There were plenty of Prince Albert connections in both the SJHL and WHL drafts this year. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

PA Players Drafted

Minor hockey, Mintos pleased with junior drafts

Jun 16, 2022 | 12:00 PM

Both the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League have held drafts in the last month, and those draft made for some special moments for Prince Albert-born hockey players.

It was a special day for minor hockey and the Prince Albert Mintos as well.

Two players, Owen Nelson and Will Whitter, heard their names called in the WHL draft in May, and six players from Prince Albert got the call in the SJHL draft earlier in June. Several of those players, including Whitter and Nelson, have suited up for the Mintos already.

“It’s good for the kids and it’s good for our program,” said Prince Albert Mintos coach Tim Leonard. “I’m not surprised they got drafted, we spent a lot of time doing our scouting too. It looks like we were pretty good about it this year.”

Nelson, selected 163^rd overall by the Regina Pats in the WHL draft and 94^th overall (in the second round of 2007-born players) by the Melfort Mustangs in the SJHL draft, was among the league leaders in goals in the Saskatchewan U15 AA ranks last season with 36.

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“He’s going to be good,” Leonard said. “He’s a big, strong kid and he’s very focused. He understands the game quite well and he’s going to be fun to coach.”

Whether they play for the Mintos or not (Dayne Henry, the first Prince Albert-born player taken in the SJHL draft, played for the Battlefords AAA Stars last season), minor hockey teams in Prince Albert can consider it a feather in their cap when players get drafted.

“I think that goes to show — we have coaches at all levels starting right from our U7 age right up until U15 when they get picked — that we’re developing players and have coaches who are committed to developing players,” said Tyson Dallman, director of hockey operations for Prince Albert Minor Hockey.

Now that players are drafted, the job of local coaches becomes helping them take that next step. Leonard said he communicates well with teams in the junior ranks and those teams often give players direct advice on what they want to see from them in order for them to make the jump.

“I coached at that level, major junior, and I know what it takes to get there,” said Leonard. “Whenever I can help them, on the ice or off the ice, it’s our job. We want to have the best team we can have but also our job is to get them to the next level.”

Leonard added he’s excited to see a strong group of young players coming in as one of the most dangerous players in Saskatchewan AAA last year, Jacob Cossette, has moved from the Mintos to the Junior A ranks in Alberta.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP