Terrell Goldsmith is the newest Prince Albert Raiders draft pick, going 15th overall. Garrett James/CCSHL

By Jeff D'Andrea

WHL Bantam Draft

Raiders go big to start draft, pick D Goldsmith 15th overall

Apr 22, 2020 | 11:15 AM

The Prince Albert Raiders started off their 2020 WHL Bantam Draft by going to a familiar well.

They selected a hulking 6-3, 199-pound defenceman in Terrell Goldsmith from the Delta Hockey Academy’s Bantam Prep Green team. That’s the same team they picked last year’s first-round pick Niall Crocker from, as well as Jamison Sluys, their first choice in the inaugural WHL U.S. Prospects Draft this year.

So when Goldsmith reports to Raiders’ training camp, he’ll see at least two very familiar faces.

“Niall, I didn’t play with him too much last year but he’s an awesome player and he’s a really nice guy,” Goldsmith said. “Jamo was on my team this year, he’s a really hard player, he plays hard. He’s a great friend and an awesome guy to be around.”

On the WHL’s live stream of the draft, WHL’s manager of player development Zach Hodder, who was also a former Raiders defenceman, spoke very highly of Goldsmith.

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“The first time I saw Terrell shoot, literally, my jaw dropped. His one-timer is … if I was a goalie in bantam, I would just get out of the net if I was them. It was incredible to watch,” Hodder said. “He is a very physical defenceman. He’s a big guy. He plays a tough style of hockey…”

“When I was in Prince Albert, another team I played for, we had a guy named Dave Manson there. He reminds me a lot of Dave Manson with the way he plays. I don’t think Dave gets the respect he deserves on how good his skating is, but Terrell has pretty decent footwork for a big guy. He’s going to need to develop that in the Western Hockey League with how fast and how skilled these guys are, but again at 16, he can play minutes and he can play the PK and the second unit power play.”

Goldsmith prides himself a little more on his physical play than his jaw-dropping shot.

“I like to play physical, but yeah, if I can hit the net, it’s alright,” Goldsmith laughed about his shot.

Goldsmith had four goals and 19 points in 23 games with Delta Green, along with 77 penalty minutes. He also had a goal and four points in six games at the John Reid Bantam Tournament.

Raiders draft Harrison Lodewyk in second round

The Raiders went into Red Deer territory for their second round pick, 37^th overall. Lodewyk scored 12 goals and 33 points in 31 games with in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League with the Red Deer Bantam AAA Rebels. Lodewyk is listed as 5’8, 159 pounds.

Howe are ya?

Tanner Howe was the first Prince Albert-based player taken off the board. He went in the fourth round, 73^rd overall to the Regina Pats. Howe led the Prince Albert Venice House Pirates with 38 goals, 37 assists and 75 points. He was also ranked 11^th in SBAAHL scoring.

A Zach coming back

Right after Raiders’ captain Zack Hayes graduated from the WHL, the Raiders went out and got themselves another ‘Zach.’ They selected Zachary Wilson in the fifth round, 90^th overall. Wilson had 11 goals and 21 points for the Northern Alberta Xtreme Bntm Prep. Wilson is listed at 5’8, 145-pound winger from Wetaskiwin, Alta.

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With their second selection in the fifth round, the Raiders picked up right defenceman Wesley Golden from Grande Prairie, Alta. The 6’3, 169 pound Golden scored four goals and 14 points for his hometown Grande Prairie Storm.

Kedrov and Miner in sixth

The Raiders picked up two more players in the sixth round, drafting centreman Ivan Kedrov out of Calgary 129^th overall and left defenceman Scott Miner out of Winnipeg 132^nd overall.

Kedrov had 18 goals and 37 points in 30 games with the Calgary Bisons in the Alberta bantam league. Miner scored six goals and 31 points in 27 games with the Rink Hockey Academy.

Brady Smithx2

Prince Albert’s Brady Smith was selected by the Vancouver Giants. Smith had four goals and 16 points in 23 games for the Prince Albert Venice House Pirates as a defenceman.

But in an unbelievable turn of events, the Lethbridge Hurricanes used the very next pick of the draft to select another player with the exact same name—Brady Smith.

Tons of fireworks even before the draft started

A day before Wednesday’s online draft, the Regina Pats already put pen to paper with the top prospect. The Pats, who have the first overall pick, signed Connor Bedard to a WHL Standard Player Agreement on Tuesday. Bedard is the first-ever WHL player to have exceptional status, meaning he could play a full season as a 15-year-old.

“It’s a dream come true,” Bedard said through a webcam to WHL media. “Younger growing up in the WHL, I always had a dream to play in there and play with the oldest organization in the league. It’s such a great organization. I obviously couldn’t be happier and I can’t wait to get started.”

The Raiders also made a move before the draft. An hour before teams started picking, the Raiders sent defenceman Braydon Clark to the Spokane Chiefs for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2022. Clark played 11 games for the Raiders in his rookie season this year before being assigned to the Merritt Centennials of the BCHL. Clark was originally selected in the third round, 47^th overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.

Best of the rest

Nathan Gossoo, 8^th round, 169 overall
Right winger, 5’10, 156 pounds, Okanagan Rockets
25 goals, 43 points in 30 games

Reese Shaw, 9^th round, 191 overall
Right winger, 6’1, 161 pounds, Green Bay Jr. Gamblers
3 assists, 3 points in 4 games

Carter McKay, 10^th round, 213 overall
Centre, 5’9, 160 pounds, Melville Millionaires
29 goals, 67 points in 24 games

Saskatchewan heavy upfront

Right after the Pats drafted North Vancouver’s Bedard, the next two players were from Dundurn, Sask. Riley Heidt went second overall to the Prince George Cougars and the Moose Jaw Warriors selected Brayden Yager. Heidt and Yager both played Midget AAA hockey last year with the Saskatoon Contacts.

Four Saskatchewan players were selected in the top seven, with Shaunavon’s Kalan Lind going at sixth overall and Regina’s Sam Oremba being selected at seventh overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW