Flin Flon is as synonymous with hockey as any community in Canada, but that often isn’t enough to draw top junior A talent.
While hundreds of young men have proudly suited up for the Bombers, some top-end players have shied away from the franchise for any number of reasons.
Some may see Flin Flon as too far from home or too much of a pressure cooker. For others, a community so far removed from other SJHL clubs may simply be off the radar.
But now, following the league’s first-ever bantam draft, the Bombers are on a more even footing with the rest of their SJHL
colleagues.
“The other teams in the league [were] getting the top-end players picking them over us, so we’ve [had] to do a lot of hard work to try to find guys,” says Bombers head coach and GM Mike Reagan. “We turn over a lot of stones, so to speak, and this [draft] levels the playing field a little bit where we can draft the top-end guys and try to sell them on our organization and have them want to be Flin Flon Bombers, where[as] before we weren’t even getting the chance to do that with kids.”
The bantam draft, held last Thursday, June 4 in Nipawin, saw SJHL teams draft Saskatchewan players who were born in 2000, meaning they won’t be in the league this fall.
The Bombers drafted six players – four forwards and two defencemen – and will own their rights until they turn 18.
Those and future draftees can still refuse to report to Flin Flon, but at least now the Bombers can trade those rights to improve their roster.
For the time being, Reagan isn’t focused on moving any of the picks, least of all first-rounder Owen Ozar, 15, a forward whose tenacity overshadows his 5 ft 1 in frame.
Ozar, whom Reagan expects will sprout another several inches, notched 32 points (11G, 21A) in 31 games last season with his hometown Prince Albert Venice House Raiders.
“His skill set is unbelievable,” marvels Reagan. “He’s quick, he skates real well, he’s got a good head for the game. He’s also not scared of anything. We wouldn’t have picked him if he was 5 ft 1 in and scared.”
Reagan said Ozar is reminiscent of Bombers forward Nicholas Shumlanski, whom Reagan believes could contend for the SJHL Rookie of the Year award this season.
In the second round the Bombers selected blueliner Jaxon White, 15, who had 18 points (4G, 14A) in 31 games last season with the Sask Valley Vipers.
A product of Warman, Saskatchewan, White stands 5 ft 9 in and weighs 135 lbs with room to grow.
“We think he’s going to be a good skating defenceman,” Reagan says. “He’s got good size for his age. We think he’s got good puck skills [and is an] intelligent player. I think he’s going to be a guy that ends up being [one of the] better D-men in the SJHL at some point.”
Flin Flon also drafted forwards Jordan Bairos, 15, who had 24 points (13G, 11A) in 29 games with the Saskatoon Bandits, and Matthew Flodell, 14, who had 26 points (11G, 15A) with the Prince Albert Venice House Raiders.
Also chosen were forward Tristan Weigel, 14, who had 10 points (4G, 6A) in 22 games with the Sask Valley Vipers, and defenceman Layne Schroeder, who had 17 points (8G, 9A) in 31 games with the Saskatoon Outlaws.
In making their selections, Reagan says the Bombers placed a premium on character, “compete level” and skating ability.
“The game is more about being able to skate and we think that they’re very good skaters,” he says.
Reagan welcomed five of the six picks, minus Schroeder, to Flin Flon’s recent spring camp and liked what he saw. Schroeder was chosen on the recommendation of the team’s scouting department.
“We think probably five out of six of them, for sure, will play in the SJHL,” says Reagan. “I wouldn’t be surprised if all six do. I don’t think that there’s a real high risk.”
Reagan said the Bombers contacted about 40 players before the bantam draft, getting to know them and learning about their aspirations.
At the Bombers’ annual general meeting last month, Reagan expressed optimism for the 2015-16 season, saying the goal is simple: win a league championship.
Among the returning players are Joel Kocur, Alex Smith and Brandon Switzer, a top line Reagan expects will be as good as any in the league.
Simon Hofley will return between the pipes but will face competition for the starter’s job from Connor Slipp, who played well in five games last season.
Draft explained
The SJHL explained its bantam draft in a January 2015 news release:
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is introducing a bantam draft this spring and while the general consensus is favourable for such a venture, some clarification is required so that everyone understands the process and reasoning behind it.
“The draft is open to players who have finished their bantam eligibility – similar to the Western Hockey League,” explains SJHL president Bill Chow. “The draft is open to players with a residence in Saskatchewan.”
“This is my fourth winter with the league and we have talked about it each year for a bit,” added Chow. “There is a general consensus [among the teams] that it is needed.”
Presently, each club has a 50-player protected list in addition to what is known as an “Auto-Protect B List.” This latter list is for players who hail from within the boundaries of a SJHL team and they remain protected by their home team until their 17th birthday.
After that time, if they have not made the club, they must be moved to the regular protected list or they become eligible to be listed by any of the other SJHL teams.
The bantam draft, therefore, encompasses all players who are not on an Auto-Protect B List when they complete playing at the bantam level.
These players are generally invited to a number of spring and fall training camps by SJHL teams and they will be able to continue attending numerous spring sessions as the draft is not scheduled to be held until the June annual general meeting at which time players could become property of a specific team.
“The draft allows teams to highlight a few players in the province they wish to recruit and retain,” says Chow. “It also allows players and their parents an opportunity to build a relationship with a team.”
Room must be made available on each team’s 50-player protected list to allow for the addition of players selected in the draft, which will feature six rounds. Chow says that not every team is required to select six players, but that is where the bar has been set and with each club having as many as eight overage players (20-year-olds) then having space for new additions should not be an issue.
The draft also becomes another tool in trades as was witnessed at the trade deadline when clubs swapped picks in addition to current players.
It is always a fierce competition attracting young talent and this should help the league continue to make advances in this area.
Hopefully, it will also keep homegrown talent within the provincial boundaries.
