins U15 AAA Gold squad. And if those numbers weren’t impressive enough, the next-highest point leader on his team had only 66 points, exactly 60 less than Lafournaise.
Lafournaise also played in four games with the Bruins’ U17 AAA team, where he impressively put up three goals and three assists for a total of six points.
Two picks after Lafournaise was selected, the Red Deer Rebels took the second Manitoban off the board with right-shot defenseman Graeme Pickering 15th overall.
The blueliner from St. Adolphe, MB. played for Winnipeg’s U15 Rink Hockey Academy Prep team this season, where he accumulated 36 points in 27 games (seven goals, 29 assists). Pickering’s play offensively and defensively helped his RHA squad to a dominant 22-5 record through the regular season.
He is also the younger brother of Owen Pickering - the 20-year-old blueliner drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins 21st overall in the 2022 NHL Draft.
The Victoria Royals acquired the third Manitoban of the draft at 18th overall after they selected Ludovic Perreault, a the 5-foot-8, 152 pound centreman from Winnipeg.
Perreault played 32 games for the Winnipeg Bruins U15 AAA Brown team this season, where he tallied 67 goals and 25 assists for 92 points. Perreault also gathered two goals and two assists in the postseason before his team’s eventual exit in the quarterfinals.
Full list of Manitobans selected in the draft:
13th- Tyden Lafournaise (Winnipeg, MB) - Lethbridge Hurricanes
15th- Graeme Pickering (St. Adolphe, MB) - Red Deer Rebels
18th- Ludovic Perreault (Winnipeg, MB) - Victoria Royals
22nd- Asher Gingras (Steinbach, MB) - Kamloops Blazers
28th- Antonio Correia (Winnipeg, MB) - Calgary Hitmen
36th- Prabh Bhathal (Winnipeg, MB) - Brandon Wheat Kings
42nd- Calum Brownlee (Winnipeg, MB) - Swift Current Broncos
46th- Madden Tymchak (Oakbank, MB) - Kamloops Blazers
53rd- Drayden Uhrina (Winnipeg, MB) - Victoria Royals
59th- Easten Turko (Brandon, MB) - Brandon Wheat Kings
62nd- Cole Secord (La Salle, MB) - Kamloops Blazers
77th- Cohen Lewko (Sanford, MB) - Saskatoon Blades
81st- Urijah Moosetail (Brandon, MB) - Brandon Wheat Kings
90th- William Picklyk (Mitchell, MB) - Everett Silvertips
93rd- Linkin Stadnek (Thompson, MB) - Kelowna Rockets
96th- Anthony Bedard (Winnipeg, MB) - Spokane Chiefs
98th- Forrest Karlson (Dauphin, MB) - Red Deer Rebels
105th- Noah Alexander (Winnipeg, MB) - Medicine Hat Tigers
111th- Knox Burton (Brandon, MB) - Prince Albert Raiders
112th- Paxton White (La Salle, MB) - Edmonton Oil Kings
127th- Hudson Champagne (Brandon, MB) - Tri-City Americans
133rd- Spencer Kuntz (Winnipeg, MB) - Saskatoon Blades
134th- Aiden Sitarz (Winnipeg, MB) - Kamloops Blazers
138th- Ryland Moore (Winnipeg, MB) - Victoria Royals
141st- Nolan Harding (Winnipeg, MB) - Victoria Royals
146th- Eric Berger (Virden, MB) - Lethbridge Hurricanes
154th- Dixon Hartwich (St. Andrews, MB) - Prince George Cougars
164th- Chase Kettles (Headingley, MB) - Prince Albert Raiders
169th- Mason Chubey (Winnipeg, MB) - Brandon Wheat Kings
173rd- Theran Turner (Brandon, MB) - Moose Jaw Warriors
190th- Grady McNish (Rivers, MB) - Lethbridge Hurricanes
196th- Atticus Cruz (Winnipeg, MB) - Wenatchee Wild
287th- Hunter Ethelston (Brandon, MB) - Saskatoon Blades
As for Manitoba's lone Western Hockey League club, the Brandon Wheat Kings, the team made 10 selections at the draft.
Full list of players selected by Brandon:
14th- Chase Surkan (Regina, SK)
36th- Prabh Bhathal (Winnipeg, MB)
59th- Easten Turko (Brandon, MB)
81st- Urijah Moosetail (Brandon, MB)
85th- Ethan Young (Regina, SK)
103rd- Alex Letourneau (Legal, AB)
107th- Carson Park (Pilot Butte, SK)
128th- Hudson Postnikoff (Saskatoon, SK)
169th- Mason Chubey (Winnipeg, MB)
191st- Tristan Follick (Langford, BC)
Of the Wheat Kings' 10 picks, two players in particular have some serious upside to their games.
The first player is Brandon's first selection in the draft (14th overall), Chase Surkan. The 5-foot-8, 154 pound left-winger from Regina, SK. only played 27 games with the U15 AA Regina Pat Blues and still managed to produce 73 goals and 62 assists for a total of 135 points. Surkan also racked up 12 goals and 20 assists in just nine postseason games.
Albeit AA competition, accomplishing an average of five points per game is quite staggering. Look out for his name in the upcoming years with the Wheat Kings.
Another player to look out for is Winnipeg, MB. native Prabh Bhathal. Drafted in the second round 36th overall, the 6-foot-2 14-year-old captained his Winnipeg Thrashers U15 AAA White squad and led them by a landslide offensively with 83 goals and 119 points. The next highest point total on Bhathal’s team was only 43 points, creating an astounding 76-point difference.
He also had four goals and eight points through three games played with the Thrashers’ U17 team and two goals through five games played with the U18 team - all of this as a 14-year-old.
Bhathal will be among the many Manitobans selected in this year’s WHL Prospects Draft that will have the opportunity to thrive in the WHL, working his way toward the ultimate goal of playing in the National Hockey League.
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