Thursday 2 May 2013

2013 WHL Bantam Draft Recap

The 2013 WHL Bantam Draft was held today at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino in Calgary.  The Hitmen made 11 picks selecting five forwards, five defencemen and one goalie.


ROUND 1:
(18TH OVERALL)  Beck Malenstyn from the Okanagan Hockey Academy.   He was the top scorer for the OHA AAA Bantam Red with 107 points (57g 50a) in 53 games.

HITMEN HEAD SCOUT DAN BONAR'S REPORT CARD: He's versatile and can play any forward position.  He comes to play every night, works hard, takes the body and is a powerful skater.  He kind of reminds me of a player we had here in the past, Brett Sonne.  We know what Brett did for our team (242GP 89G 82A 171PTS) and we think this guy can do the same.


ROUND 2:
(40TH OVERALL)  LW Dawson Martin from the AAA Bantam Winnipeg Monarchs.  At 5'11" 153lbs, Martin had 33 points (11g 27a) in 25 games this season.

ROUND 3
(49TH OVERALL)  Defenceman Aaron Hyman from the Calgary Flames.  Hyman has tremendous size at 6'3" 205lbs.  Following the selection he tweeted "Huge thanks to @ for drafting me 49th overall and all my coaches and friends for the support!"

ROUND 4
(68TH OVERALL) Goaltender Kyle Dumba from the Calgary Flames.  Kyle is the younger bother of Red Deer Rebels defenceman and Minnesota Wild prospect Matt.  Kyle had a 2.89GAA and a .904 save percentage with the Flames this season.

**The Hitmen traded protected list goalie Dawson MacAuley ('94) to the Regina Pats for the 68th overall pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft**

ROUND 5
(106TH OVERALL)  Defenceman Taner Miller from Lethbridge Val Matteoti Golden Hawks.  Miller appeared in 30 games this season collecting 33 points (5g 28a).  He was also the captain of the Hawks.

(107TH OVERALL)  Right winger Chris Woods from Prince Albert Venice House Raiders.  Woods has huge size for a 14-year-old at 6'3" 194lbs.  He had 12 points (8g 4a) in 27 games this season. 

ROUND 6
(128TH OVERALL) Defenceman Dalton Gally from Alaska Jr. Aces.  Gally, at 6'1" 183lbs, had six points (3g 3a) in 36 games.

ROUND 7
(150TH OVERALL) Defenceman Quaid McBean from Phoenix Jr. Coyotes.  Quaid's dad Wayne played 211 games in the NHL with NYI, Winnipeg and LA.

ROUND 8
(172ND OVERALL) Right winger Nathan Halvorsen from the Winnipeg Warriors.  Halvorsen at 6'0" 167lbs, played in the Winnipeg AAA Bantam 1 All-Star Game on January 12th.

ROUND 9
(194TH OVERALL) Left defenceman Riley Shamray from Yellowhead Chiefs.  He's 5'11" 162lbs.

ROUND 10
(216TH OVERALL) Left winer Brandon Lesko from the AA Battleford Barons.  At 5'9" 160 lbs, he had 49 points (26g 23a) in 26 games.

Sylvester named WHL Humanitarian of the Year

From the Hitmen Office:

Calgary, AB - The Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club would like to congratulate captain Cody Sylvester on being named the 2012-13 WHL Humanitarian of the Year.  Sylvester, who just completed his final year in the Western Hockey League and fifth season with the Hitmen, accepted the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy today at the WHL Awards Luncheon in Calgary. 
This season Sylvester, who received the ENMAX Humanitarian Award at the 2012-13 Calgary Hitmen Awards Banquet in March, raised $17,312 for his Chance To Play program, a fundraising initiative created by the 21-year-old to support local minor hockey.  The funds collected will benefit kids who would not normally have the chance to play hockey by providing them with an opportunity to participate in sport.

“It is an honour to receive this award,” said Sylvester.  “I’ve had the opportunity to play hockey all my life and wanted to do something in my final year to give back to the Calgary community and the people who have supported me during my time with the Hitmen.  Chance To Play will provide kids, who may not otherwise have the opportunity, with the experience of playing hockey so they can have the chance to follow their dreams like I did.”

                                          Photo Credit: Brad Watson - Calgary Hitmen

The cornerstone of his program was the Chance To Play t-shirt, an item Sylvester designed and custom printed with Kaos Design, owned by Sylvester’s mom Kim Sylvester and stepfather Wayne Muzyka.  These one-of-a-kind t-shirts were sold during Hitmen home games, various events at the Scotiabank Saddledome and player meet and greets, all coordinated by the captain, to raise funds.  Sylvester also enhanced media relationships and developed corporate partnerships to increase program awareness and dollars raised.

“As the captain of the Calgary Hitmen, Cody led by example on the ice as well as extended his leadership into the dressing room and the Calgary community,” commented Hitmen Assistant General Manager and Direction of Business Operations Mike Moore.  “The initiative he demonstrated in the development, implementation and execution of the Chance To Play program is a reflection of his character and determination.”

In 1999-00, Hitmen alumnus Chris Nielsen was named the WHL Humanitarian of the Year for his contributions on and off the ice.

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Hitmen eliminated in Game 7 of WHL Eastern Conference Final

The Calgary Hitmen march toward the Ed Chynoweth Cup as Western Hockey League Champions came to an end Tuesday night at Rexall Place with a 2-0 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

The defending champs now move on to face Portland in the league final starting Friday night in Oregon.

The Hitmen started well out shooting Edmonton 7-2 in the first part of the opening period but couldn't find the back of the net.

The Oil Kings then responded with a major push to head to the dressing room ahead 1-0 on the scoreboard and 18-8 on the shot clock.  First periods proved to be the achilles heal for Calgary in the series as they were outscored by a combined 13-2.

In the second period Michael St. Croix potted his second goal of the game to give Edmonton a 2-0 lead. 

In the final frame Calgary fired nine shots but Laurent Brossoit stopped them all en route to a 26 save shutout.

St. Croix was named the series M-V-P for Edmonton finishing with 10 points in the seven games (4g 6a).

The total series numbers reflect on why Edmonton prevailed outscoring Calgary by a combined 25-16 while out shooting the Hitmen in every game for a combined 275-187 advantage.

                                                      Photo Credit: Andy Devlin

Calgary Hitmen 0 at Edmonton Oil Kings 2
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - Rexall Place - Edmonton, AB

Calgary 0 0 0 - 0
Edmonton 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period
1, Edmonton, St. Croix 9 (Legault, Corbett), 14:05.
Penalties-Samuelsson Edm (slashing), 3:42; Virtanen Cal (roughing), 15:16.

2nd Period
2, Edmonton, St. Croix 10 (Kulda, Corbett), 4:33.
Penalties-Virtanen Cal (tripping), 0:04; Humphries Cal (hooking), 10:22; Samuelsson Edm (slashing), 14:05; Clayton Cal (roughing), 17:36; Moroz Edm (checking to the head), 17:36; Samuelsson Edm (roughing), 17:36.

3rd Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-Kosterman Cal (closing hand on puck), 12:51; Samuelsson Edm (tripping), 17:54.

Shots on Goal-Calgary 8-9-9-26. Edmonton 18-12-8-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 0 / 4; Edmonton 0 / 4.
Goalies-Calgary, Driedger 11-4-2-0 (38 shots-36 saves). Edmonton, Brossoit 12-1-3-0 (26 shots-26 saves).
A-10,738
Referees-Reagan Vetter (39), Nathan Wieler (18).
Linesmen-Michael Roberts (87), Scott Sharun (103).