Two promising blueliners were among the Flin Flon Bombers’ selections at the 2017 SJHL Bantam Draft held Friday, June 2 in Nipawin.
Having forfeited its first-round pick in a trade, Flin Flon used its second-round pick to select Swift Current Kabos Broncos defenceman Hendrik De Klerk.
“I’d say he is probably the best puckhandling defenceman,” said Swift Current head coach Trent McCleary. “He is very much an escape artist. … He is really good at skating the puck out.”
De Klerk, 14, notched 37 points in 30 games last season as he helped Swift Current capture the Saskatchewan Bantam AA provincial title.
In the third round, the Bombers chose another blueliner in Noah Kuntz of the Regina Monarchs. Kuntz, 14, stands 6 ft 2 in and has a knack for playmaking.
“[He’s a] very good athlete,” said Monarchs head coach Todd Liskowich. “Tall kid. Good reach. Good hockey sense. Competes and is a very coachable kid. Good team player.”
Both De Klerk and Kuntz were also drafted to the WHL: De Klerk to the Spokane Chiefs in the seventh round and Kuntz to the Kamloops Blazers in the eighth round.
“I wanted our focus on drafting two defencemen we think will be really good players,” said Bombers head coach and GM Mike Reagan.
Also in the third round, Flin Flon chose forward Brandon Von Hagen, 15, of the Saskatoon Maniacs.
“He’s hard to play against for other teams,” said Maniacs head coach Ashley Buckberger. “Fast skater and consistently wins puck battles. Probably the quickest player to the puck in the bantam league last year. Plays best in big games”
The Bombers’ fourth-round pick had been traded to Estevan. Flin Flon used its final selection in the fifth round on Mackenzie Carson of the North East Wolfpack.
“[He] scores goals,” said Wolfpack head coach Dennis Kubat. “[High] hockey IQ. Great shot. Good size. Absolute great kid.”
Flin Flon passed on its sixth-round selection. In order to draft a player, teams must have a spot on their 50-player protected list; often this means dropping a player.
Flin Flon residents who aspire to play for the Bombers don’t go through the draft but rather go on an auto-protect B list.
Reagan was impressed by the play of the still-developing local products at the team’s spring camp.
“I thought at spring camp our Flin Flon kids did very well. They competed very hard,” he said.
