WHL teams turn to region for first-round picks

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This article was published 17/05/2024 (400 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a banner year for Eastman players in the 2024 Western Hockey League draft, with two selected in the first round. St Adolphe’s Graeme Pickering and Steinbach’s Asher Gingras were both picked in the first 22 picks of the draft, held May 9.

Players who were born in 2009 were eligible to be drafted this year.

Pickering, who plays for Rink Hockey Academy (RHA) in Winnipeg, will be a familiar face for any WHL fan. He’s the brother of current Swift Current Broncos captain and Pittsburgh Penguins top draft pick Owen Pickering.

Red Deer picked up the defenseman with the 15th pick of the draft.

“We believe that Graeme can be an impact defenseman, a guy capable of running a powerplay, a guy that defends hard and plays against the opposition’s best players,” Red Deer’s assistant general manager Shaun Sutter said on the league’s first-round broadcast.

“We’re very excited to get him at pick 15.”

Pickering showed an offensive flair this season, picking up 36 points in 29 games for the RHA’s U15 team.

“The way that he plays, the personality that he has on the ice, that’s really important to us,” Sutter said.

“I think he’s a hard-nosed guy, and people are going to be afraid of him with the way he plays; being physical but also being defensively hard. We’re really intrigued by the offensive package, and the dimensions that he brings with the way he sees the ice.”

A multi-sport athlete, Pickering will also be suiting up for the 15U AAA Carillon Sultans this season.

Just seven picks later and with the final selection of the first round, the Kamloops Blazers picked Gingras. Gingras had an outstanding year for the U15 Eastman Selects, posting 53 points in 21 regular season games and helping the team to an appearance in the league finals.

“He’s a smooth-skating two-way forward, he puts up a lot of numbers, obviously,” Kamloops Blazers Director of player personnel Aaron Keller said.

“We feel that he’ll fit into a top-six role here when he gets going.”

The Blazers are aiming high in the draft this year, after shipping most of their picks out to bolster the team as they hosted the Memorial Cup last year.

“It was really for us to get an offensive forward with our first pick, and we’re obviously really excited to have Asher,” Keller said.

Kamloops also picked the next Eastman player off the board, turning to the RHA U15 team’s Madden Tymchak in the third round.

Oakbank’s Tymchak had 30 points in 25 games as a d-man for the team this season.

“Madden is a highly competitive player that is a physical force on the blueline,” Blazers’ Manitoba scout Brad Davis shared on social media.

“He has a great ceiling for development and we are thrilled to draft him.”

As part of Kamloops’ history of trades, they sent a fifth-round pick to Everett this season. With that pick, Silvertips turned back to Eastman, selecting Mitchell’s William Picklyk.

Picklyk was the captain of the U15 Selects this season, scoring a team-high 82 points in 32 games. He continued that strong pace in the playoffs, notching 22 points in 11 games.

It was an historic draft for Everett, as they selected Landon DuPont first overall. Calgary’s DuPont became only the second-ever player to be granted exceptional status by the WHL, and will be eligible to play a full season in the league next year.