The 2020 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft commences Wednesday at 10 a.m. (Western Hockey League)

By Trevor Redden

All eyes on the 'Dub

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Apr 21, 2020 | 5:46 PM

A sense of normalcy will return to the hockey world on Wednesday as the Western Hockey League holds its annual bantam draft.

Of course, there will be nothing normal about 22 teams connecting remotely from their respective cities to submit their picks as opposed to gathering in one location as usual, but it’s as close as we can get right now.

There won’t be any drama atop the board this year as the Regina Pats have already announced the signing of phenom forward Connor Bedard a day before he will be selected with the first-overall pick.

Bedard is the first exceptional status player in WHL history, meaning he will be eligible to play a full season in the league at just 15 years old starting in 2020-21.

“This is a big day for our organization,” Pats VP of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Paddock said in a team statement. “Connor is an exceptional person and a great player; we look forward to seeing him in a Pats uniform next season.”

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The Vancouver product played up an age group as a 14-year-old last season, competing at the midget level with West Van Academy of the CSSHL. Competing with and against players up to three years his senior, Bedard still reigned supreme as the league’s MVP, leading the league with 43 goals and 84 points in 36 games.

Beyond Bedard, there will be plenty of high-end talent for teams to pick from including a pair of Saskatchewan forwards who also applied for exceptional player consideration.

Riley Heidt and Brayden Yager both played up with the Saskatoon Contacts in the SMHL as 14-year-olds last season, putting up an impressive 37 and 42 points, respectively. The duo previously played together for two seasons with the Martensville Marauders. Both players are expected to be chosen shortly after Bedard.

The Prince Albert Raiders hold the 15^th overall pick in the draft after capturing the second East Division title in as many years.

“We’re pretty excited about what we feel will be available for the 15^th pick and again for the 37^th pick,” Raiders General Manager Curtis Hunt said. He acknowledged this particular year brings with it some unique challenges.

“It’s a tough draft, I feel for [Director of Player Personnel] Curt Brownlee because he’s trying to accumulate data where he’s seen the players, and some of our guys have seen some of the players. So, we’re trying to compare data and compare players and I think he’s done a tremendous job considering the logistical challenges we have on Zoom.”

Hunt and his scouting staff prepared for the draft remotely and will be executing Wednesday’s draft from their respective locations.

The Raiders hold their second-round pick (37^th overall), then will be on the sidelines for three rounds before a pair of fifth-round picks, barring any trades. Beyond that, Prince Albert picks twice in the sixth-round (129^th and 132^nd), sits out the seventh round, and will have their regular pick in each of the remaining rounds.

With the hockey season cut short, Hunt acknowledged some challenges for scouts with many high-profile year end tournaments cancelled. However, he’s impressed with the information his staff put together.

“When I go through our [pre-draft ranking] list, it doesn’t matter if I picked a player in the 200s or the 100s or in the top 10, we have multiple reports [on that player],” Hunt said.

“I feel pretty confident in the work that our guys do.”

Trade activity has already picked up in the week leading up to the draft, with the Victoria Royals moving a pair of over-agers in the last week.

On Friday, the Royals sent 2000-born defenceman Mitchell Prowse, an eighth-round pick in 2022, and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2021 to Lethbridge in exchange for 2002-born forward Nick Dorrington, a seventh-round pick in 2020, and a fourth-round pick in 2021.

On Monday, the Royals sent 2000-born forward Kaid Oliver along with a fourth-round pick in 2020 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2023 to Edmonton in exchange for 2001-born defenceman Jacson Alexander, a third-round pick in 2020, and a seventh-round pick also in 2020.

Also on Monday, Lethbridge traded 2001-born forward Adam Hall to Vancouver for a conditional 2022 seventh-round pick, and Edmonton sent 2000-born forward David Kope to Kelowna for a 2023 fourth-round pick.

On Tuesday, Portland traded unsigned 2004-born forward Carter Streek to the Saskatoon Blades for a fifth-round pick in 2020. Streek then signed with the Blades.

The Raiders have been quiet on the trade front so far, and Hunt was noncommittal on whether they could be involved Tuesday or not.

“We’re kicking tires here and there,” Hunt said before stressing he’s not wanting to disrupt the team that’s been built here.

“I like our group. We’ve got guys that could be four-year Raiders and guys that could even be five-year Raiders in the room. We’ll see what happens is somebody blows our socks off [with a trade offer].”

The trade will commence at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, and can be followed online at www.whl.ca/draft.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden